Rutherford Park receives equipment upgrade

Thanks to funding and assistance by Healthy Schools Healthy Communities (HSHC) and other area organizations and individuals, Houston’s Rutherford Park has recently been outfitted with numerous pieces of equipment related to health and fitness.

Included in the gear is a 12-piece “boot camp in-ground outdoor gym” designed for people ages 13-and-up. Also in place is a set of playground equipment and a pair of molded bucket swings, all designed for kids ages 2-12. The bucket swings are for children of all abilities, including handicapped children.

The boot camp set is mounted in a rubberized “pour-and-place” surface and features everything from leg-press and back-extension machines to stations designed for doing chin-ups and push-ups.

HSHC area wellness coordinator Earlene Stoops said Elaine Campbell, of Downtown Houston Inc., obtained funding from the Department of Natural Resources Land and Water Conservation Grant to purchase the playground equipment. Stoops negotiated such that HSHC would fund everything for the boot camp, rubberized surfacing and the molded bucket swings if they would pay a contractor to install the playground equipment (that had been in storage for two years) and the bucket swings.  The City of Houston parks and recreation department also helped fund installation of the boot camp gear.

The molded bucket swings are the result of a suggestion made by Houston resident Kelly Hill, whose 6-year-old grandson, Landon Chapman, was born with a rare condition called anthrogryposis.

“I asked for suggestions on Facebook for anything that could get our kids kindergarten through eighth-grade up and moving,” Stoops said. “You could see that a lot of people saw it, but not one person replied except her. She said she would like to see one of these come to the park because of her disabled grandson.”

Stoops also oversees HSHC activities in Cabool, and a set of bucket swings was also installed at that community’s Big Piney Recreation Area.

Stoops said the eventual outcome of the park’s makeover was great.

“It was worth every penny that went into it,” she said. “This has been a dream of mine for a long time, to have a place where everyone could be physically active. I couldn’t be happier.”

HSHC is an initiative of the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) primarily designed to address the national trend of childhood weight issues. The MFH was formed in February 2000 as a result of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s changeover from a nonprofit to for-profit company, because federal law requires that proceeds from the sale of tax-exempt entities be directed toward charitable purposes.

In Texas County, HSHC was first headquartered at the Cabool YMCA, but is now located at the Texas County Health Department on North U.S. 63. HSHC’s goal is offering people options that promote healthier living and stronger family foundations.

“Strong families build stronger communities,” Stoops said. “If we work together to be strong and united, yet we’re also physically strong, we become a strong community. And healthier, too.”

Stoops said several City of Houston employees were instrumental in helping move the Rutherford Park project forward, including parks and recreation director Drew Jordan, workers with grounds and electrical departments and former city administrator Larry Sutton.

Rutherford Park is on Westwood Drive, on the west side of Houston Memorial Airport. Visitors are advised that the park has no restrooms, except during months when youth soccer is being played and a single portable unit is brought in. Stoops said she is looking into the possibility of having a portable unit at the park during non-soccer months.

For more information, call Stoops at the Texas County Health Department at 417-967-4131.

“I’m always open to receiving suggestions,” Stoops said. “I love interaction and I don’t get enough of it.”