Burns Park rocket slide set for relaunch

Skip Martin, with Ozark Mountain Installations in Missouri, works on the new Rocket Slide being built in Burns Park in North Little Rock on Thursday, June 5, 2014. The one being replaced was vandalized and set on fire Jan. 25.
Skip Martin, with Ozark Mountain Installations in Missouri, works on the new Rocket Slide being built in Burns Park in North Little Rock on Thursday, June 5, 2014. The one being replaced was vandalized and set on fire Jan. 25.

North Little Rock will unveil the newest version of the Burns Park rocket slide Friday.

The previous slide was severely damaged by an early morning arson Jan. 25. The fire burned through parts of one slide and melted the other, according to a police report. Police arrested and charged Jordan Parker and Curry Jerry Smith, both 18, with first-degree criminal mischief three days later.

The mostly plastic rocket slide has been in Burns Park since 2006, when it replaced a metal slide that dated to 1969-1970. The original was part of a former space-themed playground created after the first moon landing July 20, 1969.

The new slide has been funded through a combination of insurance money, parks maintenance funds and private donations.

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