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Monday, April 30, 2018

Community / Education

'A Shining Example:' Officials Gather to Celebrate the Jefferson Community Center and Park

Posted By Thadeus Greenson @ThadeusGreenson on Mon, Apr 30, 2018 at 1:37 PM

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Everyone's all smiles after Salem Smith, who was in the Seed program at the center from the beginning, cut the ribbon celebrating the completion of phase one of the Jefferson Community Center and Park. - MARK MCKENNA

Mark McKenna
Everyone's all smiles after Salem Smith, who was in the Seed program at the center from the beginning, cut the ribbon celebrating the completion of phase one of the Jefferson Community Center and Park.

It's official: The once blighted and boarded Jefferson Elementary School site is back in a big way.

The Westside Community Improvement Association welcomed a host of community members and elected officials Friday to a ribbon cutting that officially completed the Jefferson Community Center and Park. The once fallow property is now bustling with life — a playground, a community garden and a community center, which offers everything from classes and community meetings to a summer nutrition program.

"This is not just a job well done but a shining example of what can be done when a community pulls together," Westside Community Improvement Association President Heidi Benzonelli-Burden gushed in a letter inviting the public to the ribbon cutting.

Check out the the slideshow below from local photographer Mark McKenna and read past Journal coverage about the project linked below.