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ROBBINSVILLE: It’s Playground No. 3 by a landslide

By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — Chalk this one up to a hands-on lesson in the democratic process and the power of second-graders’ pencils.
   Mayor Dave Fried and the Township Council received an ear-splitting reception worthy of rock stars last week as they unveiled three playground proposals to 169 excited 8-year-olds at Sharon Elementary School who were about to vote for the design they wanted to see built at Tantum Park this summer.
   A recent classroom persuasive writing assignment had prompted some of the school’s second-graders to put pencil to paper to lobby the mayor for more park playgrounds in town. To their astonishment, it actually worked. The kids were not only getting a new playground, they also were getting to pick the design.
   ”This all started because you wrote really persuasive letters,” Assistant Principal Nicole Bootier told the children April 6 as the gym buzzed in anticipation of the balloting that was about to begin. “Look at what you have accomplished.”
   Pundits observing the mood of the electorate had no difficulty predicting the eventual winner, even before the first vote was even dropped into the ballot box.
   Throngs of children congregated around the mounted poster of Playground No. 3, whose platform tree house, double-swoosh slide, mushroom steps, crawl tunnel, chin-up bars and “talk tubes” apparently resonated with the young voters. Playground No. 1 and No. 2, displayed on nearby easels, received only a cursory glance from most of the students as they filed past on their way to vote.
   Early exit polls also pointed to a landslide victory for Playground No. 3.
   Second-grader Robert Chianese said he voted for No. 3 because it offered “talk tubes” — an oversized 21st-century plastic version of the old tin-cans-on-a-string game that enables children on one side of the playground to hear and speak to the children on the other side of the playground.
   ”Me and my friend Mark like it because we will be able to spy on the girls and listen to what they are talking about,” Robert explained.
   When asked why the boys want to know what the girls are saying, Robert didn’t miss a beat.
   ”Because they’re talking about us!”
   Other voters said they supported No. 3 because it offered more choices for fun fitness.
   ”I liked No. 3 because it has so many different things,” Matthias McLaughlin said. “It has steps and a chin-up bar,” he pointed out.
   As the students waited for the votes to be counted, Township Recreation Director Chris Merias talked about the next election on April 27 that will determine the design of a monkey-bars-style playground planned for Pond Road Middle School. Although the K-3 Sharon School already has its own playground, the 1,107 students in grades 4-8 at Pond have only a few outdoor basketball hoops.
   The “monkey-bars” balloting on April 27 is part of Project Democracy and is open to children in K-5 at Sharon Elementary School and Pond Road Middle School who accompany their parents to vote in the school budget election that is taking place the same day between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. The playground is not part of the school budget, and is being paid for with township and county funds.
   Judging by students’ reaction to Mr. Merias’ illustrations of the Pond Road playground proposals, Money Bars No. 1 appears to be the front-runner in the April 27 contest — at least among the second-grade voters.
   After the ballots were finally tallied for the new Tantum Park playground design, Robbinsville Assistant Business Administrator Joy Tozzi made it official with the announcement that Playground No. 3 had won with 85 percent of the vote. The gymnasium erupted into exuberant cheering upon hearing the news.
   The new Tantum Park playground will cost about $45,000 and be paid for with township funds and a county matching grant, according to Township Business Administrator Tim McGough. The playground will be built on the west end of the park next to a softball field and the Thomas J. May Nature Trail.
   ”When we do the ribbon-cutting, we’re going to invite all of you to come,” Mayor Fried promised the second-graders.