Shirley organizations complete playground
SHIRLEY — Cooperation between two organizations in the small town of Shirley led to the installation of a large new play structure at Shirley’s park.
Members of the Shirley Historical Society and the Shirley Visionaries, a nonprofit group aimed at improving the town on Hancock County’s eastern border, recently completed installation of playground equipment at Shirley Park.
In May, the Hancock County Community Foundation gave the town’s historical society an $8,000 Celebrating Communities grant to improve the park.
Because the town has no dedicated parks department, the historical society is overseeing the work with the help of Shirley Visionaries, a nonprofit group trying to generate interest in the town of about 800.
Some equipment had to be replaced, according to the dictates of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a federal agency that governs product safety, issues recalls and researches potential hazards.
Volunteers also spread a thicker layer of pea gravel under the existing playground equipment under the recommendation of the consumer product safety commission.
