Charlo swings away
Tony Siech and Dave Gilroy Sr. help Dave Gilroy Jr., of Gilroy Construction in Ronan, level the new swing set in Charlo before pouring the concrete on Tuesday.
CHARLO — After three years of planning, fundraising and waiting for the right time, the Charlo Parent Teacher Association’s dream of adding four new swings, including a handicap swing, to the school’s playground is finally coming to fruition.
It was getting down to the wire last week, as the contractor had promised the installation before the start of school, yesterday, Aug. 25. Digging began on Saturday, while the concrete and final installations took place Tuesday afternoon.
The cost of the swing set and installation was paid for through fundraising and donations made to the PTA.
“Funds were actually generated between two and three years ago,” PTA President Brenda Siech said. “We had to wait for the new multi-purpose area to be completed before we could figure out where it would be placed.”
The need for additional swings and a handicap swing was recognized back in the 2007-2008 school year.
“A lot of us had younger children and we noticed that there was a need for more swing sets, especially with the kindergarten through third grade and the handicap students,” Siech said. “There were quite a few donations because of the fact that there was going to be a handicap swing set.”
Recently, the Charlo Schools PTA Facebook site has been bursting with excitement for the swing project’s completion.
“I know of two handicap families that are very excited for the handicap swing set,” Siech said. “One of the little boys has muscular dystrophy and now he’ll be able to use the swing set.”