WAIMEA — Lt. Col. Christopher Marquez, commander of Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA), oversaw the demolition of Anuenue Playground Wednesday and Thursday with the help of 27 soldiers and firefighters.
A new, safer structure will be built in the cleared area beginning Oct. 23, with a projected completion Oct. 29 following a blessing ceremony that evening at 5 p.m.
“We learned about the project six weeks ago and are always looking for opportunities in the community,” Marquez said. “This was a unique one that we had the skill sets to be able to support.”
The PTA volunteers also helped Friends of Anuenue Playground save on labor costs.
“Soldiers visit the Big Island on a rotational basis training, and employees we have at PTA are mostly civilians and members of the community throughout the island,” Marquez said. “Some who live in Waimea have actually played on this playground and their kids have played on it too, so it’s really good project for us.”
The soldiers also helped clean up the area Friday. This is one of many volunteer projects PTA has supported over the years.
“We assisted Waimea Elementary School in moving furniture and things out of the building last year, and the middle school at the recent Fun Run/Walk fundraising event,” Marquez said. “We’ve got over 12,000 soldiers and Marines that rotate, so that’s a lot of strong backs and young men and women to come help.”