Post by woodman on Sept 15, 2006 21:23:06 GMT -5
it was bound to happen sooner or later
Skatepark issues prompt closures
By Rebecca Goldfine, Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 12,2006
PARIS - Police closed the skate park on Charles Street early last Friday after two girls began fighting, and opened it late another day last week after finding trash strewn inside the park.
As soon as skateboarders chipped in to pick up the litter, police reopened the park, Sgt. Michael Dailey said Monday night. But he warned that police will promptly shut the gates if they discover any more disturbances.
After neighbors began reporting trouble there in the past week or so, police became more vigilant about keeping an eye on the park that opened mid-June.
"We're doing extra patrols over there," Dailey said Monday. "It's an unplanned thing."
The park is open from 2 p.m. to dusk on school days.
The park, considered to be one of the finest in New England, is the result of a five-year community push spearheaded by two former high schoolers. The $117,000 park was designed by a renowned skate park designer from California with donations from the community.
"We've had two or three discussions in the past week," Dailey said. "The chief has been there, I've been there to pass the word so we don't have to shut it down."
He encourages skaters to call police when they see something that's not quite right.
In response to the reports, SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman said he has called a meeting with the skate park committee, which includes skaters, residents and some of the original park visionaries.
"One of our important pieces of the park was that skateboarders needed to police the park themselves, so I was very disappointed," Eastman said Monday.
He also mentioned that skaters have told police that it's not skaters, but rather other people on foot and milling around the park who are causing trouble.
"We will identify a list of those who are not skateboarders who are causing problems with littering and ask them not to be there," Eastman said.
Sometime recently, a vandal also spray painted inside the large bowl and inside one of the portable toilets.
Roland Hebert, who lives at 28 Charles Road near the park, complained to selectmen Monday night that there are a handful of kids at the park who will ruin the place for everyone.
"There are kids throwing trash all over the place and all over lawns on the road," he said. "They're skating in the middle of the road at sunset." And in their dark clothes, they're hard to see, he added.
Hebert also said kids are climbing over the fence after the park is locked at dusk.
Dailey said police have threatened the skaters that they will take their boards if they catch them skating on the roads. He urged neighbors to call if they see someone scaling a fence.
"Everyone will have to pay a price for some not following the rules until we find there are people who are the problems," he said.
www.sunjournal.com/news/oxfordhills/20060912116.php?PHPSESSID=c5306fc965b393427d7f7ac8a84c6d05
Skatepark issues prompt closures
By Rebecca Goldfine, Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 12,2006
PARIS - Police closed the skate park on Charles Street early last Friday after two girls began fighting, and opened it late another day last week after finding trash strewn inside the park.
As soon as skateboarders chipped in to pick up the litter, police reopened the park, Sgt. Michael Dailey said Monday night. But he warned that police will promptly shut the gates if they discover any more disturbances.
After neighbors began reporting trouble there in the past week or so, police became more vigilant about keeping an eye on the park that opened mid-June.
"We're doing extra patrols over there," Dailey said Monday. "It's an unplanned thing."
The park is open from 2 p.m. to dusk on school days.
The park, considered to be one of the finest in New England, is the result of a five-year community push spearheaded by two former high schoolers. The $117,000 park was designed by a renowned skate park designer from California with donations from the community.
"We've had two or three discussions in the past week," Dailey said. "The chief has been there, I've been there to pass the word so we don't have to shut it down."
He encourages skaters to call police when they see something that's not quite right.
In response to the reports, SAD 17 Superintendent Mark Eastman said he has called a meeting with the skate park committee, which includes skaters, residents and some of the original park visionaries.
"One of our important pieces of the park was that skateboarders needed to police the park themselves, so I was very disappointed," Eastman said Monday.
He also mentioned that skaters have told police that it's not skaters, but rather other people on foot and milling around the park who are causing trouble.
"We will identify a list of those who are not skateboarders who are causing problems with littering and ask them not to be there," Eastman said.
Sometime recently, a vandal also spray painted inside the large bowl and inside one of the portable toilets.
Roland Hebert, who lives at 28 Charles Road near the park, complained to selectmen Monday night that there are a handful of kids at the park who will ruin the place for everyone.
"There are kids throwing trash all over the place and all over lawns on the road," he said. "They're skating in the middle of the road at sunset." And in their dark clothes, they're hard to see, he added.
Hebert also said kids are climbing over the fence after the park is locked at dusk.
Dailey said police have threatened the skaters that they will take their boards if they catch them skating on the roads. He urged neighbors to call if they see someone scaling a fence.
"Everyone will have to pay a price for some not following the rules until we find there are people who are the problems," he said.
www.sunjournal.com/news/oxfordhills/20060912116.php?PHPSESSID=c5306fc965b393427d7f7ac8a84c6d05