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Walking past the site of where the Eugene Gay Splash Park is set to be located in Community Park, one could see employees of HWC Enterprises, Inc. – a firm located in London – steadily at work. 

“We [are] working on the roof of the building…getting it ready for shingles and finishing siding,” said foreman Matt Rookstool, who also mentioned how long the company has been doing work onsite. “From the ground up, roughly two months…that’s digging the footers and pouring the footers and pouring the floor and laying the block.” 

While the prospect of the splash pad being completed is cause for excitement, it has not been without frustration for those long involved. 

“Let me just say that it has taken way too long, on a serious note,” said Deatra Newell, who played a significant role in advocating for the splash pad’s development. “We are still, in 2025, with no opening…there [have] been more people that [have] started speaking up and that’s been a plus.” 

Newell began her involvement in efforts to bring a splash pad to Winchester approximately twenty years ago, with the closing of the Eugene Gay Pool due to structural and financial issues leaving no permanent public swimming pool in the city. 

In 2023, a ceremonial groundbreaking took place at the site of the Eugene Gay Splash Park, with ground officially being broken later that year. 

While Newell expressed excitement at the time, she also felt that not enough had been done recently and emphasized the need for the splash pad. 

“This will be good to bring all cultures of people together with their children,” she stated. “Our children, those that are eighteen and older, have missed out on a childhood life of some social [and] civic recreation.” 

While acknowledging the importance of other projects, Newell further added she felt progress the speed of the project was inadequate – which has left a negative reaction. 

“It really hurts my soul. It pierces my soul,” she said. “I don’t understand it, and it makes me so discouraged [that] I just want to leave, but leaving is not [going to] help our kids.”

Newell advocated the need to choose others in leadership roles that prioritized the necessity of the splash pad, and added that she felt a positive impact could be had for the community economically. 

“The high school could have swim meets, which could bring a lot of good revenue and a lot of good attention to Winchester, Kentucky,” Newell said. 

When asked when he anticipated his portion of the project – or even the project as a whole – being complete, Rookstool responded. 

“I think they told me that we had [until] August,” he said. 

However, Newell does not believe this will allow for a major impact in 2025. 

“I don’t envision anything for the rest of this year with the splash park because by the time it’s finished school will start back,” she said. 

However, she has a continued vision for the future. 

“I hope…they can start off with the first generation of 2026 being able to have a great, wonderful time at the splash park,” she said. “There will be [a] beginning of something to offer our kids, and for them to have a different mindset other than for them to want to be consumed by the computer [or] games…these are the children that have to take care of us when we get older.”