Update: 'You can't destroy something you love': How to help clean up Port Royal park
Jared Lewis remembers the lessons of almost a decade ago.
He was among group of young skaters tutored in the sport by Killer Peaks Skate and Surf Shop owner Jonathan Bekemeyer, whose store has since closed. Bekemeyer taught the group proper etiquette at the Port Royal skate park, to keep it clean and to report any vandalism and drug activity to the police.
That's the code to which most who use the skate park adhere, Lewis said. He has volunteered to clean up Naval Heritage Park on Saturday starting at 8 a.m. after the facility was closed this week due to trash in the park and vandalism to a nearby playground.
Actual skateboarders have long tried to scrub troublemakers from the park, Lewis said.
"The skate park is like a second home to a lot of us," said the 26-year-old Lady's Island man, who grew up in Burton. "That's where a lot of us would go when we didn't want to be at our actual house."
The skate park was closed off with yellow caution tape this week after the recently opened playground nearby was vandalized. A steering wheel was taken from a wooden replica of a Spanish galleon and white spackle was thrown on the ship, town manager Van Willis said.
That, in addition to trash throughout the park, led the town to close the skate park until the area was cleaned. Willis has said the skate park will reopen when the trash is picked up.
A $500 reward is being offered for information related to the playground vandalism, Port Royal Police Chief Alan Beach said Wednesday.
Security cameras in the skate park are not operational and require wireless Internet and a device to store the footage, Willis said Tuesday. The town is working to get them running, he said.
In the meantime, the cleaning will get underway. Lewis and Burton resident Ashley Shoemaker are the only confirmed participants so far. They hope other volunteers join them.
Lewis plans to bring a mop for the concrete around the park and acetone to scrub graffiti on the ramps. Shoemaker said she might bring a drill and some screws for some of the ramps in disrepair.
Shoemaker, a Technical College of the Lowcountry student who uses the park a couple of times a week, said it's important those who enjoy the park set a good example -- especially now with the small children nearby on the playground. She began skateboarding and roller skating at a young age after watching older kids at the park.
"We really need to teach these kids you can't destroy something you love if you want to keep it open," Shoemaker said. "You need to keep it open and clean."
Lewis had complained this week that the town was punishing skaters for something they didn't do, something he sees as an ongoing issue. The troublemakers who sometimes hang out at the adjacent gazebo aren't there to skate, Lewis said.
He guessed the park had been closed 20 times in the little more than 15 years of its existence.
A difference this time was social media.
The town posted on its Facebook page about the vandalism, garbage and the closing of the skate park.
Area residents voiced concerns, with about 100 comments on the town's initial post.
Lewis called the town Tuesday to volunteer to clean up. He had written on Facebook that skateboarders should not be associated with "cultural parasites" who vandalize public property.
"I know the conversation on this topic has been up and down, but the Town does understand the importance of the skatepark," a post on the town's Facebook page read. "We just want a little help keeping it clean and usable for everyone."
To help
What: Naval Heritag Park garbage and skate park cleanup
Where: Naval Heritage Park, Ribaut Road, Port Royal.
When: Saturday, 8 a.m.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- Update: New Port Royal playground vandalized; skate park to remain closed indefinitely, Dec. 1, 2015
- Port Royal playground construction begins Monday, Nov. 6, 2015
- Kid stuff: Playground additions sought for Naval Park, Port Royal farmer's market, Aug. 26, 2015
This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 9:10 AM with the headline "Update: 'You can't destroy something you love': How to help clean up Port Royal park."