A 7-year-old Stow girl is fighting the city after they tore down her favorite playground.
A letter she wrote to Stow City Hall may have made a difference.
Emma Kovach from Stow is not backing down.
Stow Kids Playground on Darrow Road was one of her favorite places.
“I like the monkey bars, sandbox in the towers. There were lots of slides,” Emma said.
Until one day it was gone.
“We were driving home from a party and she looked over and started freaking out about it.
"‘The park is gone the park is gone.’ So we circled the block and turned around, sure enough, the park was torn down. She was pretty livid,” said her dad Chris Furry.
Motivated by the news, Emma got to work right away.
“Soon as she walks in the door, she grabs a pen and paper and says she’s going to write a letter. She wrote it out and insisted that we mail it,” Furry said.
Emma recited part of the letter to us by heart.
Her dad took photos of it before they sent it to the city.
“I said, ‘Dear city of Stow, you should make the wood park again. And you should make it the exact same as it was before. I’m really angry at you for tearing it down. You will remake it,’” she said.
“She’s strong-willed. When she gets something in her head, that’s the way it’s going to go. Doesn’t forget about anything. This does not surprise me at all,” her dad said.
Emma is set to meet the interim mayor Monday to talk about the playground.
Interim Mayor Jim Costello told the public that the playground was deteriorating.
It was 27 years old and made of wood.
He says they’re going to put in a kids area, which may include a playground, but it may not be in the same exact location.
We asked her dad what he hopes Emma learns from this— new playground or not.
“I hope she learns that everyone has a voice. And if you feel strongly about something speak up and things can get done,” Furry said.
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