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Council member Kelvin Pless grilled hamburgers for the community, and Commissioners’ Jessie Smith and Clay Jones mingled with the small crowd of local residents, along with Sherrif Bryant, before the opening of Rock Hill Park at 135 East Rock Hill Drive. The park was paid for by the federally funded Improving Neighborhood Outcomes Grant.

Parks and Recreation Director Tim Estes talked about how Rock Hill Park was designed. “Commissioner Jessie Smith and I and the former County Administrator Rayetta Volley met out here when it was basically a blank piece of property and decided what all we wanted to put in here based on the makeup of the neighborhood. We wanted to make sure there was something for both kids and adults, and so you’ve got the playground that the kids will like, and you got the basketball court that’s usually dominated by teenagers, and then the pick nick pavilion right now is more the adult part of the park, but mid-way through the project we found we had a little more money than we knew we were going to have, so after today we are stilling planning to add a paved walking track and a four-bay swing set.”

Children played during the speeches preceding the ribbon cutting. Tim Estes gave an address. “We are fortunate in Sumter County to be one hundred percent supported in recreation by all of our board of commissioners. I will say this to anyone in Sumter County. There is a lot of things that people disagree on. But the one thing I’ve never seen any disagreement on from any of our commissioners is when it comes to children and families.”

He also mentioned community support. “I’ve probably had two dozen people come up during construction and thank us for what we were doing. That’s been really rewarding for me.”

Smith, representative of district five, addressed those gathered. He told how one of the first things he noticed was that the property, while listed as a park, didn’t look like one. “I said that’s going to be one of my first projects that we work on.” He thanked his fellow commissioners, Estes, Volley, and Silas Bullard, who he praised for his willingness to look out for the project.

The contractor, Dustin Darsey, owner of Darsey Construction, noted “As you can see, the kids are already enjoying it.” A boy who had been lying on the imitation grass after going down the slide gave a thumbs up. Afterward, brother Norris Harris blessed the Park.

After the ribbon cutting, Bryant tied the ribbon to a post, and local residents enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs provided by the Sumter County Publics Works Department.