CLEARLAKE — A dedication ceremony and re-opening celebration will be held at the skatepark in Clearlake beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 12. The event will include a dedication of the park in memory of Andy Johnson, who was considered by many to be a leader within the skateboard/BMX sports community.
The event will be hosted by the Community BMX/Skate Park Committee, which has been working diligently to raise funds to finance repairs recently completed at the park. The celebration will include live music, barbecue and demonstrations by skateboarders and BMX bike riders.
The dedication ceremony falls two days prior to the second anniversary of Johnson”s death. Johnson was killed in a vehicle collision while traveling with friends to a skateboard/BMX facility near Eureka. Since his death, proponents exerted ongoing effort to get the skatepark renamed in his honor. In January, the council approved the request.
Local youth advocate, teacher and church leader Ken Savin had been present for the Jan. 24 meeting and offered the council some insight into the life of Andy Johnson and the effect he had had on his peers. “When I first started going to the skatepark, there was a clear animosity between the skaters and the bikers. They seemed to glare at each other with an ?evil eye” whenever they got in each other”s way, or when they cut in or ?snaked” when someone was waiting to do a trick. Enter Andy,” he had said. “He was just as talented on BMX as he was skateboarding. Partly because Andy was good at skateboarding and BMX, he was well-liked by both groups. People in both groups respected him. It was also because of his overall bright and happy personality, he brought the skaters and bikers together.”
The Clearlake City Council has been discussing the fate of the skatepark with the committee and youngsters of the community since November 2007, following temporary closure of the facility for repairs. Repairs have been completed and the park was re-opened to the public; however, a serious problem still exists with youngsters using the facility ignoring the rules that were agreed upon in order to re-open the park.
The city council agreed to allow dual use of the facility by skateboarders and bicycle riders provided that they don”t use it at the same time. An alternate day use schedule was agreed upon; however skateboarders and bicycle riders are continuing to use the park at the same time.
\\Rules also require that users of the park wear proper safety equipment including a helmet, which many are not doing.
“They are breaking the state law when they ride their bikes from their houses to the skatepark, challenging state law,” said Mayor Curt Giambruno during the March 27 regular meeting of the council. “Now they are challenging the police and they are challenging the city.”
The city council will be discussing enforcement tactics for getting compliance from the youngsters at the skatepark during its next regular meeting, scheduled for April 10. The council is considering either fining the violators or “grounding” one and all from using the park by closing it and locking it up for a few days.
Representatives of BMX/skate park committee ensured that there will be no one without a helmet using the facility on the day of its event and that the park will not be used by skateboarders and bicyclists at the same time either. It was suggested that a law enforcement representative attend the event and help educate the youngster of the consequences they could face if they don”t use the skatepark properly.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
