Dozens of Clearview Elementary students gathered at Spring Street Park Tuesday try their hand at decorating the park.

 

Literally.

 

Beginning at 8:45 a.m., busloads of schoolkids were brought to the park where the Clearwater Park Commission had set up trays of acrylic paint.

 

The kids’ job: Place their hands in the paint and put their handprints on the wall.

 

The community art project was the idea of the Park Commission, whose main goal was to find a way to cover the unsightly concrete retaining wall built last year. They discussed hiring someone to paint a mural. Then the idea of handprints won over, and then it was time to get the kids involved.

 

City Administrator Kevin Kress and April Vasecka of the park commission approached Clearview Principial Sheri Rutar about letting the students help.

 

“She said, definitely,” said Kress.

 

Tuesday morning as each busload arrived, kids lined up in groups and started putting handprints on the wall. When they were done, they took the opportunity during their half-hour shift to play on the basketball courts, swings and new playground equipment just installed last year.

 

It didn’t take long for the wall to get filled with handprints in red, green, blue and yellow. Some kids even printed their names below.

 

The middle section of the wall was covered with a tarp to remain untouched. Kress said the park commission is contacting someone to paint a mural there.

 

And another concrete wall will be painted with black chalkboard paint, so kids can write in chalk.

 

Councilman Vern Scott, also a member of the park commission, said the concrete walls were primed so they can be easily washed later if there is any vandalism.

 

When all the artwork is done, the wall will be sealed again to protect it.

 

“It will last,” said Kress. “If anyone writes on it we can wipe it off.”

 

Also coming to the park is a concrete walkway that slopes up the hill to a new pavilion. That pavilion will have a concrete pad and two picnic tables, making it a comfortable park for parents and kids.

 

Kress said now that the weather is better, there should be lots of activity as the public works crew is ready to install new playground equipment in Riverside Park and Sportsman’s Park.

Next school year, the city will be looking to set up mini-classes for the Clearview students in disc golf and archery. 

 

“We’d like to get more of the students to come on a filed trip to different parks in our community,” said Kress.