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STAFF REPORT
Just in time for the memorial
anniversary of a massive train derailment in Meldrim, a
group of local volunteers received word that the county
commission was donating $20,000 to their effort for
upgrades to Meldrim Memorial Park.
The Meldrim Civic Club President Stephen Newsome said
the funds bring the total raised to improve the park
dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives on
June 28, 1959 to $57,500.
The Meldrim Civic Club is a community organization made
up of volunteers from
Meldrim and the surrounding communities.
The major function of the Civic Club is the upkeep and
improvement of park, which is the only community park
serving the Meldrim, Faulkville, and Eden neighborhoods.
The Civic Club is responsible for all maintenance in the
park including grass cutting, landscaping, and equipment
repair.
In addition, the Civic Club provides all resources for
overhead costs including electricity. To the best of
our knowledge, Meldrim Memorial Park is the only
community park in Effingham County totally maintained by
the local citizenry, Newsome said.
In the last 15 years, the Civic Club has organized
several initiatives to improve the park and make it a
fun and safer place for people of all ages. With the
help of both the state and county governments, the
following improvements have been made:
the installation of a fence system around the Park;
the construction of a memorial sign honoring those
who lost their lives in the train disaster on June 28
1959;
the construction of a new pavilion area with
bathrooms;
the installation of additional concrete picnic
tables;
the construction of a concrete basketball and tennis
court.
While the improvements to date have resulted in a
better park, there is still much work to do, Newsome
said.
To that end, the Civic Club successfully lobbied the
Georgia Legislature to provide $25,000 in funding to add
new safer playground equipment for the park. In
addition, the Civic Club has held a variety of
fund-raising events in recent years, garnering $12,500
on its own.
That still put them short of being able to purchase the
new equipment, so Newsome and his cohorts turned to the
county commission.
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