BUTTE — Playgrounds are a great place for kids to let loose during a busy day of school, and the brand new playground equipment at Whittier Elementary School is supposed to be just that place.
But the project is incomplete so far and parents at the school are concerned about debris like giant bricks of asphalt that have been left behind.
"The playgrounds are definitely not in safe conditions and they are out there playing in them," says Ron Stephens, the father of five-year-old Veronica, who broke her arm on the incomplete playground.
Ron says the playground outside his daughter's kindergarten classroom still has debris and uneven ground surrounding the newly installed equipment.
"I wasn’t there so I can’t say she tripped on an asphalt rock but there’s a very good chance that it is because of the poor conditions of the playground," says Stephens.
Stephens says his daughter will get a cast set on her arm and is still the same playful kindergartener she was before the accident but she is frustrated with her lack of mobility.
"She’s in good spirits. Right now has a splint on her right wrist, which is her writing wrist, so she’s actually going to be missing some writing time which is very crucial at the kindergarten level. She’s going to be missing out on what most likely will be six weeks in a cast," says Stephens.
"It’s really sad to have something positive turn into an injury and my heart goes out to the little girl who got hurt. I know it was an accident, certainly hoping that she’s doing fine. Just hoping for a speedy recovery and that she can get back on and enjoy the new playground equipment," says Butte School District No.1 Superintendent Judy Jonart.
Jonart says all of the playground equipment has been properly installed and certified. All that is left to do is finish resurfacing the area around the equipment and crews will finish that work next week when school is not in session.
On a second playground located across campus, second-grader Dezmond Helms joins his parents on another playground as they pick up asphalt chunks. He says it was his idea to do so after hitting another student in the head during an asphalt-throwing incident.
"Why are you out here today?"
"Cleaning up rocks because it’s dangerous when there’s kids throwing rocks," says Dezmond Helms, a student at Whittier.
