By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce officially cut the ribbon on a new playground at Wilson Elementary School on Friday.

However, the Wilson students have already had the chance to break in the equipment during recesses over the past week and a half.

The school children gathered on the playground for the ribbon cutting and cheered when they saw the chamber’s giant scissors. Sadly, because the new equipment was still wet from rain Friday morning, the children weren’t allowed to play on the equipment Friday for safety reasons.

The new playground, including installation, cost $78,000. The Dane G. Hansen Foundation contributed $5,000 for the project, the Home and School organization contributed about half of the funds — $38,000, and Wilson’s After School program contributed the other half. The district paid for the surfacing and concrete work out of its capital outlay budget.

Wilson’s Home and School organization has been raising money for years toward the goal of this new playground.

Andrea Dinkel, Wilson Home and School president, said, “I just want to say thank you to all of you for doing fundraising like Mrs. [Anita] Scheve said, and I want to thank the parents for helping us out and the community for opening up your wallets and helping us with fundraising and buying stuff from our kiddoes. That means a lot.”

Wilson Principal Anita Scheve also said she was thankful for the community for their support.

She said school’s old playground was past its warranty and had areas where the plastic was brittle and cracking. It was becoming a safety hazard for the children, she said.

The new playground has an accompanying physical education curriculum.

“We are excited to have a new playground,” Scheve said.