By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS – A driving rain could not stop the official opening and ribbon cutting of the Yachats skatepark Thursday afternoon – although opening speeches were moved inside the Commons out of common sense.
City manager Bobbi Price kicked off the event by addressing a packed house of more than 80 adults and children.
“Today is a great day for Yachats as we gather here to celebrate the dedication of our long awaited skatepark,” Price said to a big round of applause. “It truly is a testament of the power of collaboration, community spirt and sheer determination.”
She thanked Polly Plum Productions, Rogue Ales, private donors and the “incredible team” from Dreamland Skateparks, former Yachats resident Katherine Rose and Kevin Kowalski of Seal Rock for being the driving forces behind the $115,000 park.
“Your passion has transformed an idea into concrete reality” and a safe place for youth to express themselves, develop their skills and foster a sense of camaraderie, Price said.
Danyel Scott, co-owner of Lincoln City-based Dreamland Skateparks, said it was “just under a year and a half from idea to completion.” She thanked the grant writing of Polly Plum as well as many other contributors.
She also thanked her team at Dreamland, who she called “relentless and true artists” who worked “long, hard hours.” She also thanked the community for stopping by during the build to smile, encourage and thank the team.
“You made this an amazing project, and it is beautiful,” Scott said.
Former city council member Max Glenn, who moved to Yachats in 2000, gave some context to the history of what went into building the first skatepark on the ground where the new one now stands – and the man who the park will be named for.
“This is an awesome group of people,” Glenn said. “I’ve never seen this collection of people together in Yachats before. So it takes something special to bring all of the kids and those who love kids.”
One of the first people Glenn met when he came to Yachats was Leon Sterner, who was the vice president of the Yachats Youth and Family Activities Program board and later the manager of the Commons. Sterner recruited Glenn to the YYFAP board and said they had a big project ahead because “a skateboard park was the dream of every child that grew up in Yachats – but it was generational dreams, and each generation dreamed of having a skatepark and then it didn’t happen…”
Glenn then recalled how Sterner told him it was time to stop that cycle.
Kids were asked to draw their dream for a skatepark, Glenn said, and one enthusiastic boy stepped forward to speak to the city’s Parks and Commons Commission about his vision. One of the commissioners asked the boy – “Sonny, how much space do you need for a skatepark?” Glenn said. “And he stopped and thought a little while, and he says ‘Probably not more than 10 acres.’”
The story drew big laughs from the crowd before Glenn went on to describe Sterner as a “a very generous, a very compassionate, a very loving person” who ended all of his conversations, whether in person or by phone, with “I love you.”
Glenn was on city council when La De La Lane was named with a vote by children, and added that he is particularly pleased to have the “much dreamed for skatepark” alongside the lane, and said the city council will be asked to name it Leon Sterner Memorial Skatepark.
Sterner, 74, died last September.
Rose, who now lives in Portland also spoke. It was Rose along with pro skateboarder Kevin Kowalski of Seal Rock, who dug in and made the new skatepark a reality
“I never believed this would happen,” Rose said. “I grew up here in Yachats and was home schooled in the Commons and we never had anywhere to skate except this tiny little transition here on the sidewalk. And it’s really exciting to, as an adult, come back and see this change happen.”
Rose then gave a shoutout to Kowalski who could not attend because he is “off in Florida shredding Swamp Fest right now.”
Price then invited everyone outside for the ribbon cutting.
“And I do think we should do it outside because we are all Oregonians and used to a little bit of rain,” Price said. “So let’s get out there and cut the ribbon and officially open the Yachats skatepark.”
The crowd responded with cheers and whistles.
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
Wonderful reporting. I can’t wait to see it.
Walking by Leon Sterner Memorial Skatepark — decorated with the colors and energy of the children’s mural and the skatepark’s official name — will always make me smile. Well done community of Yachats.