A project five years in the making is finally ready to be complete at Kalona Elementary School. The ongoing project started in the fall of 2006, but funding to quickly push it forward kept getting delayed.  But now, after two grants – one from the Washington Wal-Mart and the other from the Iowa City Wal-Mart – for $1,000 have finally allowed the playground to be completed.

Second grade teacher Kerri Bell is a member of the Kalona Elementary Playground Committee.  She says only parts of the project could be finished at a time because of money issues, but these most recent grants have allowed for the remainder of the plans to be completed.  She added the committee hopes to receive more funding, as the school received notice yesterday to attend next week’s Washington County Riverboat Foundation Grant Presentation.

Now that all the money is in place, Bell says installing a rubberized tile to provide safe surfacing on the playground is the last major item on the committee’s agenda.  That work will start after school dismisses for the summer, and a ribbon cutting ceremony will be part of the back to school festivities in the fall.

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