RESIDENTS WORKING WITH POLICE TO RECLAIM SKATEBOARD PARK

Every playground will get its share of "good" kids, and those who don't
play so nice, says the co-chair of Clareview Youth Park Committee.

But shutting down the community's brand new skateboard park, due to recent
trouble with drug dealers and gang members hanging around the area, would
only prove one thing, says Gunda Murray - that the "thugs" have won.

"It would be a slap in the face to the kids who built that park, to the
communities that supported it, and to those people who use it in a
responsible manner," says Murray, who is also president of Clareview and
area council. She doesn't want a few bad eggs to ruin it for the majority,
who have eagerly awaited the new facility's completion.

The $250,000 park, which just opened in August after two years of planning,
is located next to Clareview recreation centre, at 3804-139 Ave.

Aside from reports of illegal drug and gang activity at the park, there
have been a number of complaints of teenagers drinking in the park and
harassing people as they walked by, on their way to the rec. centre. A
petition to shut down the park is currently circulating throughout Clareview.

Murray says the community is working with community services, arena staff
and North Division police, to resolve these problems. Some of the options
being looked at include staffing the park, ongoing police patrolling, and
setting up surveillance cameras in the arena to monitor park activity.

"The kids who use the park suggested (the surveillance cameras)," says Murray.

North Division inspector John Findlay says police have been aware of what's
going on in the park for quite some time, and have two turf constables, who
work in the area, currently monitoring the "hot spot."

"We're on top of it. We're working with the community to deal with this
issue, and are currently taking some proactive steps with regards to
addressing this." Findlay adds the North Division has a "neighbourhood
empowerment team," made up of a police officer, social worker, community
development specialist and a part-time youth worker, who are also
monitoring activity at the skateboard park.

EPS detective Wil Tonowski, who is also a community league member in Mill
Woods, says he finds it ironic that they're trying to shut down a
skateboard park at one end of the city as his community is about to open
one on the other.

Mill Woods is just a month or so away from completing its long-awaited
skateboard park.

"Does it mean we shouldn't be building facilities like these skateboard
parks? I don't think that's the answer. We want to be proactive in finding
solutions to these problems," says Tonowski.

"North Division police are working actively with the Clareview community to
deal with this. Hopefully Mill Woods can learn from the problems they've
experienced."

Ron Kuban, chair of Mill Woods presidents' council, says despite
Clareview's experience, the Mill Woods skateboard park is still "a go."

"As always, we are concerned about safety and well being in our community.
We are watching and learning from the Clareview experience, and are
continuing to guard against this facility, or others, becoming a focal
point of criminal activity," says Kuban.

He says Mill Woods' community patrol - a team of volunteers who ride around
the neighbourhood and radio any suspicious activity they see to an EPS
representative - could serve as a model in communities like Clareview.