Highland will use grant to replace remnants of playground once burned by arsonist

Highland is one of 25 cities nationwide to receive funds for hometown improvements from T-Mobile.

This week T-Mobile announced its latest slate of Hometown Grant recipients, which is a program totaling more than $25 million over five years to towns with fewer than 50,000 residents.

Highland received one of the grants to create a new playground at Silver Lake Park with ropes, logs, boulders and other elements of nature incorporated into it.

“This new playground will have a major impact that goes so much further than just a place for families to play together,” said Mark Rosen, director of parks and recreation. “It is a playground that will ignite imagination, break down social barriers, improve physical fitness, and allow children the opportunity to discover the many aspects of nature.”

The bid for the playground was $105,439 from Hutchinson Recreation and Design. The T-Mobile grant will cover $45,000 and Highland also received a $40,000 grant from the Madison County PEP program, Rosen said.

Silver Lake Park, located on Highland Park Road, is the largest park in Highland. Its playground was burned by arson in the early 2000s, and its remains were removed after the incident. What equipment remained has aged in the years since.

Rantoul, Illinois also received a grant to preserve railroad, agriculture and military history by installing interactive sculptures and murals throughout its Downtown Streetscape Project.

Other towns that received grants include Independence, Iowa; Mount Shasta, Calif.; Springville, Ala.; Hagerstown, Md.; Lovington, N.M. and many others.

“Highland has always benefited from philanthropic people and I am beyond thrilled to know that T-Mobile shares that philosophy to make such a tremendous effort to recognize the financial and social impact this very generous grant has on smaller communities,” Rosen said.

Last year, Highland also sought to add an ADA-friendly playground to Hoffman Park.