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September 8, 2010

Wurtland Elementary using grant for miniature couse

Anonymous The Independent The Daily Independent Wed Sep 08, 2010, 06:00 AM EDT

ASHLAND — Wurtland Elementary soon will be the only school in northeastern Kentucky with a miniature golf course. For that, the school can credit a $2,000 grant from Big Lots, a creative video produced by students and the support of numerous area residents who took the time to vote for the video in an Internet contest promoted by the chain of discount stores.

The school’s Character Club, the community problem solving team and a Girl Scout troop based at the school combined their creative talents to produce the video explaining why the school deserved funding, but while the video was clever and well done, it is doubtful the small school would have received funding without the votes of hundreds of parents, grandparents, teachers, administrators and other school employees and residents of Wurtland. Thanks to their united efforts, the Wurtland video outpolled videos submitted by much larger schools.

Wurtland Principal Barbara Cook found plans for the nine-hole miniature golf course on the Internet, and the installation of the course behind the school has become a learning opportunity with students from the Greenup County Area Technical Center assisting school maintenance workers with the construction.

While playing miniature golf is not the most strenuous of sporting activities, it is a sport that even unskilled players can enjoy. But for those who take the sport more seriously, Cook sees the small putting course as helping elementary students hone the skills that will serve them well if they continue playing golf in middle school and beyond.

The school also plans to share the course with the community. Students from the school already visit with, read to and exchange cards with residents of Wurtland Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. If all goes as planned, residents who are able may soon be playing miniature golf on the new course.

The Big Lots grant is only paying for about half the cost of the golf course. The rest is coming from Wurtland Elementary PTO funds, giving the community an even larger role in making the project possible. With that in mind, it is only fitting that community residents are given plenty of opportunities to play on the small golf course they helped make possible. Indeed, its use as a community outreach tool may be one of the most valuable benefits of the new golf course.

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