The sun wasn’t the only thing beating down on M-24 last Friday.
Over 30 kids, of all ages, gathered to skate, bike and walk down M-24 to show their support for skateboarding and the need for a place to skate in Orion.
‘We’re trying to show that there are a lot of kids that skateboard,? said Austin Rogers, who helped plan the gathering by passing out fliers throughout downtown.
‘The main reason that everyone is here is power in numbers,? Adam Blascak said.
‘We have nowhere to go and they call it a crime,? he added. ‘It’s not a crime, it’s an art form and a sport.?
According to Diane Rogers, Austin’s mom, she has already presented the Village with facts and figures supporting the need for a skate park.
‘We don’t need their police records to be an inch thick,? she said. ‘There are ways to compromise with the kids.?
With the lack of a place dedicated to skateboarding, the group expressed a feeling that they are outcast from the community.
‘We feel discriminated against,? Blascak said. ‘We’re not looking to cause trouble, we’re just here to skate.?
‘Their main issue is that they are made to feel like outcasts,? Diane said, noting that skateboarding’s popularity has surpassed that of baseball, yet Orion is filled with baseball fields but no skate park.
‘They’re talking through the heart,? she added. ‘Where do they go? That’s the problem.?
According to Orion Township Parks and Recreation Director Rock Blanchard, there are plans in the work for a skate park to be built in Civic Center Park, located on Joslyn Road.
‘We’ve gotten an approved site plan,? Blanchard said, adding that the location for the park will be behind the soccer fields, north of the sledding hill.
The park would be built by Dutton Partners as part of an agreement they have with Orion Township, Blanchard added. They would be responsible for the concrete and groundwork.
‘We’ve been talking to them about getting started,? he added, saying that Parks and Recreation are currently researching different types of ramps and equipment, and foresee the park being completed sometime in 2008.
While Diane is happy to hear talk of a place for the kids to skate, she worries that the location of the proposed park is not centralized enough that kids will be able to get to it, as many of them are not old enough to drive.
The Review will continue to cover the progress of the building of the skate park at Civic Center Park.