Kids Will Fly High on New Skateboard Park
by SAM REDDING
Fraser Lake is finally getting a skateboard park. After years of hoping and waiting, Fraser Lake Skateboard Club will be off the sidewalks and onto the concrete ramps.
The park is located by the baseball diamonds on the east side of town and is projected to finish on Canada day, July 1. The Skateboard Club will hold a lunch and sell hot dogs and T-shirts.
"They're alway riding on the sidewalk or on some parking space," said Michael Walsh of the Fraser Lake skateboard club. "There's probably about two dozen or more and they don't have much space to do it in. This will be just one more way for families to enjoy themselves instead of getting up and moving away to some town with more to do."
Walsh is also attempting to hold an art contest to try and get some nice artwork on the park.
Vanderhoof Mayor Gerry Thiessen has stated that he would love to see a skateboard park in Vanderhoof.
"I would like to hear from young people in the community that would use a skate park. I think that there's a real need to have some recreation that's not an organized recreation."
Thiessen would like to encourage the safe use of skateboards. He hopes to see some representation coming to council and presenting a need for such a park as its very difficult to build something unless you can see that people would use it.
Dispelling worries that the skatepark might increase drug use and crime, Thiessen said that crime actually goes down in communities after parks are built.
"The more you have young people involved in any kind of sport its a great deterrent for any misuse of time that you might have in the community," said Thiessen.