Paxton sledding hill deemed too big
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A young child is pulled on a sled near Montrose Harbor in Chicago. (WLS Photo)
February 21, 2013 ( PAXTON, Ill.) -- A small town in eastern Illinois is losing its sledding hill because the city says it's just too big of a liability.
Kay McCabe is a member of the Park District board in Paxton. She tells The (Champaign) News-Gazette that the district's insurance company warned that costs would sharply rise if anyone had an accident on the hill in Coady Park.
Paxton is about 30 miles north of Champaign and sits in one of the flattest areas in Illinois. Places to ride a sled downhill in that part of the state are almost all manmade.
Park District Director Neal McKenry says he believes people will miss the hill but he hopes they get over the disappointment.
Workers have already started removing trees and other vegetation from the hill.
(Copyright ©2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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This article was in the Peoria Journal Star yesterday. I sat right up and took notice because Paxton is the little town where my children were born. Jim and I owned our own home there (with a garage 
I remember when the land was donated to the Paxton Park District by Ms Coady, thus the name of the park. I remember at the time that a good portion of the citizens of Paxton did not like the idea at all because of the raise on our taxes. And now it is coming down. And that is as the world turns.
I hope you are all having a peaceful weekend. Stay safe and be happy!!
Beth
I suppose the saying 'what goes around comes around' is so true!1 Over and over we see someone having a good idea and the next person saying it would be a good idea to undo whatever was done!! That's life!! Joan
ReplyDeleteWhat is this world coming to when the kids can't even have a hill to sled down? It's a very sad thing. Hope they find another place to sled at least. Sad sad.. Hope your weekend is a good one MINUS snow.. ;-) XOXO
ReplyDeleteI remember sledding as a kid - such fun. Too bad the kids in Paxton won't have a place to sled. We have become litigation -crazy in our society and it hasn't helped us. Hope you have a nice weekend. Stay warm.
ReplyDeletesimple pleasures taken away because of fears of lawsuits. we are just dumb humans, aren't we?
ReplyDeleteThat is kind of sad news, isn't it? We have fireman's hill here and they have talked about the liability but it still is open- xo Diana
ReplyDeleteIt's all about money, isn't it? That and fear of losing it with lawsuits. Whatever happened to good old fun for the sake of fun? I feel sorry that the kids today are afraid to try or do new things that could bring lawsuits down on them. What a shame to lose the only hill for miles around. They'll regret it.
ReplyDeleteI feel sorry for the kids. This modern world is sooo different from the world we grew up in, that it is sometimes hard to comprehend. I guess they have all the new technical stuff in place of outdoor play.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great weekend, Beth. BGB
There's a park near one of our local high schools that has an amazing sledding hill. It never entered anyone's minds in those days to sue the city if we got hurt...we chose to be there how could it be the city's fault...ah well, times surely do change.
ReplyDeleteThey are probably right about the liability but its so sad when they take away a childhood icon like that. Xxoo
ReplyDeleteYes unfortunately they are right about the liability, but what a shame for future generations. We have a huge sledding hill here right next to a fire station. So far they have let the children use it for sldding. There aren't that many places in our city where the children can go.
ReplyDeleteSurely this does not mean that all towns will now begin to level their sledding hills! There has to be another option, wouldn't you think?
ReplyDeletexo Nellie
I just hate that all the fun has gone out of the world for fear of being sued!
ReplyDeleteThat's a shame.. When we were growing up there was no shortage of hills.. Everything changes.. Blessings, Susie
ReplyDeleteso sad....no wonder kids are always indoors and never outside having real fun anymore!!
ReplyDeleteIt is all the fear of being sued that makes so many things a liability now days.......which is such a shame
ReplyDeleteI think that is ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteSo sad that kids can't even have a place to sled anymore for fear of lawsuits.
ReplyDeleteWow...the world has gone crazy!!
ReplyDeleteBeaurocracy just loves to dabble.
ReplyDelete