STUDENT STANDOUT — On Tuesday, the Brooke County Board of Education recognized Gavin Burns, center, for receiving the West Virginia Council for Exceptional Children’s Yes I Can School and Community Award. With him are Superintendent Jeffrey Crook and Kathryn Young, a Brooke County teacher whose pre-school students with special needs have been aided by Burns. -- Warren Scott

WELLSBURG — An athletic and playground facility designed for people with disabilities as well as many others and a Brooke High School student who has taken time to assist children with their own special needs were the focus of Tuesday’s meeting of the Brooke County Board of Education. 

The board heard from Thomas Way, executive director of The Miracle League of the Northern Ohio Valley, a nonprofit group that has approached it about building a ball field and playground designed to accommodate youth with physical or intellectual disabilities near the high school. 

Superintendent Jeffrey Crook said, following the meeting, an area near the school’s baseball and soccer fields is being eyed for the new facilities, for which private donations will be sought by the school district and the organization itself. 

“We’re not looking to pull it from our budget,” Crook said, adding, “We’re going to do it the right way, where it won’t cost taxpayer money.” 

He confirmed while the board approved $5,000 for preliminary designs for the project, it hasn’t OK’ed the project itself. 

The nonprofit organization proposed a field and playground, with an estimated cost of $2.6 million, to the Weirton park board in August. 

Proposals in recent years to build such facilities there and in Steubenville have stalled, with lack of space and funding being cited as key reasons. 

But hundreds of Miracle League fields have been built in other places in the U.S., including Wheeling, as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico. 

Way told the board there are more than 15,000 people in the tri-county region who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability, and such a field and park would give them an opportunity to play sports and enjoy playground equipment that also may be used by others. 

He said a regional study found that 46 percent of grandparents are caring for their grandchildren, with 32 percent putting in 25 hours or more.  

But many don’t take their grandchildren to local parks because they are difficult for senior citizens to traverse, he said, making the handicap-accessible surfaces of the Miracle Field and playground attractive to them as well. 

Way said local parks help to raise property values as well as promoting health and fitness, and park patrons with special needs normally bring others with them, which can boost the local economy. 

But he stressed the reason for the organization’s existence is the desire to make athletics and play available to those with physical or mental challenges. 

“One of the things we believe is every child should have a chance to play,” said Way. 

He presented conceptual designs for a recreational complex that would include a dual 20 foot slide, two-rail zipline, 40 yard dash course, handicap accessible swings and a baseball field on which kickball and whiffle ball also could be played. 

Way said the organization has worked with other groups to bring soccer and rugby clinics for those with disabilities. 

Asked about restrooms, Way said he and Crook have considered a family-style restroom with changing table. 

Crook said the project is still in the planning stages and that includes fundraising.  

He said it’s part of a series of improvements being pursued for the high school campus, including upgrades to the tennis court and athletic track that have been completed and improvements eyed for the school’s auditorium and science rooms. 

Crook said the Miracle Field and playground would be a strong selling point for the school district in attracting students at a time when open enrollment has expanded. 

He told the board, “We want the best for our kids and this will get us there.” 

Crook added, “This is all just preliminary. We have a long way to go, but we’re going to get there.” 

The board also recognized Gavin Burns, a sophomore at the high school, for receiving the West Virginia Council for Exceptional Children’s Yes I Can Award School and Community Award. 

Kathryn Young, who teaches pre-schoolers with special needs, said Burns, who is on the autism spectrum, had been one of her pupils but today, he assists her class. 

“Not only is he kind and patient with our students, but he brings joy into our classroom just by stepping foot inside,” wrote Young in her nomination of Burns for the award. 

“He is able to remember all of their names and he has figured how to communicate with students even when they are nonverbal.

“He is constantly absorbing information by observing how students learn and grasping concepts of child development,” she said. 

Young added that not only is Burns polite, he sits down to play with them, helping them to learn appropriate behavior. 

Burns told the board he wouldn’t be where he is today if not for his own instruction from Young. He also thanked the board for recognizing him.