Arlee students enjoy new playground

The new Arlee Elementary playground opened last week to the delight of the young students, who no longer have to traipse over to the old playground for recess.

By Melea Burke
Valley Journal
ARLEE — There were lots of happy kids in Arlee last week. The Arlee Elementary School held a ribbon-cutting Sept. 28 for the new playground, marking the long-awaited completion of a project that will benefit students for years to come.
“It’s awesome,” physical education teacher Susan Carney-Lammerding said. “It’s been about a two-year process.”
Carney and several other Arlee teachers and parents began fundraising for the playground when they learned that a new playground wasn’t included in the plans for a $2.4 million construction project of a new elementary school and gymnasium. The playground committee held walk-a-thons, sold flowers and bulbs and applied for grants. Their efforts raised about $12,000, but that was a drop in the bucket of the new equipment’s cost, which ended up at $78,000.
“It’s hard to raise $70, $80,000,” Carney said.

And it’s especially hard during a recession. So when Arlee Superintendent John Miller called Carney earlier this year to tell her that there was going to be room in the budget for the playground after all, she was overjoyed.
"It's an amazing, amazing playground," she said. "If you ask any of the kids what they think about the new playground, they go crazy."
Now Carney's looking for volunteers to help move some equipment from the old elementary playground to the new location. She can be reached through the Arlee Elementary office.