BENTON-AREA VOLUNTEERS PITCH IN TO UPGRADE SCHOOLS, PARKS

BENTON -- When there's a community project to be done near Benton, volunteers seem to come from miles around. At least 20 volunteers recently helped build a new playground at the elementary school here.

In June, about 100 volunteers from the Benton area completed a new baseball field at the city park. Construction of the field took about 15 months. The new playground was built in about two weekends, although planning took about two weeks.

Carolyn Pazdera, principal at Thomas W. Kelly Elementary School, attributes the spirit of volunteerism to the residents and parents in the area.

"We have a good community," she said. "They are very supportive of their school."

The Kelly school district includes the communities of Benton, Lambert, Commerce, Blodgett and Diehlstadt. Volunteers from every one of the communities helped on this project, Pazdera said.

When school began in August, the Parent Teacher Organization decided to make the project part of its fund raising activities for the year. Students sold raffle tickets to help raise money for the playground equipment and the school.

Some local businesses also donated tires and concrete culverts to the project. The equipment was designed by two volunteers, David Hamm, owner of Morley Building Supply, and Scott Sander, school board president.

Since new plastic playground equipment costs $15,000 to $20,000, the PTO decided to build their own. A committee began researching what the PTO wanted to include and what the school could afford.

What the school and PTO could afford included a lot of volunteer labor.

"Basically, we had a photo of one at Chaffee and we started digging holes and this is what we came up with," Sander said.

"When we didn't have it complete by Monday, I brought in my company to work on it," he said. "It got a true test the first day."

Sander's wife, who works at the school, said the students were packed on the swinging bridge like sardines. Even the elementary and high school principals and superintendent tried out the equipment.

"As far as I know, I'm the only adult who went down the slide," Sander said. "Everybody's got a little bit of kid in them."

The playground volunteers spent one day just dismantling and moving the old equipment and combining it into one large play area. Another day was spent building the wooden "tower," as students call it. A final work day, slated for sometime during the holiday break, should complete the project by adding swings for special needs students.

"We have kindergarten through sixth grade here and every one of them have enjoyed it," Pazdera said.

During a recent school assembly, Pazdera presented awards to the students who sold the most tickets during the raffle ticket campaign. Winners were Krystal Appleton and Danielle Lee, third place; Jordan Felter, second place; and Zac Hamm, first place.

PTO President Teresa DeWitt said the project wouldn't have been completed without volunteers.

"Some people didn't even have children in the elementary," she said. "It's just a group of people who want to see the best for the school."