Sisters has a new playground

The newest community playground in Sisters is about to open. According to Sisters Christian Academy principal Peggy Miller, it will be the most sophisticated playground in Sisters, equipped with the latest apparatus.

The new facility, located on the northwest side of Sisters Christian Academy and adjacent to the northern baseball field used by Sisters Little League, will open to the public on April 19. Sisters Community Church and Sisters Christian Academy will host a ribbon cutting and grand opening on Saturday at noon.

The playground will be the first handicap accessible park in Sisters.

The facility is being funded through a partnership effort between Sisters Community Church and Sisters Christian Academy. The estimated cost is more than $36,000.

"About nine months ago Kevin and I were driving by here, and we are local doctors here in town," said Dr. Eden Miller, a local family practice doctor. "We were treating a lot of injuries from kids that were using the wooden playground equipment, and we decided to stop in and tell the principal (at the Christian academy) that we need to tear that thing down because kids are getting hurt."

The old structures were torn down, and the planning for a new playground began.

"I sat in my living room one morning in my pajamas and thought: 'How are we going to get a playground?' I started calling around. I called OSU and other places looking for grants, but it turned out that grants were hard to come by. So, what we did is started planning as though we were going to have a playground and started talking it up," said Dr. Miller.

The quest for grants was, indeed, unsuccessful but the community began to respond.

"The church (Sisters Community Church) said: 'We would be willing to split the project with you and meet you half way. I started meeting with David Yost and Kevin Marks at the church, and we came up with a number, and we went to two different companies and came up with a budget," said Dr. Miller.

Things proceeded on schedule until one day a fly dropped into the ointment.

"Where we had a snafu was that the bid did not include the surfacing. So we were $7,000 short," said Dr. Miller. "Then, a couple of weeks ago we said: 'We are not going to worry about it. We are just going to believe that it will happen and set an install date.' Then, about a week ago I saw a patient in the office, and I was sharing with her that we were not going to be able to open the play structure because we did not have the surfacing, and she broke out her check book and paid for the entire surfacing.

"We are still about $4,000 short to pay for what you see here, which is the actual structure, but we are not going to worry about it. Hopefully, people will come out to fill in the gaps, so we won't have to maintain the loan that we have right now," said Dr. Miller.

"The vision from both organizations is that all children in the community of Sisters would enjoy the playground when school is not in session," said principal Miller. "It is a state-of-the-art playground with climbing walls, permanent basketball hoops, a six-person heavy duty swing set, a slide and balancing bars, some different climbing parts. There will be a big range of equipment on the grounds."

For information or to donate call Sisters Christian Academy at 549-4133.