Hardy Volunteer Fire Department secures playground ahead of summer

It has been more than a year since the City of Hardy received its third largest historic flood, leaving many of the amenities unusable.

On May 11, the Hardy Volunteer Fire Department’s (HVFD) volunteers took to work to secure the perimeter of the much discussed playground at Loberg Park.

Many citizens have voiced concerns and wondered why the grounds have not yet been restored to its former glory.

According to Hardy Mayor Ethan Barnes, grant monies and reimbursement from FEMA have been a primary cause.

“We are still actively working with A.D.E.M and FEMA, to secure a finalized project, with a solid scope and analysis on the Loberg Park facilities. With the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security in the last couple of months, the process had slowed, but thankfully, the Department of Homeland Security, partially government shutdown, has been ended,” Barnes said. “For those wondering why it’s taking so long, we want to take proper practices to be sure that all the damages are assessed and we do not want to take the chance of risking not receiving any type of assistance from the federal government. So ensuring that the conditions are where they were at the end of the flooding event. The project has not been completed due to the vast amount of damages within the State of Arkansas and all the various counties.”

Barnes explained Arkansas was not the only state to receive damages, nor was Sharp County the only county within the state from March through April of 2025.

“So, because of the large amount of damages across the state of Arkansas and the limited staffing that was assigned to the disaster, you might have had two or three people work in the entire state of Arkansas. They were working statewide and with multiple states across the region, and in other states as well,” Barnes said.

For several weeks, the HVFD has been personally chipping in out of their own pockets to acquire material and manpower to erect the fencing which will be placed around the playground until grant and FEMA monies are received and the playground repaired and improved.

“I just want to really express my thankfulness and appreciation to all the volunteers, on the Hardy Volunteer Fire Department for seeing a need to help the community and for taking action. I want to thank all of the men and women who have come together to secure the area and make it safe for the citizens and especially all of the children, especially with school ending soon. Their timing is thoughtful and pertinent,” Barnes said. “This is just another example of the heart of our volunteers who work every day to keep our community safe.”

Shaina Manning, with the HVFD, said the department has been working with the city regarding plans to secure the perimeter until repairs can be made.

“We had asked, but the funds just were not there. Part of the fire department’s duty is life and safety,” Manning said. “We decided to take it upon ourselves to try to make sure that nobody gets hurt down here.”

According to Fire Chief Josh Moore, approximately a dozen volunteers with the fire department sacrificed their finances, time and talent for the project.

“We’re fixing to go into the busiest time of our season of our whole year. We have people from out of town coming who do not know and up until now, there were no warning signs down there saying ‘hey it’s not safe’,”Moore said. “This equipment doesn’t need to be played on and as recently as today, we saw people at the park, letting their kids play on the broken equipment.”

Manning reiterated Moore’s sentiments, in saying as the weather gets warmer and tourist season approaches, the responsibility to keep people safe expands.

“People are getting out and wanting to do things. You know, we’re about to hit tourist season where people are coming in camping with kids. And the last thing we want to see somebody’s child get hurt,” Manning said.

When asked how much money the volunteers had spent for the project, Moore said volunteers chipped in several hundred dollars.

“We didn’t want to go and ask the businesses for help because we know things are tight right now for everyone,” Moore said.

Manning noted the need to secure the playground had been brought to them by member of the community and they did not want that concern to go unheard.

“It’s been on social media. People have approached us personally about the concerns of the park….  That’s the big thing; a lot of people don’t understand how far the fire department reaches out,” Manning said. “We don’t just put out fires and come pick you up when you fall. Our whole concern is life and safety for the whole town. It reaches way beyond the little things that people actually see us doing day to day.”