Youngstown's new spalsh pads a hit

YOUNGSTOWN

As soon as water from a new splash pad at John White Park shot straight into the air, 6-year-old Marlon D’Altorio was off and running.

Marlon ran through and around the water. He also danced and spun around Wednesday with a big smile on his face.

The city opened splash pads Wednesday at John White on Kimmel Street on the East Side and at Homestead Park on Dewey Avenue on the South Side.

“This is great for the kids,” said Carolyn Taylor, his grandmother who helps take care of Marlon when school is closed. “There’s not too many things to do around here, and there’s not too many kids on my street [Miami Avenue] for him to play with. He’ll enjoy coming here to play in the water. I may join him.”

With Youngstown’s only public swimming pool on the North Side, not every kid can get there, said Robert Burke, the city’s park and recreation director.

“The kids on the East Side now have a place to go to enjoy playing in water,” Burke said of those at John White.

Read more about the new cooling stations in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.