Submitted by member Rob Polarek

Rocket slide takes off prematurely

BY CHRISTOPHER BURBACH, WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER June 21, 2003
The space-age playground contraption that gave Omaha's Rockbrook Park its familiar name of Rocket Park has gone into a black hole.

Someone took apart the 20-foot-high metal rocket slide and hauled it away in broad daylight this week. The removal of the rocket, beloved by generations of Rockbrook residents, might have been a big misunderstanding. But it has launched trouble and consternation at City Hall and in the neighborhood.

The City of Omaha reported the rocket slide stolen. Neighbors worry it might be stashed away for good, or worse, cut to pieces, yet they express hope it will return to earth at Rockbrook Park.

The oversized jungle gym and slide disappeared Monday in what City Parks Director Larry Foster called the most bizarre story he has seen in a long career in parks and recreation.

"You just scratch your head and think, 'How can this happen?'" Foster said.

The story begins with neighborhood park improvements. Rockbrook Park, 3525 S. 94th St., is on this year's renovation list.

In meetings with the city, neighbors said they wanted to keep the rocket. The slide is a rarity in that adults and children both find it fun, said Tom Klimisch, a Rockbrook resident.

Beyond that, it's the defining feature of the park, he said. "That's why we call it Rocket Park."

But the rocket is old, at least 30 years, according to the recollections of a former Omahan who grew up on it.

And, Foster said, it doesn't meet current safety guidelines....