New playground at county park

PATTERSON -- A unique children's playground will be dedicated this morning at Frank Raines Park in western Stanislaus County. Children will be able to travel down slides through giant tree limbs, climb cargo nets, swing, rock-climb and pass through a massive tree trunk that serves as the center of the playground. The Stanislaus County Parks and Recreation Department will host a ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. to unveil the custom equipment, designed by MRC Recreation. Fifth-grade students from Northmead School in Patterson will be on hand to demonstrate the new equipment. Frank Raines Park is about 20 miles west of Patterson in Del Puerto Canyon. Its western section encompasses more than 1,500 acres of developed and undeveloped areas with off-road vehicle trails, overnight camping and a day-use area.