News
H.L. Neblett Community Center Opens New Infants & Toddlers Playground
Owensboro, KY – October 9, 2025
The H.L. Neblett Community Center is proud to announce the grand opening of its brand-new Infants and Toddlers Playground, a safe and engaging outdoor space designed specifically for the community’s youngest learners and families.
The new playground provides a secure, developmentally appropriate environment where infants and toddlers can explore, play, and grow. With features such as age-appropriate play structures, soft-surface flooring, and shaded areas, the playground was designed to support early childhood development while ensuring safety and accessibility.
“This new playground is more than just a play space,” said Carltez Hampton, Interim Executive Director of the H.L. Neblett Community Center. “It represents our commitment to providing a nurturing environment where children can thrive from the very beginning of their educational journey. We know that early childhood experiences lay the foundation for lifelong learning, and this playground helps us strengthen that foundation.” The playground was made possible through the support of IMPACT100, whose generosity and dedication to the Neblett Center’s mission helped bring this vision to life. Additionally, Public Life Foundation generously provided sensory items for the new playgrounds.
The H.L. Neblett Community Center has been serving Owensboro and surrounding communities for nearly nine decades, offering programs that support children, youth, and families through education, enrichment, and community engagement. The addition of the Infants and Toddlers Playground furthers its mission to create a strong, healthy, and connected community.
The Neblett Center hosted a ribbon cutting in coordination with the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce and IMPACT100 on October 9, 2025.
Western Academy is Partnering with OHS to Launch ‘WANWear’
The red and black shack at Owensboro High School is a student run spirit shop that will be in charge of making shirts for Western Academy. Once the shirts are made, scholars at Western Academy will market the shirts to get the apparel off the shelves.
Owensboro High School marketing teacher Zachary Erwin helped start the student led spirit shop, he says getting to help his students create, produce, and sell apparel is an extremely rewarding experience.
Administrators overseeing the collaboration say it was a no brainer, since both organizations strive to get their members real life business experience.
Executive Director of Western Olga McKissic said, “Teaching them about marketing and finances, inventory, is important so they can further their careers in which ever avenue they want to go.”
McKissic helped found the Academy in 2019 to help students in the area achieve their dreams and provide a place where they can grow. McKissic says partnering with the students at Owensboro High School, will do just that.
Designs for the shirts were finalized last week and will be created by the students this week.
All proceeds from apparel sold will go towards funding the Western Academy. If you are interested in contributing, click here.
