I was at work today reading the newspaper and when I opened up the paper a headline caught my eye. The article went like this…
“Officials: Vandalism may force closure of skate park.”
Merrimack - The town’s threat to close the skate park may have gained some impetus after being damaged by vandals last month.
Micheal Flerra Memorial Skateboard Park, located off O’Gara drive near Merrimack High School, suffered fence and spray paint damage the past few weeks, said Town Manager Keith Hickey.
The past several weeks, the skate park and nearby Abbie Griffin Park have been the target of hooligans and Hickey told the town council that the damage may have been caused by skate boarders or bicyclists.
Councilman Mike Malzone has suggested notifying park users that if the vandalism continues at Abbie Griffin that the skate park may close.
“We’ve had somebody at least twice now cut the chain-link fence after it had been repaired to gain access to that park again and, if that continues, then we will look at potentially closing the park down and removing the equipment if we have to,” said Hickey
Police Chief Mike Milligan said the fence cutting took place along the back end of the skate park near the woods. Town staff was able to repair the fence following the first instance of fence cutting, said Hickey, but the latest ones have forced him to find an outside vendor to do the work.article by Mark Ouellette, Union Leader newspaper June 3, 2008.
This was definitely not something I would like to read about and to think that people would actually trash a place that they love to go to. This was paid for by the town as a place to go and skate so you don’t have to worry about getting kicked out of the front of the library or anywhere else. I guess all I have left to say is this, if you have a skate park in your town or one that you go to, don’t vandalize it, because the town has probably put thousands of dollars into it. Show a little respect.
