Saw Mill Unveils New Playground

After two years of hard work, the new playground at Saw Mill Road Elementary School was unveiled on Thursday.

The $35,000 project was the brainchild of the Saw Mill PTA, and a lot of work was done to raise money. Betsy Lashin, Melissa Grote and Stacy Guglielmo were three key people that spearheaded fundraisers, events and other efforts to get the playground built.

"I heard a quote the other day that is perfect to represent what’s happened here," North Bellmore Superintendent Arnold Goldstein said. "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. We’ve gone this far because everyone here worked together."

A ribbon cutting was held on the blacktop at Saw Mill, and all of the kids observed as Lashin, Grote and Guglielmo cut the ribbon with some students. Once the ribbon was cut, kids were allowed to enjoy their new equipment.

"This has been a long time coming," Saw Mill Principal Fran Bennett said. "To see the children out there every day and really being active on the playground enjoying it has made it worthwhile, and I am so grateful that I have a wonderful, supportive PTA that are really here for the community and for the children."

In the two years it took the project to come to fruition, there were a number of meetings that took place to discuss funding, types of equipment and other issues, but through a joint effort by the North Bellmore Board of Education, district officials and the PTA, the project is now complete.

"The current PTA board was told that a new playground was too much for the PTA to handle," Lashin said. "But together, we rose to the challenge and proved that we can do anything that we set our minds to."

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