subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Mon, Nov 09 2009 

Published: June 27, 2008 07:06 am    print this story  

SPLISH, SPLASH

Library Commons open for enjoyment

By MIKE JAMES - The Independent

ASHLAND The Library Commons opened with a splash Thursday.

The splash came when city workers turned on the water in the centerpiece interactive fountain, seconds after Mayor Steve Gilmore stepped away from a podium in its center.

Summer school students from nearby Crabbe Elementary School romped in the fountain while city and library officials and staffers mingled on the commons, an expanse of winding walkways among newly planted trees and shrubs. Benches and tables invite patrons and parkgoers to relax with a book or a lunch.

“It’s the perfect addition from the park to the library,” said library director Debbie Cosper.

The commons is a joint project of the library and the city park board and has been a part of the park’s master plan for close to two decades. Work began in 2006 on the commons, designed as a transition between the library reading garden and the park.

The city provided labor and materials while the library kicked in some funding.

“It has exceeded what I had hoped for,” exulted Gilmore, a longtime member of the park board who pushed to get the commons completed before he leaves office in July to take over as Ashland superintendent of schools. “It’s a wonderful addition to the park, a place to sit, contemplate, read and relax.”

Cosper said one of the first things she noticed about Central Park when she first came to Ashland was its relative lack of places to sit and relax. “Now we have a place to sit ... It’s a people place.”

Also jubilant was landscape architect Kim Jenkins, who designed the commons. “It couldn’t have turned out any better,” she said, watching the children splash about in the fountain.

Jenkins designed the fountain to be interactive. Rather than a raised pool of water, the fountain is more like a rounded extension of the walkway, with a smooth surface patterned into a compass rose. Jets of water squirt intermittently around the perimeter.

The nozzles are fully programmable, and can be set up to spray in sequence, but on Thursday they were set to jet on and off at random, making it a game for children and risky for adults such as Gilmore, who ventured back in clad in his business suit.

“It’s not just to look at, it’s to experience. That’s what makes it interactive,” Jenkins said.

“It was nice to let us run in it and it was so fun to be in that fountain,” said 10-year-old Brandon McClave, one of the Crabbe students.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.

print this story  

Photos


Shannon Monroe, 9, cools off Thursday in the new fountain during a dedication of the Library Commons. John Flavell/The Indepdendent (Click for larger image)


Students from Crabbe Elementary School try out the fountain in the new Library Commons Thursday. John Flavell/The Indepdendent (Click for larger image)


Nineteen-month-old Brian Church reaches out for a stream of water Thursday during a dedication of the new Library Commons at the Boyd County LIbrary. John Flavell/The Indepdendent (Click for larger image)



autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premier Guide
Premium Jobs

WURTLAND NURSING & REHABILITATION CENTER
Is now accepting
applications for

LPN

Join our team of
compassionate,
energetic
...>MORE

ADMINISTRATIVE POSITION - F/T
Nights/Wknds required
Email resume to:
cindyc@paramountartscenter.com
No phone calls please.
...>MORE

CALL CENTER POSITIONS
INFOCISION IS HIRING!
Start making money
for the holidays!
Weekly Paychecks
•$10.00 an hr. night sh
...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Cars, RVs and Boats

BOAT MOTOR
MERCURY MOTOR- ‘98/99, 200 hp Optimax, exc. cond, $3500. 928-5415...>MORE

CHEROKEE
2000 Jeep, runs and looks great, $4995. 606-836-4020 or 606-923-4137....>MORE

CHEVY STEPSIDE
1993, 4WD, 5 spd., V6, $3,000 OBO. 606-922-6312. ...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Real Estate

GREENUP HOME FOR SALE
3 BR, new windows & metal roof, $32,000. 740-646-3491....>MORE

BELLEFONTE HOME FOR SALE
5 BR, 2 BA, 2 lg. gar., lg. ing. pool, 1.2+ ac. $209k. 324-5050...>MORE

ASHLAND HOME FOR SALE BY OWNER
By Central Park. 706 15th St., 3 BR, 2 BA, hwd. floors, $125,000.00 obo. 859-497-1079 ...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Deal of the Day

Saint Bernard Pups
AKC Shots & wormed, $400-$450. 606-474-4316....>MORE

FIREWOOD FOR SALE
1 Full Rick
Call 606-923-0717
...>MORE

MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE
Bow Flex TC5000 tread climber $1,000. Mini bike $225 Like new! 232-6433...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index