Those skate boarders!!!! BLAST EM!

[Mark Doble]

In your towns, do you have skateboarders that cause havoc on your streets and parking lots?

Our town of Sutton is facing such a problem. The High School has now banned the boards from their property. There is no where for them to go to practice their passion... :cool:

Next week I have a meeting with the School Vice P. on the problem and try to work out a half way point. The Police are being asked to charge the recalcitrant youths with tresspassing if they skate off school property.

Like, these kids are really good kids with a strong passion and resolve to continue doing what they love so much.

Guess I gotta step in! :eek:

[Judy Hamilton]

Mark

our little community has bulit a skateboard park..
it is widley used..lights on for nighttime enjoyment

parents have taken to bringing their lawn chairs and watching
the teens and youth..for their safety..

perhaps you could suggest this to your city council

If we do not make a place for the youth

they will turn to less desirable activitys to spend their enormous
amts of energys

Judy

[Belinda Y. Edwards]

Okay - i have to admit that the very idea of blasting kids that aren't doing drugs or alcohol really pushes a button with me.

i see it as an opportunity to minister.

One Nazarene Church on our District created this wonderful indoor skate board park. It is the largest in our region, possibly state. It has gained massive attention and the community donates largely to it (after they saw how it was ran). Kids from our area travel to go to that park.

When i found out that kids from our community were traveling to that community to participate in a Nazarene Operates Skateland - i wanted our church to do the same (before the name change of CrossWalk)....unfortunately those people had the same attitude that you've posted here. Now, they are gone and we don't have the personel to run it. i often think of opportunities missed for Christ because of attitudes.

[Mark Doble]

It is becoming a huge problem in Sutton, Pefferlaw, Virginia.
Next summer the town is planning to build a small skate park. However, it has come to ahead now.

I may have to use Peter's influence with the Town Mayor... :eek:

That will be fun eh :basic05

[Belinda Y. Edwards]

From Google.

Eastern Michigan District of the Church of the Nazarene -
I am calling on every Eastern Michigan Nazarene to pray and ask God how they can be ... Brighton Church Skate Park "I thought you might be interested in an ...
www.emdnaz.org/etidings_feb02.php - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

Eastern Michigan District of the Church of the Nazarene -
The Web site for the Church of the Nazarene Eastern Michigan District. ... A special thank you to the Brighton Church for their financial help with this ...
www.emdnaz.org/etidings_jun02.php - 18k - Cached - Similar pages

Concrete Disciples Skateboarding - Skatepark Directory & Listings ...
Lighthouse Skatepark - Brighton, Michigan, United States ... The park is owned by the Brighton Nazarene Church. It's indoor, very nice facility. ...
www.concretedisciples.com/skateparksdb/skateparks_display.php?id=1078 - 22k - Cached - Similar pages

WHMI 93.5 Livingston County Michigan Radio Station
Livingston County's Own 93.5, Michigan, with all your local news, weather and sports ... 8 pm, at the Brighton Nazarene Church at 7679 Brighton Rd. Tickets, ...
www.whmi.com/ - 55k - Cached - Similar pages

Teenagers rave about hangout - 03/01/06 - The Detroit News
The Naz is an activity center run by the Brighton Nazarene Church, where nearly 100 kids spend time on weekend nights skateboarding, playing basketball and ...
detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/METRO04/603010417/1015 - 32k - Cached - Similar pages

Press & Argus - www.livingstondaily.com - Livingston, MI
Brighton Nazarene Church • 7669 Brighton Road, Brighton ... a half-mile-long winding asphalt trail, a skateboard challenge section, and a pavilion. ...
www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060414/COMMUNITIES01/60413025 - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

Genoa Township, Michigan Home Page
... addition to the Brighton Church of the Nazarene, Section 25, 7679 Brighton Road, ... be limited to skateboarding and other uses accessory to the church. ...
www.genoa.org/planningCommissionMeetings/082800.html - 50k - Cached - Similar pages

Genoa Township, Michigan Home Page
Mr. Steve Varilone of Brivar Construction, the Pastor of the Brighton Nazarene Church, and the co-chairs of the building committee for the church were ...
www.genoa.org/planningCommissionMeetings/041403.html - 49k - Cached - Similar pages

Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee » Library
HazardStock 2005 - a celebration of skateboarding and music in Ann Arbor’s Wheeler ... there’s also the Nazarene church “Lighthouse” skatepark in Brighton, ...
a2skatepark.org/?page_id=4 - 7k - Cached - Similar pages

Novi
Portal and directory for Southeast Michigan suburban newspaper group, ... 7679 Brighton Rd. Brighton 810-227-6600. CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE. 415 McCarthy St. ...
www.hometownlife.com/Novi/Resource.asp?Community=NOV&Category=6&Title=US%20Government - 204k - Cached - Similar pages

[Jen Blackburn]

Mark, i am confused -- i'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or if you really don't want the skaters in your town.

in some ways, it sounds like you're being sarcastic and want to work with the school & police to find a safe place for these kids to skate..

on the other hand, it sounds as if you think they're a menace and shouldn't be allowed anywhere in the town at all!

i'm proud of the kids in my town - they too, were banned from skating all over town, and finally raised enough money to build a skate park -- it happens to be within the large park right near my home... i'm bringing our teens from church out here in july for a cookout so they can use it... we've got a handful of skaters in our group... our skatepark doesn't get as much use as it did when it was first built - the kids have grown up & moved on (it was built about 4 years ago)... but it's nice to have there anyway!

can you clarify the tone of your posts? sarcasm is hard to read in writing! no facial expressions to see or tone of voice to hear make it hard to tell! :D

[Mark Doble]

[QUOTE=Jen Blackburn]Mark, i am confused -- i'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or if you really don't want the skaters in your town.

in some ways, it sounds like you're being sarcastic and want to work with the school & police to find a safe place for these kids to skate..

on the other hand, it sounds as if you think they're a menace and shouldn't be allowed anywhere in the town at all!

Jen,
I like/admire skateboarders! They are great to watch. Very entertaining, LOL!
I don't mind them around the town. It gives the streets character.
My driveway is full of ramps, a 1/4 pipe, grind rails of all kinds, trick boxes, plywood pieces, chunks of wood, and like all the other streets kids!

During the summer I have no where to park my bike!

My son Mike is a VERY avid skateboarder. His passion runs deep about the sport. He is going to try and get into the Guiness Book of World Records this summer regarding his boarding!

I think by the school getting the Police involed is just going to lead to a bad situation. A way of the school passing the buck!

[Jen Blackburn]

Jen,
I like/admire skateboarders! They are great to watch. Very entertaining, LOL!
I don't mind them around the town. It gives the streets character.
My driveway is full of ramps, a 1/4 pipe, grind rails of all kinds, trick boxes, plywood pieces, chunks of wood, and like all the other streets kids!

During the summer I have no where to park my bike!

My son Mike is a VERY avid skateboarder. His passion runs deep about the sport. He is going to try and get into the Guiness Book of World Records this summer regarding his boarding!

I think by the school getting the Police involed is just going to lead to a bad situation. A way of the school passing the buck!

COOL... i think it's great that you are going to get involved as a concerned parent --- not one who wants to ridicule, but one who wants to HELP the kids & get them going!

the kids in my town, like you are talking about in yours, raised tons of money and petitioned the city for a skatepark, since they weren't allowed anywhere else... they raised the money first, to prove they meant business! and when they showed the city council that they meant it and really wanted it, the city matched their donations and built an awesome skatepark within the city park!

good luck in your endeavors - the kids DO need some adult looking out for their interests :)

good for you!

[Edith K. Thurmond]

God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Help us celebrate with them in their successes and become sources of great encouragement. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


From Google.

Eastern Michigan District of the Church of the Nazarene -
I am calling on every Eastern Michigan Nazarene to pray and ask God how they can be ... Brighton Church Skate Park "I thought you might be interested in an ...
www.emdnaz.org/etidings_feb02.php (http://www.emdnaz.org/etidings_feb02.php) - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

Eastern Michigan District of the Church of the Nazarene -
The Web site for the Church of the Nazarene Eastern Michigan District. ... A special thank you to the Brighton Church for their financial help with this ...
www.emdnaz.org/etidings_jun02.php (http://www.emdnaz.org/etidings_jun02.php) - 18k - Cached - Similar pages

Concrete Disciples Skateboarding - Skatepark Directory & Listings ...
Lighthouse Skatepark - Brighton, Michigan, United States ... The park is owned by the Brighton Nazarene Church. It's indoor, very nice facility. ...
www.concretedisciples.com/skateparksdb/skateparks_display.php?id=1078 (http://www.concretedisciples.com/skateparksdb/skateparks_display.php?id=1078) - 22k - Cached - Similar pages

WHMI 93.5 Livingston County Michigan Radio Station
Livingston County's Own 93.5, Michigan, with all your local news, weather and sports ... 8 pm, at the Brighton Nazarene Church at 7679 Brighton Rd. Tickets, ...
www.whmi.com/ (http://www.whmi.com/) - 55k - Cached - Similar pages

Teenagers rave about hangout - 03/01/06 - The Detroit News
The Naz is an activity center run by the Brighton Nazarene Church, where nearly 100 kids spend time on weekend nights skateboarding, playing basketball and ...
detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/METRO04/603010417/1015 - 32k - Cached - Similar pages

Press & Argus - www.livingstondaily.com (http://www.livingstondaily.com) - Livingston, MI
Brighton Nazarene Church • 7669 Brighton Road, Brighton ... a half-mile-long winding asphalt trail, a skateboard challenge section, and a pavilion. ...
www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060414/COMMUNITIES01/60413025 (http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060414/COMMUNITIES01/60413025) - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

Genoa Township, Michigan Home Page
... addition to the Brighton Church of the Nazarene, Section 25, 7679 Brighton Road, ... be limited to skateboarding and other uses accessory to the church. ...
www.genoa.org/planningCommissionMeetings/082800.html (http://www.genoa.org/planningCommissionMeetings/082800.html) - 50k - Cached - Similar pages

Genoa Township, Michigan Home Page
Mr. Steve Varilone of Brivar Construction, the Pastor of the Brighton Nazarene Church, and the co-chairs of the building committee for the church were ...
www.genoa.org/planningCommissionMeetings/041403.html (http://www.genoa.org/planningCommissionMeetings/041403.html) - 49k - Cached - Similar pages

Ann Arbor Skatepark Action Committee » Library
HazardStock 2005 - a celebration of skateboarding and music in Ann Arbor’s Wheeler ... there’s also the Nazarene church “Lighthouse” skatepark in Brighton, ...
a2skatepark.org/?page_id=4 - 7k - Cached - Similar pages

Novi
Portal and directory for Southeast Michigan suburban newspaper group, ... 7679 Brighton Rd. Brighton 810-227-6600. CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE. 415 McCarthy St. ...
www.hometownlife.com/Novi/Resource.asp?Community=NOV&Category=6&Title=US%20Government (http://www.hometownlife.com/Novi/Resource.asp?Community=NOV&Category=6&Title=US%20Government) - 204k - Cached - Similar pages

[John Kennedy]

[QUOTE=Jen Blackburn]Mark, i am confused -- i'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or if you really don't want the skaters in your town.

in some ways, it sounds like you're being sarcastic and want to work with the school & police to find a safe place for these kids to skate..

on the other hand, it sounds as if you think they're a menace and shouldn't be allowed anywhere in the town at all!

Jen,
I like/admire skateboarders! They are great to watch. Very entertaining, LOL!
I don't mind them around the town. It gives the streets character.
My driveway is full of ramps, a 1/4 pipe, grind rails of all kinds, trick boxes, plywood pieces, chunks of wood, and like all the other streets kids!

During the summer I have no where to park my bike!

My son Mike is a VERY avid skateboarder. His passion runs deep about the sport. He is going to try and get into the Guiness Book of World Records this summer regarding his boarding!

I think by the school getting the Police involed is just going to lead to a bad situation. A way of the school passing the buck!


And just what would you suggest the school do? If the school officials or teachers or others ask the kids to exercise care they generally are greeted by obscene responses and total defiance. I had more than one brush with skaters/boarders who felt they had the right to do whatever they wanted to wherever they wanted to and nobody should every stand in their way.


Before you negatively write off the school's concern, etcl, you might want to know that there are real liability problems. Too many skaters don't care where they're doing it, damage school property, run into people, indulge in graffitti, etc. And, if they get injured there's always a willing lawyer around sue the school system.
I taught for years in a school campus that was built on a natural slope. It was a wonderful downhill course for skaters and boarders. It even involved, because of the placement of the buildings, turning corners. Being run into by some idiot on a board can result in serious injury - the injured party knows they have no recourse agaisnt the 'boarder' - they have nothing and their parents (to use the term very loosely) won't step up to the plate and make their kids behave responsibly) so the school gets sued for things like personal injury, property damage, etc.

[John Kennedy]

[QUOTE=Belinda Y. Edwards]Okay - i have to admit that the very idea of blasting kids that aren't doing drugs or alcohol really pushes a button with me.

i see it as an opportunity to minister.

One Nazarene Church on our District created this wonderful indoor skate board park. It is the largest in our region, possibly state. It has gained massive attention and the community donates largely to it (after they saw how it was ran). Kids from our area travel to go to that park.

When i found out that kids from our community were traveling to that community to participate in a Nazarene Operates Skateland - i wanted our church to do the same (before the name change of CrossWalk)....unfortunately those people had the same attitude that you've posted here. Now, they are gone and we don't have the personel to run it. i often think of opportunities missed for Christ because of attitudes.[/QUOT

Yvonne -

Is there a possibility that the reluctance, on the part of the church, to proceed could, at least partially, have stemmed from concerns about the church's liability in case of injury? Is it possible that they had other than ulterior motives? Is it possible their heads were insisting to be heard from as well as their hearts?

Not everyone who has reservations about the wisdom or possibility of launching a ministry is necessarily evil. I"ve sat on enough church boards attempting to clean up messes resulting from unwise ministry decisions to, at least, be somewhat skeptical about every proposal that comes down the pike.

Churches work with finite fiscal resources. Decisions have to be made that are heart-wrenching. But there is, dare I say it, a matter of stewardship involved. If you can't afford to assume the potential, terrifyingly real, liability, it leaves other, equally worthwhile ministries of the church vulnerable to being shut down.

Skateboard parks are a wonderful idea. Despite being a regular old grouch and a grinch who only lives to deprive those younger than myself of a good time, I will grudgingly admit that kids need legitimate outlets for having fun. But it's sometimes prohibitively expensive to buy the kind of liability insurance coverage necessary - and, sometimes, you can't even buy it.


The liability is there, whether or not you choose to buy insurance for it or not. By the very nature of the activity the participants don't always stay upright. And, as medical tests have conflusively demonstrated, the surfaces upon which people land are considerably less fragile than the people who fall. And people will not hesitate to sue churches.


Maybe the people to whom you referred had, and still have, incredibly bad attitudes. But, God help us, people with bad attitudes are not always necessarily wrong. They may be wrong in the way they manifest their point of view, but maybe the concern is legitimate.

I have gathered, from your posts, that you are in the nursing profession. If this is the case, I am assuming you maintain some level of malpractice insurance. If you don't, both you and your employer are incredibly foolish. You, because you are jeapordizing the financial security of your family, and your employer because your failure to properly insure yourself increases the employer's vulnerability to litigation.

I am happy the other churches involved were able to provide this very valuable kind of ministry. Presumably they are able to protect themselves and their other ministries against the very real threat of an injury resulting in litigation.

The same God who gave us hearts gave us heads (why on earth am I telling this to a nurse) - he expects us to use both. Those who have reservations about our visions are not necessarily evil. While they should always express those reservations in a Christlike manner, their point of view may, once in a while, be as legitimate as our own.

[John Kennedy]

[QUOTE=Jen Blackburn]Mark, i am confused -- i'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or if you really don't want the skaters in your town.

in some ways, it sounds like you're being sarcastic and want to work with the school & police to find a safe place for these kids to skate..

on the other hand, it sounds as if you think they're a menace and shouldn't be allowed anywhere in the town at all!

Jen,
I like/admire skateboarders! They are great to watch. Very entertaining, LOL!
I don't mind them around the town. It gives the streets character.
My driveway is full of ramps, a 1/4 pipe, grind rails of all kinds, trick boxes, plywood pieces, chunks of wood, and like all the other streets kids!

During the summer I have no where to park my bike!

My son Mike is a VERY avid skateboarder. His passion runs deep about the sport. He is going to try and get into the Guiness Book of World Records this summer regarding his boarding!

I think by the school getting the Police involed is just going to lead to a bad situation. A way of the school passing the buck!

Mark -

I'm sure you're the very nicest guy in the world and a lot of fun to be around.
But I'm not sure I'd want to be your next door neighbor. He, or she, may not be too wild about you when it comes time to sell the house. Some buyers are not wild about moving in next door to a mess. They don't really care for the clutter, no matter how much fun you're having with it.

In the same way, no matter how much character you think it brings to the streets, lots of business owners prefer to not have a bunch of kids skating in parking lots and sidewalks and interfering with their customers.

I have no doubt about your enthusiasm for skating. Enthusiasm is not necessarily an unmixed blessing. A lot of my time as a teacher was spent dealing with kids who were convinced that their immediate impuse or enthusiasm trumped everything else. I had to spend a lot of my time, when I could've been teaching, trying to clean up the messes created by people who simply wanted to do what they wanted to do and the heck with everyoneand everything else.
Part of the maturing process is learning to control our impulses instead of the other way around.
Hope your town is able to get the skateboard park - sounds like a very legit need.

[John Kennedy]

Belinda-

Please forgive me for referring to you, in my response to one of your posts, as Yvonne. Guess living up here in the 'Geezer Ghetto' is finally taking its toll on the short term memory. I can repeat, nearly verbatim, what someone said several years ago and simultaneously have trouble recalling my PIN for the ATM.

[William Hunter]

we have 10 1/2 acres at our church building site and wanted to put in a skate board area for the area teens. When we asked about insurance, no matter where we went, the cost was so prohibitively expensive we had to drop the idea of the church providing such a facility.



Okay - i have to admit that the very idea of blasting kids that aren't doing drugs or alcohol really pushes a button with me.

i see it as an opportunity to minister.

One Nazarene Church on our District created this wonderful indoor skate board park. It is the largest in our region, possibly state. It has gained massive attention and the community donates largely to it (after they saw how it was ran). Kids from our area travel to go to that park.

When i found out that kids from our community were traveling to that community to participate in a Nazarene Operates Skateland - i wanted our church to do the same (before the name change of CrossWalk)....unfortunately those people had the same attitude that you've posted here. Now, they are gone and we don't have the personel to run it. i often think of opportunities missed for Christ because of attitudes.

[Belinda Y. Edwards]

Belinda-

Please forgive me for referring to you, in my response to one of your posts, as Yvonne. Guess living up here in the 'Geezer Ghetto' is finally taking its toll on the short term memory. I can repeat, nearly verbatim, what someone said several years ago and simultaneously have trouble recalling my PIN for the ATM.
:basic03 apology accepted.

i understand - i am prone to call myself "yvonne" from time to time - but i am working on it, too.

Thank you for your understanding.

[Belinda Y. Edwards]

William - you got further with the idea than we were able to get. May i suggest that you contact the Brighton Church and ask them what they did/do? i think it is very cool that they are being known statewide for what they are offering to their community.

Regardless, i do applaude your thinking out of the box.

To reach those around us - that others aren't reaching (that we aren't reaching) - we must think outside the box.

[Belinda Y. Edwards]

Mark -

i need to apologize for blasting you for your *blasting* title post. Your title lead me to believe that you were sincere. jen - thanks for seeing past the title and reading his sarcastic tone.

i'll never take you serious again, Mark. *laughs*

[Peter Teolis]

And just what would you suggest the school do? If the school officials or teachers or others ask the kids to exercise care they generally are greeted by obscene responses and total defiance. I had more than one brush with skaters/boarders who felt they had the right to do whatever they wanted to wherever they wanted to and nobody should every stand in their way.

Firstly, we are a rural community. And there are many, many liability issues with everything that goes on in and around the school yard. Most of the seniors (grade 11 and 12) drive to school. You should see them pull in and out of the parking lot. They have not been banned.

Most of these kids are good kids and actually some come to our church. You are stereotyping here without all the facts from our end.

Did you know that smoking is illeagal if you are under 19 in Ontario, yet there is an acceptable smoking area for the teens (most of them are 18 or younger) at the side of the school and at any given time you can find teachers there as well. Great example in this day and age. The cops do nothing there, even though they can.

There are swarms at this high school at most dances they have in areas of the school ground the principal tells the students they are not to be in (because they don't patrol them) I have pulled kids I know out of the swarms personally, spoken to the principal about it and she told me they don't patrol it so they tell the kids not to be there.

I could go on...

Mark's point is they are going after the wrong group here and with the wrong approach. There are more serious problems that need to be dealt with. The local businesses nearby the high scholl get lots of business from the students at lunch and after school. The ones that don't complain treat the kids like humans, not outsiders or lower forms of mankind. The school has an enormous amount of property and could designate an area for skateboarding (the same as they have for smoking) and ask the town to put some cash in for a skatebaord park NOW. And maybe the police should be checking out the smokers corner for substances a bit more harmfull than skateboards (like tobacco and weed!) To me this would be a better use of taxpayers money. There are some of us (and the numbers are growing) that would help with the 'skateboarding' problem and we may step in. There are liability issues with all sports they back and more injuries in football, hockey and basketball than skateboarding

In closing, there are way better ways to deal with all these issues. It is time we act like adults and deal with them instead of passing them off to the local authorities. These teachers are the kids daily mentors. Our generation needs to take some of the responsability for the way things are now and begin to fix them before it is too late for our kids and their kids.

WILL YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!:cool:

[Marilyn Lawson]

Mark's point is they are going after the wrong group here and with the wrong approach. There are more serious problems that need to be dealt with. The local businesses nearby the high scholl get lots of business from the students at lunch and after school. The ones that don't complain treat the kids like humans, not outsiders or lower forms of mankind. The school has an enormous amount of property and could designate an area for skateboarding (the same as they have for smoking) and ask the town to put some cash in for a skatebaord park NOW. And maybe the police should be checking out the smokers corner for substances a bit more harmfull than skateboards (like tobacco and weed!) To me this would be a better use of taxpayers money. There are some of us (and the numbers are growing) that would help with the 'skateboarding' problem and we may step in. There are liability issues with all sports they back and more injuries in football, hockey and basketball than skateboarding[/SIZE]

In closing, there are way better ways to deal with all these issues. It is time we act like adults and deal with them instead of passing them off to the local authorities. These teachers are the kids daily mentors. Our generation needs to take some of the responsability for the way things are now and begin to fix them before it is too late for our kids and their kids.

WILL YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!:cool:


I HOPE YOU TWO GET ONE OFF THE GROUND!!!

KEEP FIGHTING - IT CAN BE ACHIEVED!! :fav18

Marilyn

[Jim Severns]

I’ve never had a problem with a kid just riding on a skateboard or even doing some mild stunts. However, I have often observed kids jumping and landing in such a way as to just destroy property. One kid I saw slide down a freshly painted stair railing, stripping it in the process. I commented on the destruction only to have it suggested that I perform certain acts that aren’t technically possible.

The kids that do stunts for real are just incredible.

Nashville has addressed the problem with a skate park.
http://www.nashville.gov/parks/skatepark.htm