Apr 10, 2021
McAlester News-Capital office File photo
We applaud the efforts of everyone involved in working to revitalize a McAlester park named after a military veteran who died in action.
City of McAlester staff and a citizen-led group continue making improvements at Michael J. Hunter Memorial Park with the latest being a treatment process to remove broken glass and other embedded debris where children should be able to play.
Hydroexcavation at the park removed dangerous debris and city workers came to fill in crushed gravel between large rocks to reduce environmental strain, provide nutrients for trees in the park, and provide a safe playing surface.
By Adrian O Hanlon III Editor Apr 9, 2021 1 of 11
Workers blasting embedded glass and trash, and vacuuming the remaining debris is a major milestone for some involved with the improvements at McAlester s Michael J. Hunter Memorial Park.
After several efforts to improve the historic park in recent years, City of McAlester Public Information Officer Stephanie Giacomo said she was happy to see the hydroexcavation crews addressing a decades-old issue of broken glass in the park. I was so excited I could cry, Giacomo said.
The 7.6-acre park at Fourteenth Street and Chickasaw Avenue near the former LâOuverture High School is named after Michael J. Hunter â who was born Nov. 2, 1946 and became the first McAlester native to die in the Vietnam War.