Hampton Playground to get Extreme Makeover!

Join us in honoring Jeremy Shaw, Oct 2nd

Our entire community was saddened by the accidental passing of Jeremy Robert Shaw on Dec 4th, 2009. Jeremy was the beloved son of Chuck and Marie Shaw. Jeremy attended Dr A T Leatherbarrow School in his Primary years and is remembered fondly as a very active young boy. Jeremy lived in the community his whole life. He had a firm handshake and a warm smile for everyone he met. He embodied the spirit of outdoor enthusiasm, enjoying 4- wheeling, snowmobiling, camping and fishing. He was a testimonial to the quality lifestyle that he and his family fostered and contributed to in the Hampton community. He was a loving husband to his wife Amy, and proud father to his son Will.

It is with deepest regard for the entire Shaw Family, and in gratitude for all that they have contributed to our community over the past decade that we respectfully dedicate this playground to the memory of Jeremy Shaw. We hope that the entire community will be inspired by the Shaw's continued involvement and commitment to worthy community projects that will leave a legacy for our future generations.

Hampton Playground to get Extreme Makeover!

HAMPTON - The squeals and laughter of children will mark the culmination of a five-month playground project in Hampton.

About 100 volunteers will erect some $200,000 worth of new playground equipment on Sept. 25 on newly graded space behind the Dr. A.T. Leatherbarrow Primary School in Hampton. On Sept. 25, the newly graded space behind Dr. A.T. Leatherbarrow Primary School will be turned from a barren landscape by morning to a beehive of activity by mid-afternoon as children get the first chance to swing, climb and slide on $200,000 worth of new play equipment.
On that day, organizers are hoping to draw 100 volunteers to erect eight tonnes of playground equipment, lay sod, paint murals, and lay a rubberized ground cover under the play structures.
Kerry Olinskie, the chairman of the project committee, said he envisions the day will resemble an episode from the Extreme Makeover television show with 100 or so people each assigned a specific task to complete within several hours - turning a blank slate into a place where children will be able to play.
"It will be very much like that," he said of the TV show in which old homes are replaced with modern houses. "Something like a playground will go together very quickly when you have a hundred pairs of hands there doing that type of thing."
Since May, Olinskie and a group of parents and school officials have been working non-stop to turn the idea of a new playground into reality.
It was back in the spring that the group decided something needed to be done with the school's aging equipment, which had been erected nearly 40 years ago on a gravelly knoll left behind during the school's construction. Use, time and exposure had taken their toll on the play structures and many had been deemed unsafe.
It wasn't long before the committee got a major boost from Let Them Be Kids, a national organization that helps communities across Canada build new playgrounds. It gave the project its Helping Hand award - the first one in New Brunswick. The award matches every dollar raised by the community and provides mentorship, design and construction support.
Since then, Olinskie and his committee have spent an average of 20 hours every week on the project. They have been fundraising, seeking corporate sponsorship, reviewing plans and meeting with both town and provincial officials on the site preparations.
"It's become like a second full-time job," he said.
It will all come to a head on build day. While the committee still has some obstacles to overcome, it's pushing forward, preparing for the day that scores of volunteers will come to the school ready to expend some elbow grease.
The project still needs to raise $10,000 to $20,000 to meet its financial commitments. The committee needs to enlist another 60 or more volunteers for Sept. 25. It's also hoping a company will offer to transport the tonnes of rubber ground cover it has purchased from Minto to Hampton, and another will donate the $2,000 worth of sod it needs to lay on its new 30-metre by 60-metre green space.
The project is also looking for local artists to help with the murals and volunteers to organize activities for the children whose parents are helping out on build day.
Many local companies and organizations have stepped forward, including Shaw Signs, which donated $10,000 toward the project and is providing the use of a boom truck and two of its employees to help on build day. The Hampton River Runners donated more than $3,000. Hampton Home Hardware donated the supplies for a pair of playhouses to be constructed. Guy Lemay of Lemay Excavating and local contractor Laurie Sanford provided hours of excavating at the site. A welder has offered his services prior to build day and Lafarge Concrete is pouring the footings for the play structures.
People who would like to be involved on build day are asked to register through the project's website at www.ltbkhampton.blogspot.com to receive orientation material. On the morning of Sept. 25, they will meet their team leader and be assigned a task - from installing slides and railings and erecting swings to building sandboxes and laying sod.
"There's lots of things to do," Olinskie said.
Olinskie is hopeful the playground will be opened to the children by 2 p.m.
"I think the most satisfying portion of this will be on Sept. 25 to see the children get on the equipment. I don't think there is any other way to describe it. We all do these types of things for our children so they have something better. To see how they react when they are allowed to play on it, I think that will sum up the effort the entire community has put into it.
"This is a huge undertaking," Olinskie added. "We have some beautiful parks in Hampton and this is just going to be another spot to bring your kids, be able to sit back and know that they are safe on a nice playground."