Nay Aug Park projects: New playground, storage building underway in Scranton
All-inclusive playground
A goal in the works in recent years, the disabled-accessible Butterfly Playground project encountered delays but now has had work underway in recent weeks on construction of a curbing border to surround a 'poured-in-place' rubber surface.
A curbing border of the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
'It's all-inclusive. Kids and adults will be able to use it,' said Bob Gattens, the chairman of the Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority that primarily oversees Nay Aug Park.
Playground equipment and apparatuses will get installed later at this amenity situated between the Schimelfenig Pavilion and the former zoo building that now houses the St. Cats and Dogs spay/neuter clinic.
Most children and individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities or those who are neurodivergent may not be able to use the same equipment in the same kind of environment as others who aren't facing those challenges. The Butterfly Playground will accommodate them and their families.
'Our goal is to provide a healthy, social skill-building and learning environment,' according to a description of the Butterfly Playground on the Nay Aug Park website. 'It is our effort to improve Nay Aug Park — 'Our Park' — so that those with physical disabilities are included and will know that their community cares about their needs.'
A state grant, recreation authority funds and donations are funding the estimated $373,000 project, that might get completed in spring, with the city having taken the lead on construction, Gattens said.
A sign for the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction in the background at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The playground also might have future complementary phases, such as a pavilion and picnic tables, and for which the authority will aim to raise funds, he said.
Meanwhile, the city last year demolished and removed an old wooden play area called Community Playground in a northeast corner of the park, near Hanlon's Grove and the former zoo building.
Scranton work crews demolish and remove the former wooden Community Playground in a northeast corner of Nay Aug Park near the Hanlon's Grove area and former zoo building, on Dec. 11, 2024. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Storage building
The authority is constructing a 100-feet-long by 40-feet wide maintenance storage building to house equipment and the many displays of the park's popular annual Holiday Light Show.
A maintenance storage building under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The megawatt Christmas-themed light extravaganza that features displays erected along the park's interior loop road annually draws thousands of visitors. The displays previously were packed into trailers for storage and frames and bulbs often got damaged.
'We were spending close to $10,000 every year replacing bulbs,' Gattens said.
The holiday lights display at Nay Aug Park (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
The former storage trailers along a dead-end of Arthur Avenue also were rusty and unsightly, he said. The light displays now will go into the new building once it's completed, for better storage, maintenance and 'just to protect the investment,' Gattens said.
The authority secured a loan to fund the estimated $138,000 cost of the building, which includes $80,000 for the building, $48,000 for a concrete floor and $10,000 for electricity, he said, noting the building will not be heated.
A maintenance storage building under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Officials expect construction of this storage building to be completed soon.
At the Feb. 11 meeting of Scranton City Council, council President Gerald Smurl said the holiday light displays remain up inside the park, pending completion of the storage building.
'We kept them up this long because it didn't make sense to take them down, put them in trailers and then take them out and put them into the new building. So that's why you still see the decorations up there,' Smurl said. 'The building is really moving along now.'
*
A curbing border of the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
*
A curbing border of the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
*
A sign for the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction in the background at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
*
A maintenance storage building under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
*
A maintenance storage building under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
*
Scranton work crews demolish and remove the former wooden Community Playground in a northeast corner of Nay Aug Park near the Hanlon's Grove area and former zoo building, on Dec. 11, 2024. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Show Caption
1 of 6
A curbing border of the forthcoming Butterfly Playground under construction at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Expand
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
How to stop your upstairs feeling like an oven: an expert shares the simple trick that will push cool air upwards
It's unlikely to blow anyone's mind when I tell you that heat rises. But you might think that having a naturally warmer upstairs is easily countered by an air conditioning unit. Unfortunately, as we divulged in a recent story on why your upstairs is always hot, it's often not that simple. And I would know, because my upstairs office has felt so warm that I've recently taken to working from the kitchen. But according to Andy Simms, an expert from the solution could be hiding in plain sight. It involves creating an upward flow of air in your home that allows the heat to dissipate elsewhere and circulates the cooler air in the lower levels of your house. If you do have a loft or attic, it's easy to treat it as dead space that's only used for storing old Christmas decorations or clothes that don't quite fit the way they used to. "Opening your loft hatch can help your home stay cool this summer" But if you open up this space during a heatwave, you'll give the hot air a way to escape from your bedroom or upstairs office, and this will create an upwards flow of the cooler air in the downstairs portion of your home. In turn, this improves air circulation, making your upstairs feel less stuffy. "Opening your loft hatch can help your home stay cool this summer," says Simms. "Doing this simple job creates a natural upflow of heat, letting hot air travel up to the roof, meaning any cool air on the ground will also flow upwards and allow you to feel it like a breeze." Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. This can also be improved by the addition of an attic fan, as it will allow you to create an upwards flow of air when it's too warm inside, or block off air from leaving your roof when it's too cool. A great design, this LG impressed us with its powerful and efficient performance.. With a cooling coverage up to 450 Square ft., this is suitable for medium to large rooms. Plus, it has an energy-saving inverter so you don't have to worry as much about your bills. Another key component of keeping your house cool is the quality of your insulation. You may associate insulation with keeping the warmth in, but it also performs another function, which is to prevent hot air from leaking in through the roof of your home. "While this may be seen as a bigger investment, better insulation helps all year round to regulate your home's temperature," says Simms. "It even helps with energy costs, as a well-insulated home will require less heating, and also less usage of fans, or AC units." This is echoed by Elizabeth Shavers, General Manager, HVAC & Plumbing at Oncourse Home Solutions. "An under-insulated attic is a common reason second floors stay so hot," she states. "Without proper insulation, there isn't a strong enough buffer to keep the heat from the sun coming in through your roof."
New York Times
2 days ago
- New York Times
He Found His Wife in the Pews
Anne Louise Sandefur wasn't supposed to be in town on Christmas Eve 2022. She usually spent the holidays with her family in Florida, but that year decided at the last minute that she wanted to experience a Christmas in New York. So she accompanied her friend, Lily Overmyer, to Grace Church in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. Afterward, Ms. Overmyer introduced Ms. Sandefur to another friend, Thomas Taylor Seelye Evan, who goes by Tommy. He was attending the Episcopal service with his family. 'My first impression was that Tommy was cute and exudes warmth,' Ms. Sandefur said. 'I had noticed him interact with others at the church earlier, and it was clear that he was loved.' Mr. Evans said he 'couldn't stop admiring Anne across the pews during the service, and when I met her, she was kind and gentle and had the most mesmerizing eyes.' He added that he remembered 'thinking how crazy it would be if I met my wife at church, of all places.' Ms. Sandefur, 37, had little luck with dating since moving to New York almost a decade ago and wasn't sure she would ever find the right partner. Mr. Evans, 35, had broken off a long-term relationship two years earlier and was confident he would find an ideal match one day. At the time, she was renting an apartment on the Upper West Side; he owned a unit in Greenwich Village, where the couple currently lives. The two chatted, and before they left, Mr. Evans, emboldened by Ms. Overmyer's obvious attempt to set them up, asked Ms. Sandefur for her phone number. He texted her a week later to invite her out. Their first date was in early January at Asset, a restaurant on the Upper West Side, where drinks turned into four hours of dinner and conversation. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Experts suggest school holidays shake-up
Researchers in the South West have suggested school summer holidays should be shortened, along with lengthening half-terms. A report on tackling post-pandemic education inequalities, which forms part of a project funded by the Nuffield Foundation, said it was time to consider a reform to school calendars. Experts in the report said reducing the six-week summer holiday to four weeks and introducing an extra week to half-term breaks could help tackle "educational divides" which have grown since the Covid-19 pandemic. The Department for Education said the academic year was structured to provide plenty of time for holidays and schools had flexibility to plan term dates. Experts said they believed benefits achieved through changing the holiday structure would include balancing out childcare costs for parents and improving the wellbeing of pupils and teachers. The report also said spreading the holidays more evenly across the academic year could prevent "learning loss" - a term experts used to describe difficulties pupils when going back to school after the summer break. More news stories for Cornwall Listen to the latest news for Cornwall Prof Lee Elliot Major, from the University of Exeter, one of the report's authors, said the structure of the academic year dated back to Victorian times and it was "time to review this". He said: "We need bold ideas and ultimately trying to find ways of levelling that education playing field so all children from all backgrounds can prosper in school." Mother-of-three Helen Eaton, who runs a blog called Cornwall with the Kids, said her family enjoyed the six weeks of summer holidays. However, she said she understood other families had different issues to deal with during the break and some changes to the structure could be beneficial. Ms Eaton said: "I know a lot of people in Cornwall work in the tourism industry, so maybe when it's quieter at Christmas or October, it might benefit people to have an extra week off." She added her children - aged 11, eight and four - had been able to learn things during the holidays and put their skills from school into practice. "Sometimes you can go out and about and the children are actually learning all the time," Ms Eaton said. "They've learned how to paddleboard and fish, and sometimes you do an activity and maths and English come into that." Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ More on this story Should school summer holidays be shorter? The schools still deciding on two week half term Cost of summer holiday clubs rises to £1,076 a child Related internet links Nuffield Foundation Department for Education
