Eighteen-year-old Joseph Moherek, clad in only sneakers, a baseball cap and a pair of faded jeans, held his skateboard loosely by the nose and stared hard at the obstacle in front of him.
He took a deep breath, mounted his battered board and took off down the court of Delma Locke Skate Park like a ball bearing slung from a slingshot.
He was a blur of teenage bravado perched upon four tiny wheels and a deck made of laminated plywood. And his speed, unlike his daring, was broken only by the change of angle suggested by the metal slope of the ramp that launched him skyward.
Now, the ramp looked less like an obstacle and more like an accomplice as Moherek soared over an adjoining half pipe that he used to gracefully make his return to solid ground.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Moherek said panting. “It keeps people out of trouble and off the streets … a lot of exercise.”
And keeping people out of trouble was the whole point, according to city officials and area residents like Bill Davis, owner of Billy Bones’ Music and More in Chiefland.
Davis, along with his wife, Katheryn, played a key role in organizing a petition to have the park built, which, according to skaters at the park, draws people from Old Town, Cross City, Fanning Springs, Bell, Williston and Gainesville.
“They get their aggressions out,” Davis said. “It helps control the kids that might spend time breakin’ into cars.”
But he said it’s also about providing an alternative opportunity to build self
esteem through physical activity.
“There are a lot of kids into organized sports. But there are a lot of kids who don’t fit the football/ cheerleader type. Are they good kids? Yeah. It gives them a sense of self worth and self accomplishment, things they can do.”
Davis said the park also gives children a sense of ownership and community. He said they are learning to police themselves.
Moreover, he said, the park is important because athletic programs in high schools are being cut and skateboarding is a cheap alternative.
Plus, he added, it’s safer than most sports and it’s growing in popularity.
According to a 2007 report by the National Sporting Goods Association, Davis is correct about skate boarding’s growing popularity. From 1998 to 2007, the sport saw a 74.1 percent increase in the amount of its participants—more than any other sport over that time period.
And though the amount of participants in some traditional sports such as football, basketball and baseball is still higher, skateboarding was shown to have about 10 million participants nationally in 2007, according to the report.
Laurie Copeland, project and finance coordinator for the City of Chiefland, said Vice Mayor Teresa Barron was another key factor in seeing that the park was built.
“She wanted me to go find money for it.”
Copeland did — through a Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program grant.
Copeland said the park cost $135, 611 and was built in several phases on land provided by the city. Building it in phases, she said, allowed the city to spend less money and enabled them to hire a local contractor to pour the concrete slab.
The ramps were designed and constructed by American Ramp Co. and feature steel surfaces covered with a patented coating that keep them from getting too hot, she said. And there’s a 25-year warranty.
She said the recreation committee and local skaters were involved in choosing a design.
Barron said she thinks the park is important, and she’s glad it was built.
“I grew up in Chiefland,” she said. “And since I was little, there wasn’t much for kids to do. Not everyone enjoys team sports.”
She said it keeps skaters off private property—something that has been an issue in the past.
Andrew Crowe, 19, from West Palm Beach, was at the park skating the same day Moherek was and said he comes to the park often when he’s visiting his mom in Trenton.
“In Trenton, you get a ticket for riding on the sidewalk.”
Crowe, who has been skating for about five years, said skating keeps him active and out of the house. He said it’s a great way to meet people.
“And it’s better than drugs,” he added.
