Generous donations through raffles and fund raising help pay for the park.
By Jen Otterson
Special to the Sun Journal

PARIS – Saturday morning the parking lot at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School was crowded with teenage boys on skateboards. Unlike other days, though, no teacher came out to ask them to leave, and no police officer slowed his car to tell them to move on. These boys were raising money, increasing awareness of their sport and most of all, they were celebrating.

In just over two years they have raised more than $90,000 to realize their dream. Next spring, they will begin building the skate park they have worked so hard for.

Jeannie Stone explained how the idea came about as she served hot dogs and french fries at the skate demo Saturday morning. In the spring of 2001, 150 teens and adults attended a Teen/Community Summit at the Country Way Restaurant.

“We asked ‘What do teens in the Oxford Hills need?'” she said. The overwhelming answer was a skate park.

Working with Teen Impact and the Oxford Hills Respect Team, the Skate Park Committee began raising money. Stone said they have received generous donations through raffles and fund raising.

“Healthy Oxford Hills has been a large contributor,” she said. About half of the money was awarded by the Land and Water Conservation fund. This money is being held up, Stone explained, because the owner of a property abutting the skate park site has complained.

The park will be built on property owned by Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School on Charles Street, behind Hancock Lumber. The park will be covered by the school’s liability insurance, which covers all school sports. However, because the insurance would rise dramatically if there were adult supervision at the park, the park will be unsupervised.

“South Paris police will do frequent drive-bys” of the park, Stone said. South Paris police will also lock and unlock the park’s gate.

High school senior Greg Hutchinson, one of the organizers of Saturday’s skate demo, said that the park will only be open during daylight hours. It will not be open while school is in session.

Helmets and other protective gear will be recommended but not required. “We don’t want this to be governed by an adult voice,” Stone said. She said she hopes that most kids who use the park will make the decision to wear protective gear on their own.

Stone pointed out that this is considered a prevention program. Time that kids spend skating is time that they are not using drugs or alcohol, and raising money for the park has taught them valuable skills, she said.

“The kids have developed great leadership skills from this process,” she said.

The skaters were judged by Hutchinson and high school junior Bently Hamilton in three categories: consistency, technicality, and style. Winners in the younger group, in order, were Sam DeMerz, Dan Malcolm and Josie Estes; in the older group, Billy Noble, Stephen Dobbins and Kingston Brown.

First and second place winners were given a deck, a skateboard without its wheels. Third place winners got T-shirts. The decks, worth about $50 each, were donated by National Wood Products. T-shirts were designed by Brown and printed by the high school graphic arts department.

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