By Rachel Beck, Lebanon Express writer | Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 12:00 am
Once again, people are pulling together to try to build a skate park in Lebanon.
Organizers hope that this time, the dream will be realized.
"It just needs to happen," said Raleigh Henshaw. "No more time needs to go by. Let's get it done."
Henshaw has found himself holding the reins of the latest effort, and he welcomes the opportunity. But, he emphasized, he sees this as a community-involved project, not the work of one person. He's forming a steering committee of nine to 11 people to get the work going.
He's also found a kindred spirit in Scott Hicks, a former skateboarder who works with Teen Challenge International in Shedd.
Hicks said people used to ask him what there was for kids to do in Lebanon. "I said you can either end up in rehab or pregnant."
For Hicks, it was rehab. He wonders if he would have still traveled that path had he had a skate park or something else positive to direct his energy towards.
Henshaw and Hicks have combined their energy into an organization called Everything in Christ (EIC), which they hope to use as a vehicle for completing community service projects, with the skate park being the first. EIC will help facilitate the completion of the skate park and will raise money for the Academy Square Skate Park Plaza.
"It's so overdue to get a skate park," Henshaw said.
The last major push for such a facility fizzled in 2005, when a group called Recreation for Kids and Community abandoned its skate park efforts due to lack of financial backing.
Henshaw was involved with previous skate park efforts, which is why he's determined that this one should succeed.
"It broke my heart that it didn't happen," he said. "I know it really broke the hearts of the kids."
Mason McConnell, 19, said it was tough when the first effort failed.
"Yeah, that was kind of a rough deal 'cause we raised quite a bit of money and then it kind went to a totally different area and we didn't have any money to restart with," he said.
Since then, one of the major skate park crusaders was Kimberly Clarke, who owned and operated Gamerz cybercafe with her husband Cal.
She put a lot of work into getting people involved and a site nailed down, but the Clarkes recently moved to Arizona. Before they relocated, Kimberly Clarke tried to get a to volunteer to be the point person for the skate park effort. Henshaw found himself in that role.
Clarke plans to keep helping with the effort from afar. In an interview in June, she said, "I don't plan on giving up. What I can do from Phoenix, I will do for these kids. Because they are really great kids."
Hicks and Henshaw see their role as continuing Clarke's work, particularly in getting the rest of the community involved.
"We're just the people who hold the lighter and try to get the fire started," Hicks said.
Skateboarders seem ready to fan the flames.
"I want to see it get put in so that all the kids around town that skateboard or bike or whatever, they do have a place to go so we stop getting harassed by businesses," McConnell said, adding that he's aware property owners have the right to kick skaters out.
It's a seemingly infinite cycle: skate on private property, get told to leave, find another place.
"We go skateboard every day and it's the same things over and over again," McConnell said. "We don't really want to stop skateboarding just because we don't have a skate park."
Henshaw's vision for the park is a place that is safe, clean and welcoming. The site, next to the new justice center, is ideal to combat drug use and crime.
"It will be known to be a safe place in our town," he said.
Albany's skate park is an example of what Lebanon's would not be, Mason said. From drug use to trash, McConnell said Albany's park isn't taken care of. Lebanon's would be. He said other skaters have told him that they wouldn't put up with fights, drugs or anything else that goes wrong on their turf.
McConnell also likes the park's site next to the justice center.
"I think that's the best spot to put it," he said. "No doubt in my mind about that one."
Hicks and Henshaw said they see how the community perceives skateboarders - as punks - and they see the resentment the skaters have towards business owners. Hicks and Henshaw said they want to stand between both sides and help them get to know each other.
"I'd like to think we'd benefit as a community by coming together and doing something like this that really needs to be done," Henshaw said.
Critical to the park's success will be how involved the skaters are.
"They need to be involved in the process," Henshaw said.
Currently the site is being used to store things during the construction of the justice center, which is fine with Henshaw.
"It gives us some time to get things rolling," he said.
They plan to build the park modularly, so that it can be added onto.
As far as design, McConnell envisions a "street" park with handrails, ledges and gaps, maybe with some transitional elements.
Hicks and Henshaw would like to have a stage where concerts could be held.
"It will be multi-purpose," Henshaw said. "More than just a skate park."
Hicks and Henshaw urge skaters to get involved. "This is their skate park."
For their part, the skaters would like help from the community.
"Lebanon community, help us, please," McConnell said.