It was an especially rainy day on Saturday, but that didn’t stop dozens of skateboarders from hitting the ramps to raise money for their local skate park.
Guests at the Pipeline, Juneau’s local skate park in the Mendenhall Valley, performed flips and slides while also enjoying hamburgers and hot dogs during a bake goods sale. William “Sonny” Pittman, 34, said he and other members of an informal skate park council (the Skate Board) decided to do something to get enough funds together to dig a French ditch near the park that will keep moisture from destroying the wooden floors he’s been skating on since 1996.
“This was a huge deal for us when we were kids,” Pittman said. “I would spend more time here than I did at home.”
Pittman, along with a fellow event organizer Charles Clasby, was part of a group of youth who championed for the skate park’s creation in the ’90s, then helped build it. They’ve seen it go through a lot of changes and upgrades — the most recent one was in March when old ramps were demolished and new ones put in their place — but they still see room for improvement.Now they just need to raise the funds to get them there.
The goal is currently set at $5,000 for the French ditch and other construction projects, but the group estimates an additional $10,000 will be needed soon to repair leaks in the roof.
With hamburgers going for $3 and hot dogs for $2, the group has a long way to go, but Pittman saw on Saturday just how concerned the community is with keeping the skate park around.
“Some lady, I have no idea who she is, but she just came in to give us a donation and buy some cookies,” Pittman said.
Also donating to the cause on Saturday was Juneau DJ Jason Quelnan, also known as DJ Quelz. Quelnan played tunes for the more than 50 skaters that drifted in and out of the park on Saturday. He said he also remembers when the skate park was created in the 90s and how it gave him a safe place to go and to stay out of trouble. It was also how he started his career as a DJ.
“It’s important to give back for the kids now because there was a time before when someone gave this to me,” Quelnan said.
For more information about the Pipeline skate park improvement project and where to donate to the cause, visit juneaucf.org/pipelineskatepark.html.
• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.
