Log Cabin Democrat Local News:ILS breaks ground on recreational space 10/30/98

Published Friday, October 30, 1998

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Friday, October 30, 1998 Standing in front of shovels decorated with ld ribbons, ILS director Peggy Schneider discusses the park and ground breaking ceremonies.MIKE KEMP PhotoILS breaks ground on recreational space

Clients to benefit from new park on Hubbard Street

Last modified at 1:07 p.m. on Friday, October 30, 1998

By FRED PETRUCELLI

Log Cabin Staff Writer

The axiom that says recreation fills the body and soul is being put into play with the building of a park for adults with developmental disabilities.

Ground breaking for the green space at the rear of the Creative Living home on Hubbard Street, and directed by Independent Living Services, was held Thursday amid pomp and ceremony reserved for a unique undertaking.

Patsy Cormier, an honoree at the ceremony, said of the project: "It's important to have recreational facilities for everyone, no matter their limitations."

It was a poignant reference to the fact that people who will make use of the recreational elements of the park are disabled.

It further makes the point that individuals who live with handicaps are entitled to live with the highest possible level of independence.

"There is nothing like this park around here," said Mrs. Cormier. She, along with her children Michelle and Philip Collins and Monique and Junior Kelly -- plus the United Way of Faulkner County and the Foundation for Independent Living -- provided the funding for the park.

It was announced at the ground breaking that Hambuchen Construction Co. has agreed to donate labor for the construction of a gazebo.

The park is expected to be completed by the spring. Its design, a gift from Scott Thornton, will feature a wheelchair-accessible gazebo, wide, paved paths for wheelchairs, a basketball court, a bird-feeding station, and a waterfall in a setting of trees, shrubs and flowers.

The area also will include a practice area for ILS ball teams.

ILS Executive Director Peggy Schneider spoke glowingly about the project as friends, benefactors of the agency, and many of its clients looked on. Mrs. Schneider described plans for the park and displayed the designer's plans.

Looking on with keen interest were both mayoral candidates, Ancil Lee and Tab Townsell, and ILS board members Charles Nabholz, Nancy Williams, Allen Lipsmeyer and Mrs. Artie Jones.

Thornton described the proposed park as one for smells and touch. He was allowed to use his imagination in the design, bringing into action plans he has harbored for years for such a facility.

"This will not be a conventional park, with swings and such," he said. "It will be built for the residents here and for their use. It will be unique, with flowers and plants abounding."

A reception followed in the home of Jamie Robinson, Deanna Dallas, Debbie Bradley and Susan Gordon, clients of ILS.

ILS is a nonprofit agency serving about 110 adults with developmental disabilities, including epilepsy, autism, cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Services include three supervised group living homes, a comprehensive care community home, a supervised apartment complex and an educational day-treatment program.

ILS also provides transportation services, personal care, and a follow-along counseling service to help individuals and families who live outside ILS facilities.

The goal of these programs, says Mrs. Schneider, aims at comforting these individuals with disabilities and helping them attain levels of independence.

In 28 years of operation, ILS has provided services to more than 300 people. Many ILS clients have been successful in achieving independence and are now self-supporting, active members of the community.

"ILS's purpose has always been to make life better for the people with developmental disabilities," Mrs. Schneider said. "Today we take a giant step in that direction by creating a beautiful garden/park."

From a whim expressed by local volunteers who felt constrained to make life easier for the disabled, ILS came into being. In 1970, ILS was created as a nonprofit organization to provide community homes and independent living for Conway residents with developmental defects. (A developmental disability is defined as a disability that begins before age 22 and includes a wide range of problems.)

What ILS has done in the intervening years is provide people with disabilities a chance to become more self-directed.

Many residents, through ILS instruction, are learning skills that allow them to become self supporting with a job and an apartment of their own.

There are those who may need to remain in sheltered living situations during their lifetime, but they receive training to help them attain their highest degree of independence.

Mrs. Schneider and the ILS board of directors consider the agency an integral part of Conway. ILS has grown from a starting budget of $12,000 to a current annual budget of more than $1.4 million. And since the bulk of this money, in addition to the spending by its residents, is expended locally, ILS is a contributor toward the economic growth of the city.

"Conway has been supportive over the years," Mrs. Schneider said. "ILS looks forward to continued growth with Conway by virtue of its wonderful support."

Log Cabin Democrat

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