Matthew Perez said he decided to clean up the skate park because his skateboard got caught on something and then he noticed that there was a lot more that needed to be done.
He said his parents showed up at the park with a lawn mower and weed wacker and they “went to work.”
This was not the first time Perez has cleaned the park.
Perez said he and an 11-year-old have cleaned the park several times after trash has been left behind by other skaters.
“It’s so hard to get people to do things like that nowadays because either they say they’re too busy, they don’t have the time or they flat out don’t care because it’s not their responsibility,” Lowrey said.
New Carlisle is a better place knowing that there are young residents that care enough about the community to lend a helping hand, Lowrey said.
“The kids around here really really enjoy coming to the skate park and watching everyone jump around on the ramps and everything,” Perez said.
“Especially with how crazy the world is right now, I think the skate park is a really cool place for all the kids to stay out of trouble and do something good for themselves and build them up,” he added.
Perez told the News-Sun that he has been skating at the park since he was about 7 years old and tries to skate as much as possible.
“Whenever I am having a bad day, I know I can grab my board and all of my problems seem to fade away,” Perez said.
On Saturday, September 5 there will be a skateboard competition at the New Carlisle Skate Park, 301 Lake Ave.
Lowrey said that he decided to have a skateboard competition because he wanted the younger generation to know that they are part of the community.
“We want to give them a good time and something to look forward to,” Lowrey said. “If it works out this year and turns out to be a good event, we will just have to turn it into an annual event and grow it.”
The GRAVITY-X Skateboard & Jamskate Competition will begin at 4 p.m. with free registration and open skate. The competition will begin at 5 p.m.
The skateboard competition will consist of two age groups: 13 and under and 14 and up. Both age groups will compete, be judged and scored on three events for a combined total. The events include a timed two-minute freestyle, best performance of a single stunt/trick and best performance of an Ollie.
There will also be two events for rollerskaters to compete.
Perez said he is excited to compete in the competition and hopes that this will bring more attention to the skate park.
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