
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, August 5, 1995                   TAG: 9508070020
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

HELP FOR PLAYGROUND HAS 'A WAYS TO GO'

The metal slide is too hot to touch, much less slide a body down. The chain- link swings pinch your fingers; the wooden supports splinter your hands.

That's what Brian Koziol, who's 8, and his 10-year-old sister, Ericka, think of the playground at the Montgomery County Park located behind the Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Department on County Road.

They've spent much of this sizzling summer at the department's day camp. But they've stayed clear of the playground equipment.

The 20-year-old, wood and metal jungle gym has seen better days, says Parks Director Tom Bain.

He has his eye on a flashy, yellow and red, high-rise of a playground with three plastic slides and lots of bridges to cross and steps to climb. There's even a plastic tick-tack-toe game under a shaded deck.

Problem is, the playground runs about $15,000. The Parks Department has, well, diddly squat when it comes to extra funding for improvements.

Bain doesn't want to ask the Board of Supervisors for the money.

"That's our absolute last resort," he said. "We don't want to try to get tax dollars because then people won't want to contribute."

By "people," Bain means business people. The department has been mailing fliers to area businesses asking for donations.

So far, they've collected just over $3,000 from places such as the County Boy restaurant, CMT Sporting Goods and First National Bank of Christiansburg. Another $2,000 has been pledged for the cause.

"We got a ways to go, but we're hoping some people who've turned us down before might reconsider," Bain said.

A sign with contributors' names will sit near the playground. Donations of $1,000 earn a platinum membership, $500 for the gold, $100 for silver and $50 for bronze.

Some day-camp parents contributed after they saw the condition of the playground. During the summer, about 80 children per day use the facilities, Bain said.

The Parks Department had hoped to purchase the deluxe gym by fall; now it is aiming for early spring.

by CNB