Christie playground completed

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 582, 18 April 1995, Page 3

Christie playground completed

Ruapehu Lions completed their side of the Christie Park Playground bargain recently, putting in the last of the equipment and checking fittings. That just leaves the bark to be spread by the Council, according to Lion Fred Collett. He said the publicity in the Ruapehu Bulletin about the project (see Ruapehu Bulletin, 28 March) was negative and didn't tell the full story behind the delay which saw the facility completed several months behind schedule. A number of hold-ups hindered the Lions, such as finding that some of the equipment had been damaged and had to be replaced. They also had problems with manpower, with the. Lions club short of mem-

bers at present. Mr Collett said of the 20 members of the service club, more than half are founder members and over 60 years old. He also said many were already committed to other long-term projects. •No offers of help were forthcoming from the community , said Mr Collett and fellow Lion Graeme Moore. "We were waiting all day for someone to bring us some scones - but they never turned up!" Also in defence of the club, he said they not only did the work on the playground but also donated $1200 towards the cost of the equipment. He said they also took on the contract to lay the drains, charging $800 which was much less than the price of

a commercial contractor who quoted for the work. He said the money from the contract went towards Camp Quality which caters for child cancer sufferers. The LiOns are planning an open night in the near future for people to go along and see how the club works. EDITOR'S NOTE: We agree the article (28 March) did include some negative elements and we make no apology for it. Many people in the community had expressed concern at how long the project was taking and we felt it was important to explain why and because the project was the responsibility of Lions the club featured in the story. We fully understand that the club is a voluntary organisation and that their members' time is donated — a point that was covered in the original story.