Big brothers – not the George Orwell kind, but the older sibling kind – are expected to give their little brothers and sisters a hard time, but defend them against all comers the rest of the time.
At least that’s how I’ve always thought a big brother must be, because as an only child, that’s what it always looked like from the outside. In Parker Buccowich’s case, seeing a way to look out for his little sister, turned out to be a way to look out for a lot of other people’s younger siblings as well.
Last year, when he would drop off his little sister at the new charter school, Mountain Middle School, while en route to his own day at Durango High School, he would notice that the play area was in pretty rough shape.
He heard stories of “cheese grater” elbows and knees when kids had a mishap on the ragged asphalt, with at least one injury requiring stitches.
Parker, 16, decided to do something about it. So he spent almost 70 hours, almost two full work weeks, of his summer working to fix the problem.
He drafted a proposal, sold the idea to the charter school’s board meeting, got price quotes, raised money, including selling items at the flea market, hired a contractor, and kept everyone involved in the loop. He was so persuasive, Parker managed to convince Tom Crabb of AAP Asphalt to discount his time and labor for the project.
Parker’s goal, of course, was to have the new play area paved and ready to go when school started Monday. And he got thiiiis close. All that’s left to finish is some colorful painting and the project is finis.
He is still looking for some funding to finish the project and some volunteers to complete the paint job.
To contact Parker to volunteer, call 749-7643. Tax-deductible donations may be mailed to Mountain Middle School, 108 W. 31st St., Durango, CO 81301. Put playground in the memo line.
As I’ve said before, the best way to encourage young people to get involved in and make a difference in our community is to help them when they go for it. It won’t take much to put Parker over the top.
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Counting down to their birthdays and the end of summer at the same time are Joanie Thomas
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These couples are mixing up a pitcher of icy sangría for their summer anniversaries – Terry and Diane Sadler, Peter and Liza Tregillus,
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Here’s how to reach me: neighbors@durangoherald.com; phone 375-4584; mail items to the Herald; or drop them off at the front desk. Please include contact names and phone numbers for all items.
I am happy to consider photos for Neighbors, but they must be high-quality, high-resolution photos (at least 1 MB of memory) and include no more than three to five people. I need to know who’s who, left to right, and who to credit with the photo. Candid photos are better than posed, and photos should be submitted as .jpg or .tif attachments.
