Submitted photo From left, Poland Township Trustees Ed Kempers and Joann Wollett and Poland Rotarian Mike Zembower present a check to Poland Township Park Manager Ken Filicky, as trustee Eric Ungaro and Poland Rotary president Megan Brocker look on during the trustees meeting Wednesday.

POLAND TOWNSHIP — At Wednesday’s trustees meeting, the Poland Rotary Club presented the township with a check for $1,250 to purchase another handicapped accessible park bench that will be placed in the park’s pavilion and is part of a continuing effort.

“We presently have four handicap accessible tables at the park,” said Poland Township Park Manager Ken Filicky. “This will make No. 5.”

He said the plan is to replace aging wooden benches with the new octagon benches that allow for a wheelchair to roll right up to it. He said during some events, all four of the current tables had wheelchairs at them, so there is a need for more.

The octagon tables have smaller attached benches that make it easier for an elderly or non-wheelchair handicapped person to easily sit and swing around on the seat. The tables purposely have one bench removed so a wheelchair can access the tables.

“Our goal is to replace one table each year with the octagon tables,” Filicky said.

He added the new benches are made of a hardened material that makes them maintenance free. He said they will never need to be painted, saving the park budget for other more pressing items.

“This is a fantastic donation to the park to purchase another handicap accessible picnic table,” said park board member Laurie Fox. “I hope more organizations will follow in their footsteps and consider donating a table so we can eventually have the pavilion filled with these tables that everyone loves.”

Poland Rotary president Megan Brocker told trustees in the meeting, “This year, when it came time for us to apply for a district grant, we decided to fill one of the needs at Township Park.”

The check will cover the cost of the bench and Filicky said the township will kick in the amount needed for shipping.

Fox also was able to give the park something special recently. She serves as president of the Poland Historical Society and through the efforts of the society’s America250 committee, a special flag now flies at the park. The flag is the official community flag for America’s 250th anniversary. Poland is one of three Valley communities to officially be part of next year’s celebration.

Filicky also mentioned two open seats on the Poland Township park committee. He said anyone interested in serving should submit a letter of interest to Poland Township Administrator Mark Covell at 3339 Dobbins Road, Poland, Oh., 44514, or can be emailed to mark.covell@polandtownship.gov by Oct. 1.

The Poland Township park committee is a trustee-appointed advisory committee that meets monthly to discuss park-related issues and make recommendations to township trustees.

“We are looking for people interested in the outdoors,” Filicky said. “Potential candidates can be from Poland Township or Poland Village. We’ll even consider residents from Lowellville and Boardman Township.”