By Terri T. Johnson

Staff writer

ttjohnso@observer-reporter.com

Sylvia Bryant wishes someone would take responsibility for the oft-vandalized playground beside the LeMoyne Multi-Cultural Community Center in the Highland-Ridge area of Washington.

Swings missing seats sway in the breeze. Backboards without hoops or nets stand as silent sentries on an asphalt court where grass grows through the cracks. Adjacent is what was once a tennis court.

Maleik Meredith, 5, of Washington, is not afraid to whisk down a metal slide that is pulling away from a wooden play gym that leans precariously at diverse angles. He's just a kid who wants to enjoy summer.

But the conditions have Bryant, a member of the Neighborhood Drug Awareness Corps who is assigned to monitor the program at the LeMoyne Center, concerned.

Her husband, Ricardo Bryant, played at the playground in the 1970s.

"It wasn't this bad then, and I don't know what happened in the last 20 years or so," she said as she gazed across the barren area Monday afternoon. The NDAC neighborhood program also operates at other playgrounds around Washington.

Each day before the craft, play and lunch program begins, Bryant puts on gloves and picks up trash discarded the previous night. She's found birth control pills, dirty diapers, liquor bottles, broken glass and other items she chooses not to discuss. She's tired of throwing away cigarette butts and blunts used to smoke marijuana.

Joyce Elllis, executive director the LeMoyne Center, said no one is willing to take responsibility for the playground. She took over operation of the center, on Forrest Ave., about 18 months ago and has been diligent in trying to bring the area back to its original glory. The center, built in the 1950s, had been closed and fallen into disrepair before Ellis got involved.

"It's iffy who's responsible for the playground," Ellis said.

Washington City Councilman Terry L. Faust, who is in charge of the city's parks and public buildings, said the playground is not owned by the city.

The rear of the recreation center and the playground are in the city, Ellis said. The front of the center is in East Washington Borough, she added.

Like Bryant, she's upset with the wanton destruction. Portable basketball hoops were installed in previous years but taken down because there was no way to ensure they would stay in place once the sun set.

"Parents have complained there is no equipment to play on, and I tell them if they are willing, to give me one or two hours to protect the equipment. No one does," Ellis said.

Trevor Jones, 15, enjoys spending time at the center and playing basketball on the playground, even if there is no hoop or net.

"It's something to do in the summertime," Jones said. He will help as a mentor when the center starts a new program Aug. 1 once the NDAC's summer activities end. The center, Ellis said, will be open 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday through August, not only to provide recreation but to deter crime.

Nick Bryant, 17, is another of the mentors who spends time at the center.

"It keeps me busy," he said. He stays out of trouble by "staying with a different crowd."

Kashmere Patterson, 16, of Washington, is appalled at the vandalism she sees around the center and playground.

"Kids now are not raised to take care of things. Two or three kids just broke the window, and I called the police," Patterson said. "They don't care about anything. They just want to break things."

The center is kept afloat financially through grants.

"All I do is write grants," Ellis said. One she attempted to obtain for an after-school homework program was lost. Another to convert the old tennis court at the playground to a skateboard park was given elsewhere.

"The only one that has (a public skate park) is Peters Township, and these kids can't get there," Ellis said.

At 4 p.m. weekdays, the NDAC program ends. The rickety metal folding chairs placed outside in the morning are carried inside the center.

Anything that isn't bolted down is removed. The large metal table covered with graffiti under the lone barren wooden pavilion is chained and bolted to the concrete.

"I wish they had a secured area and fix this all up," Bryant said. "I'd come here myself."

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