JACKSONVILLE, Ark. — Just five months ago, all you could hear in Jacksonville's Dupree Park was the sound of construction. Now, the sun is shining and it's good to hear the sound of laughter once again coming from the playground.
"We've been through a lot. and you know, that's kind of an understatement but our city employees, city staff, and all of our departments have worked so hard," Jacksonville Mayor Jeff Elmore said.
Dupree Park was in the line of destruction of the tornado on March 31. It wiped out almost everything in its path and left nothing but debris, damaged property, and trees lying behind.
"The damage to Dupree Park totaled right at $3.6 million and we are putting that much into it and we are bringing it back like it was but better," Mayor Elmore described.
He explained that the playground they've been building will be handicap accessible, and is filled with brand-new swings, slides, and monkey bars for kids to play on.
"That is the inclusive part here, any child who is suffering from any type of handicap is more than welcome. This has been designed with them in mind for wheelchair access and anything else. [It has] different safety measures, so it's a great thing." Mayor Elmore said.
Although a lot of progress has been made, according to Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Director Kevin House they're not quite at the finish line just yet.
"We still got some fencing to come in, shade structures coming over the top of the playground that's behind us restrooms to finish, but we are getting close," House said.
House explained that all of it is coming together thanks to the help of the construction workers and everyone else who has been diligently working day and night to bring a park that will glue the community together.
"Hours and hours of work. we've had countless loads hauled off and I mean we're still working. As you can tell grass is not planted, you know, grasses add up yet I mean, there's still a long way to go but we're getting there and it's been there several contractors, but also all of the Parks and Rec and other city staff have really put in a lot of hours to get us to where we're at and trying to get us to the finish line," House described.
He said the goal is to have everything up and running at Dupree Park by the end of December and once it's all finished they will do a ribbon-cutting ceremony to welcome everyone.