Thanks to a recent bond issue passed by Angleton ISD voters, the city finds itself in a building boom of sorts, with a new high school and stadium going up quickly. Amid the hectic buzz of bulldozers, power saws and hammering construction workers, the feeling emerges of a community on the move.
Near the new high school and stadium, a sprawling new park is under construction — dubbed Freedom Park, a project that has been under way for two years and is expected to reach completion by the end of this summer.
Freedom Park will be quite the attraction for young and old.
Once the finishing touches are applied, the park will boast of four baseball and softball fields, a concession stand, restrooms, a walking trail, barbecue pit and picnic tables, a horseshoe pit and a volleyball area.
But perhaps the coolest feature of the park already has opened, and in grand style, courtesy of the Angleton Rotary Club. A huge playground — accessible to all children, including those with handicaps — now stands on the park grounds, serving as an irresistible siren call to all frisky children in the vicinity.
On June 1, no less than 200 children swarmed the new Playworld Systems playground at Freedom Park, their shrieks of delight proof that it was worth the $132,000 price tag. Of that cost, the folks at Rotary contributed $60,000. The Angleton Better Living Corp. and the city picked up the rest of the tab.
Tanner Davis, 7, was among the fired up throng climbing over, under and through the inventive playground attractions. His assessment: “This is awesome.”
It’s difficult to improve on such a succinct summary, but the words of Angleton Rotary Club President Derek Landry came close, as he said during the playground dedication, “This has been a long-time project for us. We’re very happy with the results. We’re glad to help with this endeavor and hope it will be used.”
As Freedom Park and the sparkling new Angleton ISD facilities near completion, it seems the heart of Angleton is infused with a fresh vitality, and that an exciting new frontier has opened for the city and its residents.
By Dale Dimitri
The Facts
Published June 9, 2009