Weather brings out skaters

As winter's chill melts away, residents of Green River come out to play.

The sun was shining and the weather was warm Friday afternoon in Green River. Even though it's not quite spring time on the calendar, conditions were prime at Green River's Area 51 Skate Park, and people are enjoying it.

Kids of all ages frequent the skate park throughout the warmer Wyoming months, and some even do while there is still snow on the ground. The skate park has been a place of enjoyment, betterment and escape for youth in Green River almost two decades now. Green River's original skate park was constructed in 1997, by city staff and volunteers. The idea was brought up to the city council by a group of Monroe Intermediate School students and their teacher; students Jessie Nelson, Sean Privitt, DeWayne Collins, Mike Kolesar and teacher Carol Milano.

In 2006, the original skate park was torn down and was professionally rebuilt due to structural safety issues. The skate park as it stands now, has been in place for a decade.

"When you have a group of kids like this, that's willing to help volunteer and put the time into it, it just increases the probability of things happening," Parks and Recreation Director Brad Raney said. "Those things come about because people get involved and want to help out, and they're passionate about it."

Because of these people's efforts, generations of residents enjoy and reap the benefits of the skate park today. Friday afternoon, a group of residents wereenjoying the warm weather at the skate park.

The skate park is an important element of the city's parks to the residents. The reason varies with every skate park patron.

A dad and his kids were enjoying the facility Friday. Marshall Mechling, once a seasoned skateboarder himself, was there teaching his 6-year-old son Ross and 7-year-old daughter Amy how to skateboard.

"They asked me to teach them," Mechling said. "It's 58 degrees out. They couldn't wait to get out."

Youth, middle school and high school age kids couldn't wait to get out either, and were ready to hone their skate-park skills again, after the long winter months kept them away. For some of them, it was the first ride of 2016.

The cold and snow wasn't enough to keep some of the skate park patrons away all winter long though. High school students Casey Olds and Chadryck Lowell's love and dedication to the sport of skateboarding brought them to the skate park once during the winter, and they shoveled the snow away just so they would be able to skate for a day.

For other high school-age kids, the skate park means something even more.

"It keeps me out of trouble," Braiden Haworth said.

Haworth said because he just got out of the youth home, whatever he can do to keep himself out of trouble, the better. The skate park is just that for him; it's something that he has a passion for. It's fun and it's competitive. It's something to strive for.

"It's really fun, especially when you get to show off in front of people and just show tricks and just have a bunch of fun," he said. "Just achieving new tricks and just trying to be better than most people."

The reasons vary for residents' frequency at the city's skate park, but regardless the reason, the importance is present and prevalent all the same, to each and every one. With warming weather, comes more wheels on steel at the skate park.

"Just based on the use that we see with it, yah it's important for them (kids) to have a place to go and be healthy and active, and socialize," Raney said. "I think it's something that increases the quality of life in general for the kids here to have something like that."