JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Members of South Pittsburg’s Rotary Club have been hard at work refurbishing ten wooden benches located throughout various streets and public spaces in the community.
Work began Friday, May 23, at the town’s Municipal Park, where Rotary Club President Jeff Robertson, as well as Club members Roger Rebhorn and Thomas Franklin began repairing two benches using wooden boards supplied by Collins Building Materials in Jasper. Robertson explained that the benches were originally built nearly 20 years ago by the Club for community use. Over time, they’ve received partial repairs, but the current effort focuses on fully restoring them to improve both their appearance and safety.
Robertson credited longtime Rotary Club member Bob Kellerman, who has served nearly 50 years, with initiating the refurbishment project after noticing the benches were deteriorating from exposure to the elements and age.
Whitwell High School’s CTE classes, led by Jerry Basham and Jerome Roberts, contributed to the project by laser-etching the Rotary Club’s name and logo onto the top board of each bench. Previously, only the Club’s name had been included.
The Board of Mayor & Commissioners approved the refurbishment of the benches, recognizing the effort as a way to improve the town’s aesthetics and ensure safe, comfortable seating for residents. Robertson noted that one of the most common requests from the public was to maintain the use of wood rather than replacing the benches with metal ones. Wooden benches are considered more comfortable, especially during extreme summer and winter temperatures.
While based in South Pittsburg, the Club also supports various other community projects countywide under Rotary International. Ideas of adding seating to Kimball’s City Park and to the new walking trail between Jasper’s high school and middle school campuses have been considered. However, the subject has not been further broached, and no further discussions or work has been made towards both ideas.
