McDonough special-needs playground moving forward

The McDonough City Council voted recently to allow a local nonprofit to install about $300,000 in playground equipment at Big Spring Park, replacing an aging playground with a new facility built specifically for children with special needs.

The city will move the old equipment off the site and do some minor work at the park, with the rest of the cost covered by the organizers of HOPE Park, whose grand opening is scheduled for March 25.

The site will have new specialized pieces of equipment, accessible to children in wheelchairs and on walkers, installed on a bonded rubber surface. It will be divided into two or three age-appropriate areas. Organizers are working toward eventually building a special-needs school in Henry County at a location yet to be determined.