Cutting the ribbon at Lion's Park

OSBURN — The Lion’s Park in Osburn is officially open to be played upon.

Lion’s Park Playground Committee (LPPC) members and sponsors gathered and excitedly cut the red ribbon during a grand reopening celebration on Friday afternoon.

Big names and important faces showed up for the celebration as Shoshone County Commissioners Jay Huber and John Hansen joined Osburn Mayor Kip McGillivray, as well as representation from Mountain West Bank, Dave Smith, and Avista, who have all been park sponsors.

Due to weather conditions, the festivities originally scheduled for the grand opening were pushed to the spring — which will only continue the celebration of the hard work that has been put in by members of the community.

LPPC, with Jenna Grant-Arthun at the forefront, has transformed the park with playground equipment from PlayCreation, which was built by community volunteers in September, including new colorful new swings, slides, monkey bars and climbing structures.

Osburn Library Director Jamee Sperry also unveiled the Free Little Library and filled it with books for readers of all ages. Community members can take and contribute books to keep the library stocked and versatile.

The park will eventually feature a Fitness Court to be installed in the spring of 2023.

The Fitness Court is a Silver Valley Economic Development Corporation project with Director Paige Olsen, who is also on the LPPC. The court was fully funded by donors and August's national fitness campaign grant.

The overall mission of the national fitness campaign is to bring free fitness everywhere. The court has shock-resistance sports flooring, allowing up to 28 people to exercise on it.

This will be the second Fitness Court installed in the Silver Valley, joining the the existing facility in Smelterville by SMC Family Medicine.

“We are hoping to get the ground prep and concrete slab poured while we have nice weather. Because of the finicky nature of the base tiles, and adhesive used, the weather has to stay about 50 degrees to install. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature,” Olsen said. “Either way, it is going to be an amazing addition to the park!”

Olsen and Grant-Arthurn are working to secure more funding to make the park more accessible and inclusive, with Olsen saying, “We’ve been involved with the revitalization of Lion’s Park as a whole. The community build was a labor of love, and we’ve been super rewarded to see our little park return to life.”