Sep 23, 2016 3 min read

Minutes after the ceremonial shovels were put aside, Joyce Ellis discussed playing fields – real and metaphorical.

“I’m beyond excited to give our kids a chance to level the playing field,” she said Friday, her smile complementing the morning sun. “All of our programs are directed to give our kids the programs that kids in wealthy communities have.

“That is leveling the playing field.”

Ellis is executive director of LeMoyne Community Center, whose mission, according to its website, “is developing, shaping, defining and stabilizing our community with education, arts, health and recreational programs.”

The recreation aspect held sway Friday, as ground was broken for an intergenerational sports arena project outside the facility straddling the Washington/East Washington line. Work will begin in early October with a pre-Halloween target for completion.

No true arena will be built, but the project will entail a playground and more – an upgrade of current outdoor recreational facilities. The work is funded by $150,000 from Washington County Local Share Account, which is administered by the county Redevelopment Authority.

At age 60, LeMoyne is experiencing a much-needed makeover.

Ellis, who has been running the center for eight years, said the rec area will be “handicapped-accessible and available to all ages – 1 to 90.”

Features will include new pieces of rec equipment, which still have to be purchased; separate areas for teens and toddlers, with teens getting five fitness stations; six swings and two “baby swings” replacing the old swing set; a basketball court with four hoops instead of two, while being repurposed for multiple use (tennis, badminton, lacrosse); and a senior walking trail.

Jeffrey Associates of Indiana Township, Allegheny County, was awarded a $103,000 contract for the new play equipment and accessibility upgrades, including a ramp. Connor Sport Court of Pittsburgh got a contract for $29,400 to construct the multipurpose court.

Two Pennsylvania legislators were on hand to assess the project and to wield the groundbreaking shovels. They gave profound endorsements.

“This playground is going to be spectacular,” said state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township. “Having a multigenerational facility brings a community together. We’re losing that in Southwestern Pennsylvania. This is a facility that will ignite that again.”

“You will see toddlers to millennials to baby boomers to the greatest generation using this,” said state Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane Township. “The center is not only about fun. You can learn school subjects, learn about the global job market and get a meal in a safe place.”

LeMoyne Community Center, which relies heavily on donations, offers a lot of programs to youths – a lot of youths, according to Ellis. She said Camp Challenge, an eight-week summer program for kindergartners through 12th-graders, drew 180 this year; the homework program averaged 70 to 90 per day; and the 2015 meals program provided nourishment to 400 a day.

Friday’s event focused on opportunities for young people at the facility – but not entirely. This was multigenerational.