THE POSITIVE APPROACH CAN HELP SKATEBOARD PARK SITUATION

(OSOYOOS TIMES — Oct. 25, 2006) –

There's no doubt that the presence of the 10-month-old Osoyoos Skateboard Park presents a challenge to its immediate neighbours.
As has likely happened in every one of the thousands of North American communities with a skateboard park, there has been some vandalism to the nearby curling rink, arena and a few homes.
To their credit, everyone involved notes that it's not all skateboard park users who are the problem “ it's the usual 'few bad apples' who are likely doing the damage.
It's damage that is not just costly, but also irritating, upsetting and frustrating to those who must fix it and clean it up. Nobody likes to come to their establishment Monday morning and find broken windows, ripped-out watering lines, and urine all over their front doorway, as the curling club has had to endure in recent months.
Again to their credit, most of the local people involved are vowing to step up communication and monitoring of the park. The police are taking a positive approach, the Town will call everyone together to pursue a solution, and the skateboard park's 'godfather', Jamie Elder of the Unity store, notes that with communication and goodwill, a lot of improvement can be accomplished.
What is not helpful is the approach taken by Town Councillor Dick Flintoft, who at last week's Council meeting raised the spectre of closure of the park in response to the situation.
It's far too early to be talking about closure of a facility that the Town so recently opened to meet the need for more recreational opportunities for a lot of our young people.
Vandalism often happens outside our local bars late on a Friday or Saturday night. Does Flintoft want them shut down, too?rnLet's pursue the positive options and resist the temptation to give it the knee-jerk reaction that doesn't help the situation.