NOVEMBER 1, 2001
Smoke Signals 7
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Lights in the Arizona Sky This sunset danced over Phoenix during the recent Society for News A&j
Design Conference in Arizona. The annual conference is the premier gathering of media designers in the world.
This traditional Hopi hoop dancer (right) entertained media professionals during a tour of the Heard Museum.
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Willamina's New Culture
Continued from front page
of supporters, but also a lot of non-supporters."
This was clearly evident during a recent gath
ering of about 20 Willamina area skaters in front
of the public library. A woman who asked not to
be identified came up and said that she was fil
ing a complaint with the city because of the gath
ering and said: "We're going to get rid of these
kids, once and for all, come hell or high water."
The popularity of skateboarding, rollerblading
and other "extreme" sports have has grown im
mensely in the past ten years. There are about
10 million skateboarders nationwide, making it
the sixth largest participant sport in the U.S.
and the third largest for participants ages 6-18.
The average age of a skater is 14.
There is the misconception that only big cities
in California have public skate parks. But most
of the cities or towns with parks are relatively
small, some with populations of only a few thou
sand. Many towns with existing parks have re
ported such success that they are planning sec
ond and third parks.
Surveys report an estimated 50 to a 100 users at
any park on any given day, weekdays and week
ends, at any time. Compare this to a
baseball field that usually lies unused
and at over three times the size of a
large skate park, can only accommodate
16 players when used. Also, two tennis
courts are roughly the size of a small
skate park, but can only be used by a
maximum of eight people at one time
and are usually only used by four.
Skate parks can also be used by
freestyle or bicycle stunt riders an
other sport that has gained in popu
larity in recent years.
Skateboarding remains safer than
other recreational activities available
to American youth, with only a .49 per
cent injury rate. Baseball has an in
jury rate of 1.26 percent, and football 2.57 per
cent, according to the National Safety Council
and the Consumer Safety Commission.
And safety, to the group of local people, is what
it's all about.
"We will build a skate park, that's the bottom
line," said Sheker-Robertson. "We can't give up
on our kids." B
Controlled Slide - Grand Ronde Tribal youth
Gary Guzman, the son of Tribal member Val Sheker
Robertson, performs a boardslide in downtown Wil
lamina while a group of friends watch. This talented,
but overlooked group of kids is hoping to raise enough
money to have a skate park in place sometime next
year.
Veteran's Memorial Auction
Continued from front page
good cause they were supporting and bid left
and right with gusto, offering up eight dollars
here for a coconut cream pie and nearly $300
for tickets to a Portland Trail Blazers game.
Also on the auctioning block were ornate
carved antler keychains, an assortment of Grand
Ronde Tribal logo gear and colorful Pendleton
blankets complete with CTGR logos.
The prized possessions undoubtedly were en
larged photos from 2001 Pow-wow, by Portland
photographer William Hunter Breedlove, who
generously donated a half-dozen of his works.
. Everyone was pleased with the turnout, as the
Veteran's Memorial Committee raked in roughly
$5,500 from the sales. Tribal Elder Kathryn
Harrison punctuated the evening by announc
ing she was donating $1,000 to the committee,
pushing the total from the night's proceedings
to over $6,000.
One year ago the committee announced its goals
of raising $300,000 for construction of the
Veteran's Memorial Monument. With money
brought in from this auction the fund is now close
to $70,000, certainly a source of optimism. B
Coveted Artwork - Portland photographer William "Hunter"
Breedlove donated several pieces of his pow-wow art to the Veteran's
Memorial Auction to help raise funds. It worked, as Breedlove's pho
tographs brought in a significant amount of the evening's proceeds.
A special thanks
goes out to
Carol Nelson, ,
Val Grout and
Claudia Leno
among others
who worked so
hard in the
kitchen to make
this event happen.
V I
' V . 4' k ili
"Sold To The Lady With The Blue Dress On!" - veteran Tom
Cilenti (foreground) holds up a Tribal logo sweatshirt as Gary Bettencourt auctions it
off to the highest bidder.