A few things have crossed my mind regarding this Tarentum Skatepark Lockdown.
1. Garbage Cans and Port-A-Potties are generally not emptied and tipped over during daylight hours. These are things that drunk jocks do at night to prove their manliness. The skatepark is only in use during the day since there are no night lights
2. If there is a security camera at the park like the sign says, then why don't they just watch the footage to see who dumped the cans and tipped the potty? You would think that would solve the problem.
3. I drove past the park yesterday and there were the usual group of non-skaters hanging out on the benches. Now who is being punished? Almost certainly you can assume that the people who hang out with nothing to do are the ones destroying the park. Yet they are still hanging out and still no one is skating. WTF? Who is learning a lesson here?
Friday, October 5, 2007
Tarentum Part 2
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3 comments:
all skaters are NOT VANDALS. BUT! if you are a skater and are blaming the kids that are loitering answer this: Where did the loiterers go? your skate park was locked not their spot. Ill answer for you. they were their cause you were their and when vandalism happens and your all there you all get the blame. How many of you saw or even heard something being done there and went to the police station? NONE I checked. so dont blame the cameras. It was said up front this is your park, you police it! you failed. Some of you were nice enough to clean it everyday but you could not keep up with the skaters vandal buddy. you all new each other there so... nice try hats off to Tarentum for closing it! Show respect & Grow up!
Let me ask you a few questions Mr Tarentum.
1. How many skateparks has the Boro of Tarentum managed in its long history.
2. How much policing was done at the park? Did you also look at how many arrests were made anywhere in Tarentum on the same days? Chances are that there are enough hours left in the day to send a patrol car by atleast once an hour. Kids are kids. Kids are not the police, nor should they be expected to do so.
3. What other aspect of society blames the entire society for what a few members do? For example: Do we cancel football season when members of the team are charged with underage drinking or brought up on criminal sexual charges? Do they cancel baseball season when the bleachers are not cleaned up after the game?
4. What would you consider the primary objective of Security Cameras? My guess would be to protect those who use the facility along with the actual physical facility. The same would go if someone were a victim of a crime. They would expect those cameras to protect them in a court of law. By saying, "Who Cares About the Cameras?", you are failing to prosecute the guilty. Innocent until proven guitly. NOT GUILTY BECAUSE YOU ARE A SKATEBOARDER.
Look at the tapes. See who vandalized. Punish that person or those people who did the vandalizing.
I see kids everyday who come in the shop. Many are lost and looking for guidance. My shop pushes education and building a life for yourself. I personally sponsor kids who I refuse to give product to until they develop such a plan.
How many kids do you think were saved because of that skatepark? How many kids were turned away from drugs and alcohol because they found skateboarding? They found a creative outlet for all that energy.
You calling all skaters vandals by association is as bad as saying about 20 other racist comments based on a lack of information.
The truth is, there were kids hanging out there that simply had no stake in the skatepark. What did they care if they destroyed it?
That skatepark was the most successful thing Tarentum has ever launched. Not less that 50 kids used that facility on a daily basis.
My challenge to you is this: Since you love looking up data and statistics.......Go to the local high school and look up stats on how many kids are caught fighting, how many kids are caught with drugs, how many kids are caught with misconduct in the halls, how many kids get detention?
I am sure you will find those numbers higher than you will find the reports from the Skatepark.
What do you propse the kids do now? I would love to hear you proposal for the future of the kids in Tarentum.
I am sure in the 1940s when baseball was all the rage and kids where playing ball in the streets that the public got together and decided these kids need a place to go. Well, fast forward to 2007 and look at the stats. Skateboarding is now the #1 activity amoung kids. More kids now consider themselves skateboarders than play football or baseball.
Something needs done for these kids. Shutting them off from the use of public land and calling them disrespecting vandals is certainly not the answer.
I can't believe the park is still closed! What exactly are these kids supposed to do? I'm not a skater. I'm a mom. We live in Fawn and I gladly took our 2 sons to the park almost daily. They SKATE. They made friends and had fun.
The skate park, I feel, helped my new middle schooler adjust to a new school MUCH easier, simply because of knowing so many familiar faces that he met at the skate park last summer. They already had something in common. Fast friends!
Our new high schooler met a lot of older friends that actually watch out for him. It's not always easy being a freshman, but he knows he has friends around.
I, like a lot of parents, had my doubts when the park opened. I never thought that my wanna-be skaters would get good enough to keep up to the kids living in town, since we don't exactly have parking lots and sidewalks to practice on in fawn. BUT, the skaters HELP each other! They don't laugh because you can't do it. THEY HELP YOU! These are really good kids! Yes, a lot of them LOOK a little odd, my son's included. I wouldn't hesitate giving one of these kids a ride home or just sitting to talk to them.
O.K., so now, I guess we're back to practicing on parking lots and sidewalks! That sounds safe to me (yes that was sarcastic)! I guess we'll stay in Fawn!
Please let these kids have their park back. They miss their skatepark. They miss having something to do after school and on weekends that keep them busy and stay out of trouble. PUT THE VIDEO GAMES AWAY AND SKATE!!!
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