When an Akron father and son went to the Akron Skate Park for the first time in early June, what they saw came as a shock.
The massive concrete skateboard park was covered with graffiti, including racial slurs and profanity. Beer cans, pop bottles and other rubbish were strewn about.
''Bud, I can't let you stay,'' Randy McIe, told his skateboard-toting stepson, Joey Osco-Sadzewicz.
''Dad, can we fix it?'' asked Joey, who is 8.
''I don't know,'' McIe responded. ''Let's find out.''
That's what they are doing — trying to find out if they can bring the community together to improve the skateboard park for Joey and other kids.
They are looking for companies to donate materials and volunteers to step forward to paint the park and fix cracks in the concrete. They're hoping to assemble a large group to
jump-start the project July 16.
''We are just asking the community to help out — as a community,'' said McIe, who works in construction but is out of work because of a stroke he suffered last year.
Joey, who has five skateboards, said he hopes to clean up the park ''so kids can have something to do in the summer.''
Looking for help
Some companies and individuals have already agreed to help. The list includes Steve Cheatwood of RC Concrete Leveling, who visited the park this week to meet with McIe and Joey and examine the concrete damage. He came after getting a call from Joey.
''How can you turn it down?'' he asked, looking over at Joey, who was rolling around the park on his skateboard.
Cheatwood hopes to get other local contractors to sign on.
The Akron Bible Church's Motorcycle Ministry plans to gather volunteers to help with the effort. Joey's grandfather is involved with the group.
The family already started the effort by picking up trash at the park and getting the city to bring in extra trash cans.
Akron plans to donate cans of paint, but can't afford to do more because of budget constraints, said Paul Barnett, the city's public works manager.
Barnett was impressed that someone so young wanted to take on a project this big. ''He's going to go somewhere in life,'' Barnett predicted of Joey.
Artwork over graffiti
This won't be the first time a group has tried to improve the park, which has been around for nearly a decade. The city brought together local artists and others from the community in 2008 to paint over the graffiti with nonoffensive artwork.
Barnett is concerned any improvements made to the park will be short-lived.
''It'll get tagged again,'' he said. ''Every skateboard park in the country does.''
McIe knows the improvements to the park might not last. He hopes, though, that involving those who frequent the park might help because they can try to discourage others from defacing it.
He doesn't think the skateboarders are the ones doing the tagging. In fact, he has seen skateboarders paint over the more offensive messages others have left behind. He thinks the destruction is being done by teens who frequent the park when no one is around after dark, leaving behind beer cans and graffiti.
''They deserve better,'' McIe said of the skaters. ''They are not bad kids.''
Kids want to assist
The park was busy on a recent hot afternoon, with skateboarders and bikers rolling up and down the ramps and rails. Several said they are excited by the idea of the park being cleaned up and would be willing to assist the effort.
''Kids like to skateboard and ride their bikes and need a good place to do it,'' said Cory Mansour, 19, who is from the Youngstown area and came with a carload of teens.
Mansour said there is no skate park where he lives and he comes to the Akron park several times a year.
Royl Jackson, 13, of Akron, who often visits the park, said skateboarders ''can't hit most of the tricks'' because of the graffiti and the painted-over spots, which make the concrete ''really slippery.''
''I want to thank this little man for coming up with the idea,'' he said, nodding to Joey.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.
