The Castlegar Sun Wednesday, September 28, 1994 Ruth Task Force QUY BERTRAND ‘Sterling News Services ~~ from the Trail com- Sign it and they will come. Robson Annual Christmas Craft Sale. Featuring the fine Handicrafts of local artisans. Date: Fri, Nov.18, Sat Nov 19, 1994. Time: 10am-4pm. Place: Robson Community Hall. To reserve a table phone Muriel at 604-365-7403 or Marion at 604- 365-4972. Refreshments will be available. Sponsored by Robson/Raspberry Seniors. BC Special Olympics - Castlegar local. Registration night is Wed. Sept 28, 1994. 7pm- 8pm. Kinnaird Elementary School. For all athletes & volunteers (executive coaching & helpers needed). Contact Lori at 365-5444 for more information. 1ST KINNAIRD SCOUTS meet every Sunday night from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Carpenters Hall. Registrations will be accepted on meeting nights, New members are very welcome. Cost is $35.00. Flu Clinic - St. Rita's Parish Hall, 513-7th Ave. Castlegar, Wednesday, October 5 (Sr. Wellness Day) 12, 26, 9:00 am-3:00 pm. Available to: Anyone 65 and older, children or adults with heart of lung conditions who are under Dr's care Wear Short Sleeves. Coffee and tea available. Call 365- 4300 for more info. Seniors Assoc. #46 - Business meeting Oct 6 - Whist at 7pm Oct 13. contract that will bring the 1995 Babe Ruth World Series to Trail in August. “We're excited to be coming to Canada,” Ron Tellefsen, presi- dent and CEO of Babe Ruth community and business leaders. “We've done an excellent job in ing Trail." Along with the contract, the Babe Ruth Task Force which included West Coast commis- sioner Bob Hi ived a mittee helps with not only P but [ the supplying of all the baseballs, and awards for the World Series, He briefly touched on the impact and calibre of ball that the Babe Ruth World Series will bring to Trail \ “You will see a lot of potential major league ballplayers, Normally every major league team is represented by the head scout or one of ff their chief scouts,” said Te cheque for $40,000 from the Trail World Series committee. “The $40,000 goes towards the cost.of the teams to travel to Trail,” said Tellefsen. “We esti- mate that bringing the teams into Spokane, Wa., will cost $75,000." The Task Force duo was joined by Babe Ruth League Inc. board member Al Elliott and B.C. com- the Babe Ruth League's goals and financial commitments, 2pm - open house will be held at 10am Oct 11. J Tellefsen gave an overview of Economically, the impact should be “The impact on 1995 Babe Ruth W Trail should be well over $1 million in that 10-day period,” explained Tellefsen. He spoke on the possibility of an invitational team coming to the tournament bringing the num- ber of teams to 10. “It's not definite,” he said. “We're looking at the ry excited Trail next August. He also took the opportunity to welcome more corporate spon- sors to the of a foreign country team or a second Canadian team.” West Kootenay Power, ICBC, Cominco and Ford of Canada detailing that the thoney received er oon Rea TOWN HOUSE JUICES 3x250 mL JUICE 295-355 mL McINTOSH APPLES Produce Dept. ¢ 3 Ib. Buy one get one ROAST BEEF Deli Department ¢ Sliced or Shaven 19 "DELI DEPA\ RTMENT BBQ CHICKEN Deli Department ¢ Hot and Cold FREE with coupon available 4s) Zere y Le 4”: out Canada easrirrntin lappy ball fans in Trail on Monday night as the Put the official signarue on the contract for the lorid Series to be held in Trail. Guy Bertrand photo { will join current sponsors Super Valu, Kiwanis Club, Kootenay Sa Coldwell Banker, Lions Club, Eagles, City of Trail, Xerox, Creditors Insurance and Home Hardware Building Centre as boosters of the World Series. “This is a real good opportuni- ty to build in the community at the same time as we build a little shaw, director of public affairs for West Kootenay Power. “Recognizing that this is the first time it has come to Trail, it’s a wonderful opportunity for West Kootenay Power to be involved,” said Stanley. Community involvement also attracted Ken Peterson, owner of Home Hardware Building Centre, “We're new in the community and we want to be part of the Trail community and we feel this is a way a worthwhile contribu- tion,” Peterson explained. “Trail’s got a great tradition with the youth and we feel we'd like to be part of it.” The Babe Ruth Task Force will visit Butler Park today before returning home on Wednesday. Tellefsen said he and Hemond would be back again in May or June for final on-site inspections and provide any help or expertise to the organizing committee. AFFORDABLE Alternative to the Denais Coons HIGH COST of Manager ‘Funeral Homes. Complete Funeral, Memorial Service or No Service, Our Years of Experience Makes the Process Easier. We Provide Whatever You Want at PERSONAL LATIVE 1c Suite 101 — 1000 Rossiand Ave. ‘Trail (Call Anytime |-800-780-3322- Diaries, calendars, desk Pads & planners | a Left: A lot of faith and skill is necessary when demonstrating skateboard tricks. Above: These five youth are won- dering where they can go to practice their sport now that it’s outlawed on Public property.. SKATE DEBATE riving down the road one day I saw a group of young boys wearing outlandishly baggy pants clutching their skateboards. With their different hair cuts, hats wor backwards, and clothes that looked as if they were borrowed from their dads, they looked like trouble waiting to hap pen. Immediately my defences went up and a voice inside of me sneered “Ooohhh skaters they dress so weird—they must be up to no good”. Just as quickly, ancther thought crossed my mind. I remembered being 16 in 1968, the height of the ‘hippie’ cra and being unfairly labelled simply because of the way I dressed and the things I belicved in. My bell-bottom pants, long hair and beads earned me the dubious distinction of being a ‘hippie’—and back in the 60s the older generation assumed that all hippies were no-good, trouble-making, communist rebels. All of whom took drugs, indulged in group sex and never bathed. But that wasn’t me. I was simply a young girl struggling to find her own individual identity and rebelling as most teens do. I wasn't bad, I didn’t rip people off and I DID bathe. But nonetheless, people who passed me by on the streets would mutter under their breath “You dirty f*****g hippie”, or clutch their purses close to them, sure that I intended to rip them off. —___—__—- — I felt deep shame for doing the very thing that I had so abhorred in my earlier and misunder- stood years. After all, what did I truly know about skateboarders? Myth had become reality to me, and by allowing it to be so I had done them, and myself, an injustice. Without knowing |= anything about them I had discriminated against them because of the way they dress. And local skateboarders believe they are being discriminated against. Castlegar resident Bart Evans, 14, has been skating since this in the sport he used to be a “prep”"—someone who wears tight jeans and short perfectly combed hair. Those were the days, he }- explained, when he was readily accepted by society. People would acknowledge him as he passed them on the streets. Strangers treated i his skateb |, have camed the exact opposite. “Now nobody will talk to me when they pass Surprisingly, Bart said the age group that is hardest on skaters are young adults in their 20s from this stigma. Maybe it's other kids—but if that’s the case they need to report it to the police.” Acknowledging that a certain “code” amongst teens socially prohibits “narcing” on their peers, Hudema said that he believes it is up to the skaters to straighten out the “I realize it’s not as easy as picking flowers off a tree, but they have to decide if they're going to make a stand for their rights.” And it appears as if the RCMP are also making a stand. Bart Evans told Sun Staff that an RCMP officer told skaters they were no longer to skate on public property. If they continued to do so they could count on a $50 fine, seizure of their boards, and another $50 to have them returned. Now the skaters say there is nowhere to practice a sport which they claim keeps them out of trouble. “We're too busy refining our sport to have time to do anything else.” But Safeway Manager Steve Lougheed said he's had enough of skateboarding in the store lot. Declining to specifically blame skaters for recent ism, Lougheed has chosen to post signs prohibiting skate- boarding “U we're getting broken glass in the lot on a regular basis. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we spent over an hour clean- ing up. It’s getting crazy.” Once again skaters say it's not them break- ing glass, but drunks who leave a nearby bar and drive by cursing and throwing bottles at them. Once they claim, a drunk actually got out of his vehicle, chased down one of the skaters, kicked him and called him a “skater faggot”. It would be craziness, say the skaters, to leave broken glass in an area where they skate. After all, it is likely that the people who would be injured by the glass would be the Ritchie said that although skateboarding isn't an “organized” sport like hockey or bas- ketball, he wonders if one day city council might consider designating a place for the skaters to practice. “Eventually that might be the thing for the city to do—put in a skateboard park.” < eter mes oo and early 30s. The people who treat him kindly “t's the young adults who think skateboard- ers are bad news.” ‘And that, said Bart, is downright unfair. to do with budget constraints. “The city hasn't made a big commitment in any parks in a long time. But we're not discrimi- A inst them.” “You can’t judge us as a group or by our sport. If I was in another sport, like basketball, These youth claim that skateboarding is a he: people would think I’m a good person.” That unfair reputation, said skater Shawn Kavanaugh, 14, has left skaters to shoulder the blame for incidents that are perpetuated by “skit Ards who drink, smoke, and wear torn-up clothes. Along with the blame is pressure from local RCMP and a lary on of the community for the skaters to go elsewhere. But they say there is nowhere clse, thanks to tough efor: Bylaw 372 which prohibits the use of rollerskates, sleds, or skis on the roadway or public areas ¢* pix area is closed for that purpose. But no one, agreed several skaters, is more tough than the RCMP “The cops are pretty prejudice against us. One of them called me a mouthy little p** *k and tok me | cated,” said one skater. Another skater, Mathew Pierce, 19, said the pressure by some people against skaters is outright dr THAR “Under any other context this would be called discrimination.” But RCMP Corporal Al Hudema said it’s not discrimination that drives people's negative reaction! thing much more tangible—vandalism_ “The irony is that it appears that every place these [skaters] are there Seems to be damage Whether skaters are causing the damage or not is no longer the point, explained Hudema “If they're using the place they should ensure that others don't damage property. It's the On a personal level, Hunter said she sympa- althy sport which deserves the same respect any other thizes with the skaters’ plight. ; _ sport receives. Pictured are only a small portion of youth involved in skateboarding in the community. “Skaters aren't bad, but their activity is hard on things not designated for that use. I think the skateboard problem has to do with the stigma of the way they look and dress, and I agree that’s unfair.” On a formal level, Hunter invites the skaters, or their representatives, to draft a letter to council requesting a for- mal meeting with the councillors and the RCMP. “Maybe there's a compromise. City Hall is open to receive information from the kids.”” All skaters want is a place where they can practice their sport throughout the year. They're willing to volunteer labor to see it happen, and many say their parents are also willing to volunteer. They speak longingly of “The Garage”, a teen hangout in Nelson which also accommodates skaters. Built by the community and teens and staffed by teens and their parents, the gathering place is somewhere the kids can go. They wonder why Castlegar couldn't do the same thing with their help. The skaters acutely understand that the first step towards solving the problem is educating the public. To that end they are giving a demonstration of their skills in the parking lot at the Kootenay Columbia Child Care Society on Saturday, October | at 2 p.m.. The public is invited to attend and watch. —Story by Karen Kerkhoff