Torched playground to be rebuilt

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) - The Pinewood Park playground, destroyed by arson on Thanksgiving morning, will be rebuilt and paid for with insurance money, Kentwood Mayor Richard Clanton said in a statement.

By the time firefighters arrived at the Kentwood playground around 1:15 a.m. Thursday morning, the wooden section was not able to be saved. The damaged section was immediately torn down.

Families showed up throughout Thanksgiving Day day, many unaware their playground was gone.

Not only was the park a family favorite in the area, it was built by many of the same people who used it every day. A few years ago neighbors pitched in to create the play structure.

"Everybody just came down and had a workday scheduled with a big trailer and a lot of the retired guys were down here with their big tools, it was great," Sherri Filson, a neighbor, told 24 Hour News 8 that night.

Clanton said many businesses and organizations also contributed to that project, and  "we will likely follow a similar format to rebuilding when the structure was built back in 2001." That includes holding an open house to solicit ideas for the playground design.

"We will see children climbing, playing, and laughing at this site once again in the next year," Clanton said in his statement.

The investigation into the arson continues.