— Elder says communication will provide solution —

(OSOYOOS TIMES — Oct. 25, 2006) —

By Lawrence McMahenrnOsoyoos Times

With the local curling club complaining about growing vandalism, the RCMP says it has decided to increase patrols of the adjacent skateboard park and Town officials plan to call a meeting of skateboarders, neighbours and others in an effort to curb problems in the area.
Everyone agrees the vandalism to the nearby curling club, Sun Bowl Arena, and residential fences and yards isn't caused by the majority of skateboard park users. They say the broken windows, urination in doorways and other destructive acts likely come from just a few bad apples.
And no one is calling for drastic measures like closure of the skateboard park, which was opened just 10 months ago.
But the International Curling Club of Osoyoos people are fed up, and local officials are now taking action, hoping the increased police presence and more communication by all parties will solve the problem.
Our building has been here for 30 years, and we never had problems until the skateboard park opened, says curling club building manager Darryl Hamm.
When the park opened, Hamm says, We knew there was going to be trouble.rnHe notes that the building's windows are barred, there is an alarm system, and the front entrance is well-lit 24 hours a day “ so illegal entry, theft and inside damage isn't a concern. But ever since this spring there has been the new occurrence of outside damage.
They have had a number of broken windows, which were repaired in early August, before the Club's mid-summer bonspiel, at a cost of $300. Now, those windows are broken again, and Hamm is debating whether to repair them with glass, plywood, or non-breakable plexiglass.
Just as upsetting is the regular occurrence of finding large pools of urine at the front entrance of the building “ often Monday mornings.
And just last week Hamm and club president Don Brunner discovered that vandals had ripped out a number of hidden drip-lines used to water vines that grow along the outside south wall of the club to keep the building cool in the summer.
Brunner says he's had enough. I'm resigning. I can't put up with this any longer. I'm fed up with it.rnBoth he and Hamm acknowledge that it's not necessarily skateboarders who are responsible. The kids have a right to be there; 99 per cent of them are good kids, but you've got a few bad apples, Hamm says. But he and Brunner note they never had problems before the skateboard park opened.
Town of Osoyoos Recreation Director Gerald Davis acknowledges there have been complaints from the curling club, the arena, and nearby residents about broken windows since last December's opening of the skateboard park.
He said the Town installed a porta-potty and fencing at the site, and since then the problems have been reduced.
But since school began in September, there have been a few more incidents. He said information about incidents have been turned over to the RCMP, and there have been some direct attempts to warn young people suspected of vandalism.
At the October 16th Town Council meeting, Councillor Dick Flintoft warned that if incidents continued, Council might have to take action.
We've had quite a few incidents over there ¦ The skateboarders are using the entrance to the curling club as a urinal. They've filled up the urinal that was supplied for them with rocks, and they couldn't use it anymore, from what I understand ¦ My advice to skateboarders is: 'You guys had better get your act together; if there's only one or two people that are causing all this damage, you'd better get on them and get it stopped, because we as Council do not want to get to the point where we have to shut down that skateboard park' ¦ If the users are going to abuse the neighbourhood, we're going to have to take some action to control it.rnDavis and Town Chief Administrative Officer Helen Koning say in the near future the Town will call a meeting of all the groups involved “ including the skateboard park users, the RCMP, the curling club, the arena, and nearby residents “ to discuss the situation.
Staff Sergeant Kurt Lozinski, commander of the local RCMP detachment, says he plans to not only put extra patrols on the skateboard park area, he also intends to get his officers talking more regularly with the youngsters who use the facility. He will also have his detachment talk to the curling club officials, and will ask the local Citizens on Patrol group to do more monitoring of the skateboard park and area.
It should make a difference, Lozinski says.
The central figure in the development of the skateboard park and the key link between the town and the park's users is Jamie Elder, owner of the Unity Clothing & Boardsports store in downtown Osoyoos.
Elder notes that the seven-year struggle to get the local skateboard park “ in which he and the youngsters who wanted the park raised $63,000 towards its construction “ was a major accomplishment. He says before people quickly criticize vandalism near the park, they should think of what the local situation of youth boredom and vandalism might be without the park.
And, without minimizing the problems near the skateboard park, Elder says the arena and curling club aren't alone in having windows broken and urination on their doorsteps. I've had $5,000 worth of windows smashed at my store this year and urination on my front step, Elder says.
He says usage of the skateboard park is high. Skateboard parks rank high in terms of use among public recreational facilities. Our young people like it and use it.rnElder notes that FortisBC is donating a high-powered streetlight that will be installed at the skateboard park in the near future, to add to visibility at night.
He is confident the current problems around the park can be solved. Every problem has a solution, and the solutions come from communication.rnElder notes that more communication from the curling club to him about the current vandalism problem could have helped. He currently has a spare video monitoring system and if the curling club had told him of the problem, he would have gladly offered to lend it to the club to help them find out who is doing the damage there. I would be open to that now, Elder says.