Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 31, 2016
Youth takes cleanup into his hands
Skateboarder Todahl adopts Dallas Skate Park to keep it tidy, hopes for expansion
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Perry Todahl
works by himself Aug. 24 af-
ternoon spreading wood
chips along the back side of
the Dallas Skate Park.
It’s a hot afternoon, so he
doesn’t blame others who
volunteered to help for
going swimming instead.
Todahl, 19, is on a mission
to clean and take care of the
park, so hot weather wasn’t
going to deter him.
“I’m down here often, al-
most daily,” he said. “There
been a lot of complaints
about it being dirty.”
He said skaters have said
that if their boards fly over the
edge of the concrete on the
side of the park, they would
land in a muddy puddle.
He’s heard skaters would
like to see the park expand-
ed, something he would like
to see too. He believes taking
care of what is there now
will help in that objective.
“It’s nice for the city to see
not everybody neglects it,”
he said.
Far from neglecting the
skate park, Todahl has
“adopted” it.
He contacted the city to
express his frustration about
the appearance of the
park — and to offer his time
to improve the situation.
Mike Sonday, a public
works maintenance worker,
said the city often has citi-
zens adopt parks, volunteer-
ing to pick up trash and take
on other improvements.
Sonday said Todahl has
another objective in mind:
being a role model to other
users.
“He’s trying to improve
the reputation of the skaters
by taking responsibility,”
Sonday said.
Twice a week, Todahl
picks up trash at the park,
especially around the trash
can that quickly overflows.
“Litter is a huge problem
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
Perry Todahl loads bark into a wheelbarrow to spread around the Dallas Skate Park on Sept. 24.
down there,” he said. “If it’s
clean, it’s less likely that
other people will throw
garbage on the ground.”
Sonday said Todahl has
worked hard to keep the
park looking nice.
“He’s doing great,” Sonday
said. “He’s right on task.”
Wednesday and Thursday
that partnership continued
with the city providing wood
chips for Todahl to fill in
what turns into a skate-
board-swallowing muddy
trench.
Working in the heat of the
afternoon, he shoveled
wood chips into a wheelbar-
row and spread them in a 6-
inch layer over the trench.
Sonday said he thought
the project would be a win-
win for the city and the users.
“That helps with weeds
and it will help you guys and
make it more enjoyable,”
Adopt a Park
What: Dallas adopt-a-
park program.
Where: Any of the city’s
parks are ready for adop-
tion.
How do I do it? Call the
city’s administrative de-
partment to volunteer
503-831-3502.
What does it mean?
Adopting a park could
mean simply volunteering
to take on litter patrol or
other improvements.
Sonday said.
Todahl is hoping that
projects such as this could
lead to something more in
the future.
“Keeping it clean and
making it look nice might
make the city more inclined
to help out (with expansion
or improvements),” he said.
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Perry Todahl goes back for another load of bark to beautify the Dallas Skate Park.
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