She was a pig-tailed second-grader looking to enjoy a school holiday playing with friends in the park near her Southeast Atlanta home.
Instead, Delores Norman ended up in the hospital with second- and third-degree burns after coming down a slide at D.H. Stanton Park on Jan. 18, 1999, the day the nation marked the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Norman's injuries were caused when methane gas erupted under the slide. Methane gas comes from decomposing organic matter, such as rotting food or human waste. High levels of the gas, when contained in an enclosed space, are flammable. The park, later determined to be perched on a landfill, was closed.
Now, the park and the little girl, now a 20-year-old college student, could reconnect soon in a larger city plan to create miles of public parks, walking trails and other outdoor activities. The park is supposed to reopen early next year as part of the Atlanta Beltline project, a 25-year, $3 billion initiative to create a 22-mile historic rail corridor that meanders through 45 neighborhoods in the heart of the city. A Beltline spokesman expressed interest in having Norman participate in the opening ceremonies at Stanton.
"It would really be great to reconnect with her. We would welcome that wholeheartedly. It would be phenomenal if she could be there to help us reopen the park," said Ethan Davidson, a spokesman for the Atlanta Beltline Inc., which broke ground on an eight-acre renovation of the Peoplestown site near the intersection of Martin and Boynton streets.
Norman welcomed the invitation.
"Hopefully, something good will come out of it," she said.
A scaled-down version of the park reopened in 2005, with just a playground, after landfill debris was removed. The larger plans weren't set in motion until March of this year after additional excavation of landfill debris. In addition to the playground, the new park will have a Little League and softball league-sized ball field, a large public arts sculpture and solar panels along a walkway. The panels will help offset energy costs at the park. Private money was used to buy three additional parcels to provide access to the park. Stanton Park is one of four under construction and set to open in 2011 as part of the Beltline project.
In the 11 years since the accident, Norman has blossomed into a vibrant young woman who chats on Facebook, attends Atlanta Metropolitan College and is trying to decide between dentistry and social work. She said she has not sued nor did she receive any compensation for her injuries or reimbursement for her medical bills. She had driven past the park recently wondering about its fate.
Norman's wasn't the only accident at the park. An explosion killed two people who were working during the initial construction of the park in the 1960s.
Norman still has scars.
"I felt the slide pop up," Norman recalled last week. "I was really, really scared and shaky. Once I got off the slide, I saw the steam coming up from the slide and that’s how I got burned. I took one look at my arm and hand and they were shriveled up. I was screaming. There were houses and a lady heard me screaming. My mom was in the house. She came out and saw the lady carrying me..."
Despite the pain of that day, Norman says she harbors no ill will.
"I've never had any bad feelings about the place."
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