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| Let them skate |
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| Written by Marc Aceves | Patterson Irrigator | |
| Friday, 30 May 2008 | |
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Local pastor gives enthusiasts a place to grind the rails  Crowd-pleaser: Patterson 15-year-old Dominic Verducci ollies over the Patterson High School auditorium stairs Thursday after the last day of school. Photo by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator Quarterbacks need football fields. Pitchers need baseball diamonds. Skaters need skateboard parks. Patterson is temporarily devoid of a skate park — save for the illegal usage of both the Save Mart Supermarkets and True Value Hardware parking lots — but the City Council recently designated $15,000 to hire a skate park designer. While the wheels on the project have slowly started spinning, boarding enthusiasts still have quite a wait on their hands. So far, there has been no additional funding for the park, which holds a projected price tag exceeding $400,000. Until that funding materializes, there will be no skate park. Meanwhile, the city’s boarders are still in need of a place to practice their craft while eagerly waiting for park planners to officially break ground. Skateboarding along public streets and sidewalks will still be frowned upon. Police may hand out citations to boarders who are caught and can choose to confiscate a skater’s board if necessary. Enter the Rev. Tom Roscoe of Patterson’s New Home Foursquare Church. Roscoe — whose 7-year-old son also enjoys skateboarding in his leisure time — recognized the need for a park months ago. Since then, he has invited the city’s boarders to use the parking lot in front of his church, which is shared by a handful of nearby businesses, as a makeshift park. To make sure that all skateboarding activities are done in a safe and respectful manner, Roscoe waits until each of the surrounding establishments closes for the day before proclaiming the designated area skate-able. Roscoe supervises all activities, inviting participants to take part in a brief Bible study between grind sessions. “The kids usually skate for about an hour before the Bible study,” said church publicist Carl Schneider. “Afterwards, they can go back out and continue to take advantage of the various ramps and rails.” Between 20 and 30 skateboarders regularly use the lot to socialize with friends or practice for upcoming competitions. “I’ve seen as many as about 60 kids out having a good time,” Schneider said. “You can never get a real idea of how many of them are out there, though. Everyone is sharing their boards and other gear.” New Home Foursquare Church is at 551 N. First St., and the parking lot is set up for skating activities at 6 p.m. Wednesdays. For information: 892-7001. To reach Marc Aceves at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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