Playground for Katie and Friends has proven popular

 

Seven-year-olds Daniela Morataya and Katy Escobar (on right) run under the entryway to the Huguenot Park playground built for all children, including the disabled.

Now that summer is here, Huguenot Park's Playground for Katie and Friends is busy with toddlers and preschoolers, mothers with babies, pregnant moms and a few dads. The sounds are happy-laughter, shrieks and giggles.

The only crying on a recent morning came from a young boy who didn't want to go home. Dozens of children scrambled over and through the equipment. Parents didn't yell at the children to be careful or to slow down.

The park is fenced, and the equipment is meant for young children. The ground is covered with wood chips so falls are cushioned.

Kara Setsko of Midlothian has been bringing two-year-old Kyle here since he was five months old. When he was a baby, she would hold him, and they would swing together. "It's been nice to watch him grow into it," she said. Kyle's favorite this day was the sandbox, but he had mastered all of the equipment, except the ladder.

Two pillars decorated with colorful tiles of children's art support the arch at the entrance. Most of the equipment is purple and yellow, and the bright colors and winding shapes are enticing as they offer children climbing and sliding thrills.

Owen, age 4, and Sydnie, 2, played on the equipment while their mother, Renee Scheller, watched as she held a sleeping, two-monthold Lucas. Like many others, Scheller did not realize the park was adapted for disabled children. "This park is the best one around," Setsko said.

Other county playgrounds are inaccessible by wheelchair and lack adaptive equipment.

Jane Warrick's daughter, Katie, has multiple disabilities so she spearheaded the planning and fundraising for this special playground, which opened October 2003. The park is named after her daughter.

"Schools that have special-needs children [bring them] here all the time," Warrick noted with pride. Warrick has remained committed to this playground, keeping track of maintenance and such details as seat belts on the swings.

Several bench swings, much like the oldfashioned porch swings, are available for parents, grandparents or maybe a mother holding a child. One slide is a double for a parent to slide down holding hands with a child or for two children to slide together. The individual swings are seats with backs that support the back and head of the child.

The ramp structure offers a child in a wheelchair the chance to get up on the equipment and look down. "A kid in a wheelchair never gets to look down," explained Warrick, who noted that the structure had cost $95,000.

Sand tables are available, making playing in the sand possible for children in wheelchairs.

Steps with handrails are available for those children who need to practice. Bells and a drum are there for all kinds of kids, but especially those who can't speak and love to make noise.

Warrick says she would love to see another adaptive playground put in Chesterfield's Rockwood Park, and the project is being discussed. While the Playground for Katie and Friends cost $150,000 with an additional $20,000 raised later for improvements, Warrick estimates the new playground would cost $350,000 but would include more rehab equipment and things for older kids to enjoy.

Unfortunately, Warrick does not have the free time to spend on fundraising for a major project as she did before. "This will have to wait," she said.

She is, however, campaigning to get every playground with two adaptive swings and accessible paths.

Go to the park

The wooded 56-acre Huguenot Park has picnic shelters, restrooms, tennis and basketball courts and fields for soccer and football. It is located on Robious Road between Huguenot Road and Midlothian Turnpike, near the hospital.

The complete story on the building of this playground is available on the web at www.katieandfriends.com.