South Whitley Town Park board members excited as they plan for park of the future
(Talk of the Town graphics provided) Above, the proposed redesign of the South Whitley Town Park features a whimsical, multi-level tower for play. Below, Adventure Mania, a proposed area of the park more suited for children ages 5-12 will feature plenty of big kid fun with room for creativity and adventure play, along with old favorites such as swings. The new program will feature safer equipment and will meet ADA standards.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
Parks are magical places for children, where slides become a passage to another place and towers become castles or forts where knights ward off invaders.
Knowing this, six South Whitley volunteers, including Ron Anderson, Katey Till, Teresa Smith, Sue Milligan, Vicki Sprunger and Colleen French, are working to create a new vision for the South Whitley
Town Park, dividing the park into two, distinct, age-appropriate playground areas.
"There will be many activities and buildings for kids to explore and enjoy when visiting the South Whitley Town Park," said South Whitley park board member Colleen French. 
"Doodlebug Village is a tot sized town for ages 2-5 to explore, climb and run the winding path to whimsical buildings where their imaginations can enjoy playhouses that are just their size," said French, "complete with a cafe with tot sized picnic tables, farm house with sink/stove and front porch, barn and pasture with spring horses, grocery store, school and mini car with gas pump for imaginative play, swings and more."
"Adventure Mania is designed for ages 5-12 years with a Skybuilder slide structure which is 30' tall at it's highest point," she said. "It is a 3 level structure with two 17' long tube slides for an exhilarating ride down!" "Extending from the Skybuilder is a Standing Spinfinity and a Track Glide. NRG is a maze of exciting challenges with web climber, rock walls, pods, floating stepping stones and a Spinfinity," added French.
"NRG allows the children to use their imaginations climbing and exploring while getting fresh air and exercise," said French.
"Both playgrounds will meet ADA standards, making the playgrounds assessable for children with all abilities to enjoy," she said. "Current playground equipment in the Town Park does not meet today's safety standards, some of the equipment has broken parts after many years of use and is lacking in appeal."
"It is our hope that making these improvements will give South Whitley a destination playground, brining families from other communities into South Whitley to enjoy the park and while here visiting, enjoy our restaurants and stores," French said. "It is our hope that this renovation will also give South Whitley residents a sense of pride in their park and a place to enjoy family gatherings and bring generations together to make memories."
To date, the park board has received approximately $53,000 in pledges and funds. Looking at a price tag of $150,000 to complete the new additions to the park, volunteers have decided to get creative.
South Whitley photographer Terry Eberly of Eberly Photography will be helping local residents create a crisp, new online image with a fundraiser called "Photos for Facebook." On March 13, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Eberly will be taking professional, head and shoulders shots for use in posting as your profile photograph on Facebook. Eberly will email the photographs to participants. Props are welcome and groups of up to six may pose for a photo. Pre-registration is recommended by calling Eberly at 723-4800. Participants will be asked to give a donation to the South Whitley parks project. All donations to this project will be recognized on the Eberly Photography website, in the South Whitley Tribune-News, the Eberly Photography Facebook page and in other locations.
Additionally, to support the redesign of the South Whitley Town Park, board members have been busy writing grants and seeking funding from local businesses.
Any person or business is encouraged to make contributions in any way they are able, whether it be hold a fundraiser, donate materials or monetary donation. If you have any questions or would like to make a contribution you can contact Colleen French at 723-4865 or Katey Till 723-4140.
The South Whitley Park Board meets the third Wednesday each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Council room at 118 E. Front Street in South Whitley.