TIPTON HILL – The children of Tipton Hill have a playground again.
The Bradshaw Fire Department finished repairs on the playground next to the former Tipton Hill School to make it functional for local kids.
“Well everyone needs something to do,” Assistant Chief of Bradshaw Fire Department Michael Vess said. “There’s a lot of kids in this area and they have nowhere to go to a playground without traveling to Spruce Pine or Burnsville, so we’re trying to get it back to functioning.”
While the playground had already been there, it had been unusable for about three years due to several springs that had popped up and old drainage pipes.
“It was a really swampy area with the water problems,” Vess said. “You literally couldn’t walk through there.”
After raising money through fundraisers and receiving several equipment and supply donations, the Bradshaw Fire Department began cleaning up the swampy area in early June.
“We raised the money,” Vess said. “It’s not taxpayer money, it’s all through donations and fundraising. It’s pretty amazing all of the people who worked with us to make this happen.”
According to Vess, the Frank Griffith and Son store, Mason D. Ledford Trucking, Peterson Trucking and Pate Trucking are just a few of the businesses that donated to the cause.
The ball field next to the playground was recently refurbished by Bradshaw Fire Department, as well.
Similar to the playground, the ball field had broken and rusted pipes underneath and was unusable. According to Vess, Sibelco donated $9,000 worth of pipe to the project and Bradshaw Fire Department provided the “manpower.”
“We had a lot of pieces that had to come into place and things that had to line up just right and, lucky for us and the kids, it finally did,” Vess said.
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CORRECTION: The original story called Michael Vess the Chief of Bradshaw Fire Department. Vess is the Assistant Chief of Bradshaw Fire Department.