BY MELISSA PYLE
Special to the Telegraph
Members of The Concerned Citizens of Bradford County were joined by city leaders to break ground and bring new life into a long fought dream at the May Day Celebration held May 4.
Festivities included a health and wellness fair, bounce houses, a community kick ball game and the plaiting of the May Pole. It also served as a fundraiser for summer day camp scholarships.
The spotlight of the event was the groundbreaking ceremony for the new playground on the property. The playground is one more piece of a long list of dreams that the Concerned Citizens have been slowly bringing to life.
The playground was provided through a $50,000 grant through the health department. The playground will be just steps away from the RJE gymnasium, which is halfway through its own renovation.
The exterior of the gym has been completed, but the interior still needs to be renovated. Concerned Citizen member Glenda Ruise said the project is set to begin phase two in the next two months. She said the second phase of the renovation will bring the interior of the gym to modern standards.
The new playground is part of a larger vision to provide a safe location for the children of the community to play. Concerned Citizens President Alica McMillan, said they are currently awaiting an grant that will complete the outdoor space with a sidewalk to provide senior citizens a safe walking trail around the property.
Many who spoke prior to the groundbreaking recognized the history of the property and the desire to honor the memory of ancestors who had passed down the property to them. Commissioner Carolyn Spooner shared a memory of “Chester B. Crumb, who contributed this land so that we might have a school for our children and for the future.” She went on to acknowledge the RJE founders and the Concerned Citizens who have worked tirelessly to preserve this piece of Bradford County history.
The property currently houses services such as Head Start program and the bimonthly Community Health and Wellness Resource Hub. A summer day camp will be held during the month of June. Registration is underway. Anyone interested can contact the Concerned Citizens of Bradford County.
The playground will be one more step to making the property a fully functioning community center. The new equipment will be installed by May 30 and will be a fun addition to all the summer activities currently on the agenda at RJE.
