skatepark advocated by newspaper editorial

[skategeezer]

More From The Mississippi Press | Subscribe To The Mississippi Press
OPINION



Our Opinion: Skateboarding opportunities


Thursday, April 17, 2008

One thing learned this week is that skateboard parks are emerging as rivals to neighborhood basketball courts and baseball fields.

Skateboarding is an activity that has always been done in the street or in places where it conflicts with pedestrians. Skateboarding in some public places is viewed as a nuisance. Property owners with the kind of obstacles that skateboarders enjoy see only liabilities when the skateboarders discover they can flip by the fountain or steps.
A meeting this week in Gautier focused on building a skate park in the Hickory Hill area. It's no surprise that a skateboard park should be considered for the fast-growing north Gautier area. Skateboard parks are popular. For instance, a skateboard park is planned in Pascagoula.
The parks make sense because they move the skateboarders off the roads and other public places and into safe areas.
The adults involved in the skate park meeting obviously recognize the value and need for youth recreation areas. The Hickory Hill skateboard park idea is coming from youths at Martin Bluff Baptist Church. The youths wanted to use their boards on the church parking lot. Now, they are considering an 8,000-square-foot park designed for skateboarding.
What's interesting about the skate park idea is that while the adults are involved, they are challenging the teens to make it happen.
One focus at Monday's meeting was that the project needs volunteers and money. "Do you have any idea how much 8,000 square feet of concrete will costs?" asked Argene Stone, one of the organizers. Stone was one of the adults present urging the teens to get on board to make the park happen in a project that could take up to three years.
Establishing a safe place for the young people to use their skateboards is the best outcome from this project. But the process of teens learning how to make this park a reality is also a terrific opportunity.

[Wells]

How did this person get a job in writing?