NEWTON GROVE — Upgrades at Weeks Park are underway with plans for new lights, cleaning equipment and repairing the tennis court.
Soon, residents and visitors can also expect a change to the entrance as well, thanks to an Eagle Scout project from Logan Bradshaw of Troop. No. 71. A new Weeks Park will be installed Saturday morning. The old sign will be removed and replaced with a new post to welcome everyone to the park.
During a recent meeting, commissioners and town employees spoke about the project, which was presented back in February, with approval from the board. At the time, he was joined by Scout Connor Grimes and his project to build a bridge over the park’s creek.
Town commissioners are being invited to offer suggestions for landscaping ideas to add near the entrance before it’s officially completed. A public celebration will be held later in 2020. For the Boy Scouts of America organization, earning the Eagle Scout ranking, is the highest honor among members.
In recent years, some of the improvements included a batting cage completed by Eagle Scout Luke Williams and new playground equipment. Some of the features includes a climbing wall, crawl tube, loop ladder, triple slide and a rail ride for children to swing between two platforms.
Town preps for festivities
Weeks Park provides space for many events such as the Fourth of July Celebration and Pageant. The next celebration is the “EGG-CELLENT Adventure In The Park,” scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at the park, 517 Clinton St. Admission is free and will include an egg hunt, food, games, crafts and other activities for families.
Commissioner Dana Ellington-Ruiz, the board’s park adviser, said a lot of people have made suggestions about what they would like to see at the park. As the board talked about events, Commissioner Cody Smith said he would like to see the town’s sweet potato festival in the fall.
“With Newton Grove being a rural farming community, we had a sweet potato festival,” Smith said. “I thought it would be pretty neat, maybe in September, October, sometime in there, during the harvesting of sweet potatoes, we might be able to do that.”
Smith made a suggestion for the town to receive assistance from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission to assist with the coordination. Official plans and dates have not been set and at this point the return of the festival is just an idea, but it’s one commissioners liked.
Ellington-Ruiz also suggested having a birthday celebration for the town as well to utilize the park more for events, besides youth sports. Some of the other ideas included a dog trail and a walking group during the weekends, where participants can exercise safely together.
“We could use it a lot more than what we do,” she said.