Small Town News

ML skate park supporters need to step up

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In Our Opinion

The Medical Lake skaie park has been a reliable nuisance for the city since it was built eight years ago.

It has been temporarily closed dozens of times following countless acts of property damage - the most serious in 2008 when someone went so far as to set fire to one of the ramps. Now the city has locked it up indefinitely after a particularly nasty case of vandalism occurred there earlier this month.

On the afternoon of April 12 a city maintenance worker found the ramps painted with swastikas and slogans such as, "white power," "I support racial hatred" and much worse. After careful deliberation last week, City Council members opted to keep the park closed until the Spokane County Sheriffs Office completes an investigation into the matter - which could be weeks away.

It would be easy for skaters and their parents to get angry at the city, arguing (rightly) that there's no solid evidence users of the skate park are those responsible for the damage. City Council members raised this point themselves but eventually agreed that they don't have many other tools at their disposal to deal with the problem. The city can't spend money it doesn't have on a security camera, which would probably get vandalized anyway, and emphasis patrols by the city's sole law enforcement officer are probably not going to be much of a deterrent, seeing as the most recent acts occurred in broad daylight.

The fact is that the city has just about had it with this headache, and for a long time now has been trending toward closing the park for good. But rather than falsely scapegoat city officials as a bunch of hot-heads out to punish skaters for the actions of a few idiots, the park's supporters should realize it's up to them to turn things around.

Those who are serious about the sport should get serious about protecting both the park and their own image. It gives a black eye to skateboarders everywhere when the place they hang out in is constantly marred by gang graffiti and hateful slogans, not to mention the other vandalism, littering and drug activity.

Back in 2008, the last time the city closed the park for a substantial period, skaters rallied by posting call-to-action signs around town: "If we want the skate park back open we have to clean it up. If the City Council sees that we are making an attempt to do our part then we will be able to get it open." They followed this up by holding a "Skate Park Cleaning Rally" that May.

This time around it might take a little more effort. Skaters need to lay aside their skewed sense of propriety and start reporting any suspicious activity they see at the park. Telling the authorities about a crime is much cooler than taking the bus into Spokane every time you want to skate.

This would also be a prime time for adults to step forward and show some leadership - maybe a school counselor, the parent of a skater or even a City Council member. Adults are often more able to get the ball rolling, and a councilperson or counselor has the authority to call people together around a solution.

While one or two people are probably responsible for most of the trouble around the skate park, it's going to take the whole community to convey the message that it won't be tolerated any longer.



Copyright 2011 Cheney Free Press, Cheney, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2011 Cheney Free Press Cheney, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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