NORWICH – Construction of new playground equipment in the Guernsey Memorial Library Park neared completion Friday afternoon and library officials expect the facility to be open to the public sometime this week.

Approximately 20 volunteers, including 13 Otselic Valley School District seniors, were on hand throughout the day Friday to assist with the construction, a project which has been “talked about for quite a few years,” according to Guernsey Memorial Library Custodian Brian Doliver.

The new playground was made possible through funds donated by the now-defunct Friends of Guernsey and the Norwich Lions Club, he added.

The 13 OV seniors, as part of their Participating in Government class, helped out by assembling the various pieces of the colorful playground apparatus and digging support holes, supervised by Parkitects Project Manager Karen Armstrong.

Armstrong said the playground, which includes “typical climbing and sliding components,” is better off for having been community-built.