But Some Bones

Are Broken And

Some Skaters Fail

To Wear Helmets

By AMY ROSE

Staff Writer

The opening of the Greeneville Skate Park three weeks ago has resulted in many happy skateboarders . . . and a few safety issues.

Sherry Melton, president of the Greeneville Skate Park Organization, said this week in an interview she believes the park is keeping some young people out of trouble, but heavy enforcement of the strict rules is causing some concern.

"The majority of the kids are still having a good time," Melton said.

On average, she said, 25 to 40 skateboarders are using the skate park daily at Hardin Park.

At times, the park is used by 20 or more skateboarders, while at other times the crowd is smaller, depending on the weather.

Approximately 140 skateboarders have registered to use the skate park, according to Butch Patterson, executive director of the Greeneville Parks and Recreation Department.

Melton said skateboarders are coming from as far away as Bristol, Rogersville, Kingsport, and Raleigh, N.C., to use Greeneville's skate park.

Helmets Required

At about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, when a Greeneville Sun reporter visited the park, there were five local skateboarders, all of whom were wearing the required helmets. (Please see accompanying article.)

The helmet requirement has been perhaps the biggest challenge to the park's progress, with a few skateboarders resisting wearing the piece of safety equipment.

The Greeneville Police Department is conducting regular safety patrols of the skate park to check for helmets.

After a warning, a skateboarder who is caught a second time without a helmet will be banned from the skate park and can be arrested for criminal trespassing.

Melton said she feels that the level of helmet-related regulation is a bit strict. She noted that the majority of the skate parks in the region do not require either helmets or registration.

She also said, however, that she has told several skaters to be respectful to law enforcement officials who are enforcing the rules.

"I see so many kids down there that are enjoying it, and if they weren't there, I don't know where they would be," Melton said. "For the most part, they're really good kids."

Greeneville Police Chief Terry Cannon said there have been some minor problems at the skate park, mostly related to skaters' refusing to wear the required helmets.

"It's just like anything . You've got some good kids, and you've got some bad kids -- and they're not really bad, they just want to stretch the rules," Chief Cannon said.

"We've had some problems with them not wanting to wear their helmets," he said. "We're just trying to make it safe for everybody."

Registration Required

In addition to wearing helmets, every user of the skate park must register with the Parks and Recreation Department.

Butch Patterson, Parks and Recreation director, said skateboarders must fill out a registration form, and those under age 18 must get their parent or guardian to sign the form.

When the registration form is complete, skateboarders receive a user card good for one year and a copy of the park rules.

Four Main Rules

Patterson listed four main rules:

In addition to the requirements involving helmets and registration, no bicycles are allowed on the skate park, and no skating is allowed when the surface is wet, Patterson said.

A list of the park rules will be posted at the park in the near future, he noted.

When the park first opened, an employee of the Parks and Recreation Department was stationed at the skate park to help enforce the rules.

Now, Patterson said, the employee is there in the evenings and on the weekends when the park sees peak usage.

New Fence Going Up

Another problem that has occurred since the park opened is that some skateboarders apparently are taking bathroom breaks inside the dugout area of the nearby ballfield at Hardin Park.

It is hoped that such incidents will stop when a new security fence around the skate park is completed.

The fence is being erected by workers in the Greeneville Public Works Department and the Parks and Recreation Department.

Patterson said the fence is scheduled to be finished within the next week to 10 days.

He said the Parks and Recreation Department will have the capability of locking the fence, but plans are to keep it unlocked unless skateboarders start using the park after the hours when Hardin Park is closed.

Injuries Reported

When the skate park first opened in mid-June, several broken bones were soon reported among the skateboarders.

The Orthopaedic Center of Greeneville reported about three patients with arm and elbow fractures the first weekend after the park opened on Friday, June 13.

A spokesman for Greeneville Orthopaedic Clinic said that clinic has treated the customary kinds of summer injuries in the last few weeks but has not noticed any upsurge in broken bones related to the new skate park.

Melton said she knew of five or six broken bones that occurred when the park first opened because skateboarding novices tried to perform tricks that were above their skill levels.

She said none of the injuries was considered severe.

Melton also noted that, nationally, of 42 skateboarding deaths in 2007, 40 involved collisions with vehicles.

Background Of Project

Melton, the founder of the Greeneville Skate Park Organization, worked for the past two-and-a-half years to get a skate park built in Greeneville.

Her efforts, and those of others, resulted in a 10,000-sq.-foot concrete park with ramps, rails, stairs, ledges and other structures appropriate to a skate park.

The Greeneville Skate Park Organization started having community meetings in late 2005, and Melton made her first presentation to the Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen in February 2006.

She had previously presented the skate park idea to the Advisory Board of the Greeneville Department of Parks and Recreation.

In March, she presented the concept to a meeting of the Greene County Commission.

Both the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the County Commission voted in July 2007 to allocate $50,000 each for the project.

The Tony Hawk Foundation donated $10,000 for the project, and a number of other donors made contributions as well.

A total of approximately $164,000 was raised, according to Melton.

Overseeing much of that fundraising were Mike and Nata Jackson.

Original plans called for a $175,000 skate park with a larger "bowl" -- that is, an area with a deep indentation in the concrete skating surface.

When about $154,000 had been raised, the plans were adjusted to include a smaller bowl, Melton said at the groundbreaking ceremony in March.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 13, Melton said an additional $10,000 had been donated, and a concrete pad and pavilion for spectators had been added to the plans.

Suburban Rails Inc., of Ohio, was the general contractor for the project.