The afternoon of Friday, September 3rd was a dreary
day. The opening ceremony last approximately 20 minutes with
many speakers from local and state government as well as those who
helped develop and construct the skatepark.
Dr. Skateboard
attended and performed at an exhibition the next day held at Science
Central.
The attendance was good with many teenagers from the
community looking forward to inaugurating the park.
Unfortunately, as teenagers will sometimes do, the crowd was a bit
unruly. By some of the looks on the faces of the
attending officials, one could sense their displeasure. When
the ceremony began, there were no police officers in the area.
After the crowd wound up a bit, I turned around to suddenly notice 4
or 5 police officers standing a respectable distance from the crowd.
Not saying or doing anything, just observing the proceedings.
A note to the city: From where I stood, directly
across from the speakers podium, one could not see the speakers much
less hear them. If you want teenagers to be involved, you must
give them something to be involved in. The reason one could
not see the speakers is for the long line of reporters and
cameramen. What was even more aggravating was that most press
coverage on the local television stations was brief to nil.
One would have thought a better arrangement could have been worked
out.
In all, the skatepark seemed to be a hit with those who wish to
skate.
