7A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015
6KHULII¶V2I¿FHZDUQVRI
possible child-luring suspect
about 30 years old, was parked
on the shoulder of Lewis and
The Clatsop County Sher- Clark Road. The man report-
LII¶V 2I¿FH LV DGYLVLQJ WKH edly signaled for the boy to
public about a potential at- come over to his vehicle.
tempted child luring incident
The boy continued rid-
Wednesday afternoon, and is ing his bike south on Lewis
asking for assistance in iden- and Clark Road, and the man
tifying the suspect.
followed in his car. Near the
6KHULII¶V 2I¿FH GHSXWLHV Lewis and Clark School, the
responded to Miles Crossing 6KHULII¶V 2I¿FH VDLG WKH PDQ
near the Landwehr’s Store stopped the car and called for
regarding a suspicious cir- the boy to come over to his car.
The boy did not make con-
cumstance involving a man
driving a newer bright silver- tact with the man and contin-
four-door hatchback, Volk- ued on to a friend’s house.
The man is described as
swagen Golf with Oregon li-
white, clean-shaven, short
cense plates.
A 12-year-old boy told brown hair, wearing a black
6KHULII¶V 2I¿FH GHSXWLHV KH shirt and hat.
Anyone with information
was riding his bike on Lewis
and Clark Road near Miles about the man or his car, can
Crossing at about 6 p.m. FRQWDFWWKH6KHULII¶V2I¿FHDW
Wednesday when the man, 503-325-8635.
The Daily Astorian
Archery fun this weekend
NATALIE ST. JOHN — EO Media Group
The Tapiola skate park was recently hit with a spate of vandalism, leaving spray-painted tags around the bowls. In the
past, the skaters who frequent the park have helped remove graffiti.
Long Beach: Biggest obstacle
may be winning public support
Continued from Page 1A
a visible location discourages
mischief and creates a welcom-
ing atmosphere.
“I want it in view of the pub-
lic, so people feel safe dropping
off kids there,” Murry said.
Raising the funds
Another issue is money.
Murry estimates that once a
property is secured, it will cost
about $200,000 to build a facili-
ty good enough to last for years
and attract out-of-town visitors.
In some communities, such as
Toledo, Wash., service groups
like the Lions Club or Rotary
Club have helped to raise mon-
ey for the facilities. There are
grants the city can apply for too.
Perhaps the biggest obsta-
cle is winning public support
for the project. Murry said the
park’s advocates would need
to earn the support of both the
city’s leadership, and citizens
who live near a proposed site.
He acknowledged there is al-
ready some resistance to the
project, and to skateboarding in
general. Several years ago, the
city removed a skate ramp from
Culbertson Park, citing prob-
lems with profanity. Citizens
sometimes vociferously object
to having skate parks in their
neighborhoods, with concerns
about everything from noise to
WUDI¿FWRGUXJXVHWRDJHQHUDO
mistrust of people who skate.
Murry thinks much of the
opposition is short-sighted. In
his opinion, a well-designed
facility would draw tourists and
also provide local youth with a
much-needed recreational and
social space.
Other coastal cities “see it
as a value,” Murry said. “It’s
mind-boggling to me that there
is such resistance. We do all this
stuff for veterans and retired
people. I don’t think we’ve
ever done enough for kids in
this community,” he said.
The Astoria example
During an afternoon at Tap-
‘It’s mind-boggling to
me that there is such
resistance. We do all this
stuff for veterans and
retired people. I don’t think
we’ve ever done enough for
kids in this community.’
— Del Murry
Long Beach Councilman
iola, it’s easy to see there is
some basis for some of these
concerns — but it’s a very mi-
nor part of what happens at the
park.
6NDWLQJ LV D GLI¿FXOW VSRUW
that requires serious dedica-
tion, and all of the skaters were
too busy obsessively practic-
ing their moves to cause any
trouble. A smaller group of
nonskating youths watched
the action from a set of bleach-
ers. Though they looked a bit
rough, they kept to themselves
and didn’t cause any problems.
At one point, one of the group
admonished his friends for us-
ing “foul language.” On the
far side of the bowl, a middle-
school-aged skater stopped to
replant a chunk of turf he’d ac-
cidentally knocked loose.
That day, a smattering of
IUHVKJUDI¿WLFRYHUHGWKHLQVLGH
of the bowl. Unprompted, three
separate skaters approached
a Chinook Observer photog-
rapher to say that vandalism
at the park was actually pretty
rare. They wanted the public to
know they hadn’t done it, and
felt frustrated and embarrassed
that someone had defaced the
facility.
Astoria skater Josh Jen-
sen, 20, has been coming to
the park since it was built.
He thinks it gives area teens
a constructive way to spend
their time and a better alter-
native to practicing their sport
on city streets.
“It’s really convenient that
W A NTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500
Tra i
l
’s E n d Art Asso ci
a ti
o n
Summer Workshops
SIG N UP N O W !
July 6,7,8 — Portrait Painting in watercolor with Fealing Lin
July 16 — Process Painting for teens using acrylics with
Aziza Balle and Anne Pechovnik
July 20-24 — Kids’ Circus Adventure art camp with Kathy
Karbo and Sarah Ferguson
August 13 — Managing Your Digital Images on your computer
with Richard Newman
August 17-21 — Watercolor Workshop with Don Andrews
August 22-23 — Basketry Workshop (ages 13-adult) with
Catherine Ridenour and Judi Marsh-Garrity
For d eta iled cla ss d escription s a n d to sign u p
go to tra ilsen d a rt.org or ca ll 5 41- 419- 5 869
Trail’s End Art Center is located at
656 A Street in Gearhart, OR
OPEN Wed thru Sun 11am to 4pm
it’s next to the park. A lot of
times, the kids and the parents
come up here and watch every-
one skate,” Jensen said.
In Jensen’s opinion, most
local skaters take pride in the
park and want to keep a re-
spectful relationship with resi-
dents and police.
“We could have 10 years of
good behavior, and it all gets
thrown away because of a thing
like this,” Jensen said, referring
WRWKHJUDI¿WL+HSRLQWHGWRD
few patches of gray on the ce-
ment walls, saying that the last
time vandals hit the park, skat-
ers brought paint and covered
XS VRPH RI WKH JUDI¿WL WKHP-
selves.
Jensen said he hopes people
in Long Beach won’t let oc-
casional incidents deter them
from building a skate park.
“You need to see the 20 kids
who aren’t doing that, rather
than that one kid who made the
stupid decision,” Jensen said.
When asked if he thought a
Long Beach park would attract
tourists, he responded enthu-
siastically, saying he and his
friends already carpool to parks
in other towns.
“We could easily get 20 to
40 people to go over there. Not
only skateboarders, but parents
and friends. That would be
awesome. That would give us
another place to skate.”
Saddle Mountain Archery
is holding a 3-D Archery
Shoot and Long Shot Com-
petition from daylight to dark
Saturday and from daylight to
2 p.m. Sunday at the group’s
range, 36919 Christians Lane,
ZKLFK LV ¿YH PLOHV HDVW RI
Astoria on Oregon Highway
202, at the end of Christians
Lane. There are 40-plus tar-
gets and food and drinks. All
are welcome, and beginner
instruction is available.
The cost for adults is $15
a day, or $25 for two days;
those younger than age 18,
$5 a day; and children 12 and
younger, free. The Long Shot
Competition is $5 per arrow.
For information, go to the
Saddle Mountain Archers
Facebook page or call Jim
Bergeron at 503-458-6829.
S u za nne Elis e A s s is ted L iving
w ou ld like to w is h
G la d y s M a th es
a very H a ppy
104 th B irthda y!