Glendale parents look to raise funds for new playground
by JILL SCHMELZER Ken-Ton Editor

An artist rendering is shown of the projected Glendale Elementary playground, which was chosen by the Glendale Tower Project. The group must raise at least $75,000 to build the new structure.

It took one trip to the Glendale Elementary School playground to motivate parent Paul Yacano to raise funds for a new recreational facility.

Before the start of the school year, Yacano took his children to the playground at 101 Glendale Drive to introduce his then soon-to-be kindergartner to the boy's new school.

Yacano found that the wooden structure is deteriorating and no longer safe for the children to play on. His 2-year-old toddler bumped his head and got a splinter while playing on the equipment, Yacano noted.

"My wife said to me, 'I wish we could do something to fix this thing,'" Yacano recalled. 'I said 'Well, we can. We could do it.'"

And so it began.

Yacano organized a group of parents and appealed to Glendale Principal Joyce Brace for permission to raise funds for a new structure.

In recent years, it has been discovered that wooden playgrounds are dangerous, Yacano said. He noted that chemicals can seep through the wood and splinters are a major concern among parents. Therefore, the Glendale Tower Project, as the group calls itself, is looking to build a metal recreational structure on the same lot as the existing equipment.

The structure now in use at Glendale is at least 15 years old, Yacano said. He noted that there really isn't any other playground within walking distance for the pupils at Glendale Elementary to use. There's Ellicott Creek Park, but there is a long list of reasons - including the water hazard and busy intersections - why Yacano and other parents will not send their children over there to play, he said.

So far, the group has raised about $8,000, Yacano said, but a total of at least $75,000 is needed to cover the costs of the new facility.

"We can't go to the families and ask for 100 bucks from everyone," Yacano said, noting that about 40 percent of the pupils are on free or reduced lunches.

Instead, a fundraiser, "The Glendale Town Project Fun Run," will be held on May 17 at the school.

The committee and the fundraiser are named after Mega Tower, which is the design of the new playground facility the group intends to build.

The plans include a main structure for 5- to 12-year-olds, a small preschool unit with slides and climbing structures for children 2 to 5. And Yacano raved about a 24-person teeter-totter called the X-Wave, which enables an entire class to use the structure at once. It's also pinch-free.

The plans include six slides, monkey vines and a physical fitness area, which includes equipment to build upper body strength. There are also six swings, including one for children with disabilities, Yacano said, noting that the entire playground will be accessible according to American Disabilities Act standards.

"We are certainly in support of it," Brace said. "It may take a couple of years, but (Yacano) is very optimistic."

To donate to the project, send checks to Glendale Elementary School, 101 Glendale Drive, Tonawanda, N.Y. 14150.