BY WALT SCHAEFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Maya Mitchell, 5, plays with Deanna Isome, 10, and Janay Johnson, 10, at Volunteer Park.
(AP photo)
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GOLF MANOR -- Ask 13-year-old Andrea Withers about the condition of Volunteer Park -- a place she and friends frequent several days a week.
How's the playground equipment, Andrea? "Could be a lot better." How about the sand volleyball court? "Ain't no sand in it down there."
What do you think about the shelter house? "It's really old and it could be bigger."
After years of trying to find money to upgrade the village's only park, the village won an Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant.
The city will receive $73,500 and contribute an additional $18,375 to give the park a face lift, Mayor Donna Faulk said.
The park, on Wiehe Road across from the municipal building, was deeded to the village by the volunteer fire department in the 1950s, the mayor said.
Improvements will include a new entrance walkway; state-of-the-art playground equipment to replace old, rotting wooden equipment; a new shelter house; and a sand volleyball court.
Council has not decided on the type of shelter house it will build to replace the old metal one, Mrs. Faulk said.
Grant money cannot be used on the swimming pool because the village allows residents and nonresidents to use it under different fee structures. Mrs. Faulk said the grant stipulates the money be used on projects benefiting only village residents. There are no fees for other park attractions, and the money may be used to upgrade them.
Although the pool is in good condition, the mayor said the village hopes to make some needed improvements in the near future.
Word of the grant was well-received by park users.
"My children come over once or twice a week," said Vivian Sloan, 42, of Madisonville, whose mother, Delores, lives in the village. "It's a better pool" than available near Madisonville. "A lot of the park equipment here is really beat up, though. I think new equipment will make it much more appealing and draw more people."
Tom Walker, 50, owner of the Golf Manor Dry Cleaners on Losantiville Avenue, said his daughter, Tessa, 10, frequents the pool "to cool off, and she likes the swings. This is small community and we have always tried to do the best we can with what we have. We use a lot of volunteer help. It's wonderful we received this grant. We can use it. It's fabulous."
Melvin James, 13, said he uses the park "two or three times a week. This park is OK, but it's really time for some new stuff. More people would use it then."
