McKnight and his fellow Fairmount School faculty members stripped down to T-shirts and gym shorts last Friday as they waged a hard court war against a team made up of Hackensack police officers. The charity basketball game raised money for the Fairmount School Project Playground, which is currently underway.
The proposed playground, which is adjacent to the school, features a 12,000-square-foot community play area that will be built and funded by volunteers. Build dates are scheduled in early October, tentatively over five days from Oct. 8 to 12.
When completed, the playground is expected to include a tree fort, fun house maze, amphitheater with stage, rock wall climbs and slides, among other components.
This playground replaces Fairmount’s old structure, which was razed last fall because it lagged in safety requirements. The Fairmount community has been without a playground unit for several months.
Last week’s charity basketball game will offset some of the project’s expenses. It also marked one of several fund-raising events at the school. In addition to money-raising programs, Fairmount has also benefited from donations from businesses as well as Hackensack residents.
While the students and children will reap the benefits of the game down the road, their interest last Friday was seeing their teachers rack up points against the city’s police department. Though undersized, Fairmount’s lineup stormed past the athletic police team and took home the bragging rights.
What was the final score? These pages will uphold the police department’s requests and withhold the point totals; interested readers can call the school for those numbers.
The important thing to note is the winners of the night: the children of the Fairmount community.
The final score: Fairmount faculty 76, Hackensack police officers 48.
