Committee elects officers, sets show date

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DEXTER — The Dexter Community Playground Committee met last week and elected new officers for 2014 and set March 29 and April 5 as the dates for their annual talent show.
  Officers are Sue Hill, president; Melody Stanhope, vice president; Sue Arsenault, secretary; Amy Young, assistant secretary; Debbie Tibbetts, treasurer; and Beth Wintle, media coordinator.

    “Mel (Stanhope) did an excellent job as president,” said Hill, “and we’re delighted that she’s staying active on the committee.”
    Hill said the meeting was very productive. “We have got a group that really works well together. Everybody came up with some great ideas,” she added.
    The Dexter Community Playground Committee was formed a few years ago to replace 20 year-old equipment made from pressure-treated lumber. While the old “creative playgrounds” were popular in the 1970s and 80s, many of them deteriorated over the years and became unsafe for kids to play on.
    The committee has raised $52,000 for new equipment so far, which includes an allocation from the Dexter municipal budget, some corporate donations and various grants. Local contractors “have been a huge help with their donated labor” putting up some of the new equipment, Hill said. A family fun day in September drew a nice crowd to Crosby Park to show off some of the new swing sets, climbing bars and other equipment.
    Last year’s talent show, named Heart of Maine Idol, was the single-biggest fund raiser hosted by the committee, Hill said, and brought in $5,000. “Letters are going on to prospective sponsors right now,” she said.
    The show is for youngsters in grades K-12 and includes a semifinal contest on March 29 and finals on April 5, both at Ridge View Community School in Dexter. It’s a judged competition for all kinds of talent, Hill said. “You don’t have to be a musician or singer. One winner last year was a magician and one did a hula hoop dance,” she said.
    Hill said that the committee’s major goal is to get all the equipment purchased and installed this year. “I know it’s nice to think about planning for the town’s future, this is something we’ve already started,” said Hill. “So we really need the community’s support. We’re also looking at some options to repair the gazebo in the park as well.”
    The next meeting of the Dexter Community Playground Committee will be Wednesday, Feb. 5 at Hill’s residence on Abbot Hill and updates will be posted on the committee’s Facebook page.
    For more information about the talent show, contact Wintle at 924-3564.