As activities by the Restoration and Beautification Committee of Columbiana continue in a safe fashion at Firestone Park, Jay Brothers has been hired through a Tingle Family endowment to maintain all the new planting and structures coming in 2020 and 2021. Harvey, a fourteen-week-old Golden Retriever, will accompany Jay on his daily tasks, most often riding in the new “Gator.”

We hope the Firestones will be pleased that he bears the founder’s name and serves as a mascot for the park. Jay, a native of Columbiana, brings over 30 years experience as a golf course turf management supervisor and landscape supervisor in Florida. As a youth, he grew up in the park and has a true “heart” for the work he will be doing as the renovation moves forward. Jay will be in charge of maintaining the lake itself, working with Aqua Doc, and also managing the mulching, weeding, spraying and annual plantings around the lake for Summer 2020. He will also be working with park staff on several projects which began in March, including the rehabilitation of the playground equipment at Pavilion 1 (Oak Grove Pavilion) and Pavilion 2 (Maple Grove Pavilion).

New swings were ordered, poles will be sanded and painted, mulch has been added and new see-saws have been constructed, making the playgrounds more safe and improved for our area youngsters who love to swing and see-saw.  A new playground was installed in 2019 at Pavilion 3, the Spruce Tunnel Grove Pavilion, and park officials noted it has been quite popular with the public since its inception. Additional restoration activity is slated for the future when more donations come in to continue working on the playgrounds. Donations in various forms to keep the renovation at the park going, can be made on this site. Contact with the R & B Committee can be made at info@restorecolumbiana.com