Photo by Joseph Bell
Johnsonburg resident Austin Miller performs a stunt late yesterday morning at the Ridgway skatepark.

 Ridgway skatepark receives much needed summer renovations.

By Joseph Bell

Staff Writer

 Local volunteers have been working hard to give Ridgway’s skatepark much needed renovations during the summer.
According to Gary Gerber, former Ridgway Area schoolteacher and current high school varsity wrestling coach, great effort is needed to ensure the upkeep of the popular park.
“Guys like Rich Parrish, he helped me build this thing up,” Gerber said. “Rich (Parrish) is more talented at carpentry than I am and he taught me to do a lot here, he’s a very knowledgeable guy.
“Now he has kind of taken over the grant writing program aspect of it and he just got us $5,000, which bought all the plastic sheets that we’re putting on the ramps.”
The large sheets, measuring three-eighths of an inch thick, have been placed overtop of deteriorating plywood.
“The plywood wears out so this should last a whole lot longer,” Gerber said. “The plywood has had to be replaced every year.
“For plastic, it’s $50 a sheet, and that’s the cheaper stuff. The expensive stuff is $140 and we can’t afford it. We’ve been able to get it through grants and the money we raised last year.”
General upkeep of the park also has been provided by Gene Zelcs, as well as a slew of area youth who are dedicated to the sport.
“The rest is done by me and the kids,” Gerber said. “The two guys that help the most, Zack Gerber, my son, and Charlie Bowers, they’re both professionals.”
With a country rich in more ‘traditional sports’ such as baseball, football, hockey and basketball, Gerber said he is proud to have two locals making a difference in Bicycle Motocross (BMX).
“It’s neat to have two kids from this little park and you look at all the ‘established sports,’ we don’t have many professionals but we have two from this little park,” Gerber said. “We have some young kids who are going to be something, so it’s kind of neat to see.
“Anything with kids, I like working with it, I just like working with kids and that’s why I was a teacher and a coach.
“The kids from here have been pretty successful and we used to travel all over but, when we got the chance to build this here with the help of the (Ridgway) borough and the (Ridgway) YMCA and everybody pitching in, it was just great.”
When the initial idea to construct the park was born, Gerber said individuals were willing to donate blacktop and fencing to aid the project.
“We’re always raising money and we’re having a jam down here where kids get to show off and show what they can do, we’ll be doing that July 11,” Gerber said. “Play some loud music and ride around, so we’re going to try to get as much covered (with plastic) as we can, only the launches will be covered.
“It takes a lot of work but it’s worth it to see all the kids riding down here. Every time I ride by and see a bunch of kids, I enjoy it a lot.”
But with anything, funding has become an issue.
“We’ve been able to get (the plastic sheets) through grants and the money we raised last year,” Gerber said. “Monster Energy Drink donated a bike last year from Dave Mirra, he owns his own company and donated a bike.
“Monster Energy Drink colored the bike with their colors and we chanced it off last year to raise money, plus the jam, the kids all throw money in to help keep the park going. It’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but it’s well worth it.”
Currently, volunteers have been painting the side of the various ramps to give the skatepark a sharper look.
“Michelle Bogacki now has kids coming down here and they painted the black here on the side, they have the first coat on so they’re getting started with that,” Gerber said. “Money is always a problem but the kids love it.
“With the jam down here, there will be a lot of good riders and Zack (Gerber) usually announces it, and Charlie (Bowers) and some other local kids judge it so the kids will get a chance to show off a little bit.”
In the past, the skatepark, its volunteers and the riders have been scrutinized for several issues, including alleged litter issues and alleged failure to wear helmets.
“The biggest problem has been helmets but there’s two ways to handle a problem,” Gerber said. “You can yell at people and be negative or, if you look in the back of my truck, I have a bag full of helmets.
“If a kid doesn’t have one, I give them one. If you have someone down here, sometimes you have to remind them to wear their helmets, you just have to stay on them. Kids are kids.”
According to Gerber, youth sometimes emulate what they see in their everyday lives.
“They see guys riding motorcycles without helmets,” Gerber said. “It’s improved a ton lately, we’ve been really good at it and working with the kids.
“We explain to them that’s it’s not the borough (officials), it’s the insurance companies.”
To date, Gerber said no serious injuries have occurred to his knowledge.
“You understand their point of view, too, but we’ve had no filings of any injuries or complaints at the park since we opened it,” Gerber said. “We’ve had kids get hurt but they’ve kind of accepted it as part of the sport, you accept that.”
In the future, despite tight funding, Gerber said the hiring of a ‘park manager’ would prove to be both ideal and beneficial.
“I’d like to have a park manager, take one of those college kids that work through the summer, maybe through Stackpole-Hall (Foundation),” Gerber said. “Just give them a screw-gun to tighten things down and give them a first aid kit for scratches and things like that, and to make sure that they all wear their helmets.”