JCS Playground Nearing Completion [VIDEO]

Despite weather, playground crew and volunteers about halfway done with structure.

After years of planning, students at J.C. Solmonese Elementary School will soon get to play on a new jungle gym. Crew members from Northeast Playground Builders and parent volunteers are about halfway through the building process. They even spent a few hours building the playground this past Wednesday when temperatures were in the teens. The jungle gym was originally scheduled to be finished at the end of January, but the weather has pushed back the finish date to the second week of February. “Regardless of the temperature, this playground is going to be built,” laughed Carolyn Gallagher of the Solmonese Parent Organization. “We have the nicest people from Northeast Playground Builders. We just have to bring them coffee and donuts.” The …

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Kelly A. Mello

8:18 pm on Thursday, January 24, 2013

You are correct Karen, the original cost was increased. I reached out to Carolyn and she gave me more information on the cost and fundraisers. I added this to the article. Thank you for reading.   more ›

JCS Playground Deemed Unsafe by SPO

Funds being raised for purchase of a new one.

The Solmonese Parent Organization (SPO) is looking to secure funding for a new playground at JCS Elementary School.  According to SPO co-chair Karen McCarthy, one parent has reported that the 25-year-old structure caused a young girl to break her arm. There is also an abundance of splinters emerging from the wood.  “We’ve met with five vendors,” McCarthy said. “The main structure will cost $40,000 to $50,000.”  In order to raise money, the SPO will be holding a silent auction in May, selling cookie dough in March and soliciting donations from businesses throughout the year. The next event is a Family Movie Night Friday, Nov. 4 in the JCS cafeteria.  To donate, make checks payable to SPO.  “The goal is to have a new playground in a couple …

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AN INSIDE LOOK

Should Norton Move its Town Meeting Site?

Yelle School repairs cause shift of meeting site - should the change be for more than one meeting?

When Norton holds the fall session of the Annual Town Meeting in October, it will not be in the Yelle School gymnasium as is usually the case. The Town Meeting will be moved, most likely to the high school. The reason is a leaking pipe of some sort under the floor of the gymnasium, requiring an insurance claim and an expensive and time-consuming replacement. But it does raise the question again that surfaces from time to time - where is the best place to hold Town Meeting? There have been a few attempts to move meeting site from the town's oldest active school building over the years. The high school gym has been used but usually only when a large crowd was expected. The sound system is not good there, and it is more disruptive to students…

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Bill Gouveia

12:26 pm on Saturday, August 6, 2011

You may be right Tom, and parking is definitely an issue. But it also brings up how schools should be designed to allow for more public use rather than discourage it. The buildings should be planned for more than just educational purposes, which are of course the most important ones. There should be parking at the middle school that allows the public to get maximum use from it - although I …   more ›