Page 19 - 2018 TR Explore White County

EXPLORE WHITE COUNTY • ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE THREE RIVERS EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
SUNDAY, JULY 29, 2018 19SS
very popular. Other parks include Daniel Park, which has a pavilion and a gazebo, and Fireman’s Park, which has a large playground and a pavilion.
“It’s very important to have something for the kids to do now,” he said. “I think [the parks] are a vital part of Beebe.”
SEARCY
e residents of Searcy are getting ready to reach new heights. e Parks and Recreation Department is constructing a new HyPar Net playground at the Searcy Events Center. Parks and Recreation Director Mike Parsons said the new playground equipment will have more of a “Ninja Warrior” atmosphere than traditional playground equipment.
“All of our parks have recently updated playgrounds except one,” he said. “All of our playgrounds are aimed at younger children. We’ve had a lot of requests from adolescents and older kids and even adults to make something they could use also. It pushed us in that direction.”
In February, the Searcy Parks and Recreation Department took over the Rialto Movie Theater in downtown Searcy. The landmark structure shows second-run movies each night, and Parsons said that taking over the theater was a challenge for the department, but the reception from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.
“We’ve had almost 10,000 people come through [the theater] since February,” he said. “It’s definitely a learning experience, but the community has really embraced it and gotten on board with it.”
e new Searcy Swim Center opened at the end of October. Parsons said the swim center has become a popular destination in the city. He said that by this time, the department was expecting maybe 2,000 to 4,000 members but that the swim center has more than 7,000 members.
“There was a need for it [in the commu- nity],” he said.
e Searcy Swim Center has an indoor, eight-lane multipurpose competition pool and an indoor therapy pool. Outside, there is a zero-depth-entry pool as well. Parsons said that in the future, he hopes the outdoor area can be expanded.
ROSE BUD
A new Veterans Memorial was added to Rose Bud City Park last year. e memorial, which includes two benches, two flagpoles and a monument, honors the veterans who served in the United States military and
SEE PARKS ON PAGE 20SS