In 2001 when the skate park in our community was very new, one of the boy scouts in the troop my sons belonged to, choose an Eagle Scout Project of putting in durable medal benches for spectators to sit on. The scouts worked hard. Time, money and materials were donated to this project. The community felt good about what was accomplished. While in high school, my sons enjoyed having this facility available to use. They spent many hours there with skateboards and/or rollerblades. They are grown now with families of their own.

Today while my husband and I were out biking, we decided to ride over to the skate park and have a look down memory lane. What we saw was very disappointing. It a few short years the skate park has become a site not welcoming. The messages are clearly written all over the cement. This is a place created for enjoyment of our youth. What is wrong? Why do some youth work hard to make a better place while other youth deface it?