Playground makes dreams come true

Samuel Evers, a 4-year-old student at Mill Creek Elementary, enjoys himself on the new playground's slide. The playground is the only one of its kind in Madison.

“I just wanted to be able to play with my little sister.”

Those words from Kayla Beard sparked the idea for what was to become Madison’s first public special needs playground.

Hand-in-Hand playground, located in Palmer Park, right off Palmer Road, officially opened Friday, Oct. 22, to the appreciation of many residents.

“It s nice to see a playground where both typical and special needs children can play together,” said Jenny Evers, whose son, Samuel, has Down syndrome. “They can all play together now.”

Beard, a Harvest resident, presented the idea to city council three years ago and held bake sales and a fundraiser to raise money. The city then agreed to fund and build the $250,000 park.

“I love it,” Beard said. “I’ve always wanted to able to play with my little sister, and now my dreams have come true. This is amazing.”

“There was definitely a need for a park like this,” said playground Claudia Rice, chairman of the Madison City Disability Advocacy Board. “It’s great because it’s an all-inclusive playground, and allows kids to be together and not separate.”

The playground has specially-made equipment to accommodate children with various disabilities. The swing set has a guard to keep them from falling off and the ground is covered with a rubber surface to soften falls.

“This is just a wonderful edition to the city’s facilities” said Maria Kilgore, director of special education for Madison City Schools. “We have playgrounds like this in the schools, but now also in a public park. We’re just happy the school and city see the need for a playground like this.”

Mayor Paul Finley was also on hand for the opening. He said Beard is an example of someone with a vision who made a difference in the community.

“We are improving the quality of life for every Madison resident,” Finley said. “We are making a difference for every one of our residents.

The engraved bricks Beard sold to raise money have all been put together in a wall just feet away from the play area. Josie Lipscomb donated two bricks in the wall, one for her, and one for her late husband. She said she has an autistic stepson and wanted to help raise awareness. She said she was “tickled” when someone noticed her name on the wall.

“I thought this would be a nice thing to do for children with special needs,” she said. “It feels good to know that this will be here for a long time.”