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gf wrote on Aug 23, 2008 1:32 AM:

" hahaha. what a laugh.
you think the gang task force here knows anything? no! and dont argue on me with this one because ive been with them trough the months and they dont know anything. they should be the ones taking gang classes. they consider a "sureno" someone who wears blue and white colors. correct? FALSE. surenos wear navy blue and gray. nortenos wear reddish-marroon. not red. bloods wear red and black. crips wear blue and white. they said it straight up in an article speaking about gangs. these people claiming theyre "gang task force" are fake. havasu is gang-free. no matter what anyone says. but if you want a gang. a real gang. jus ask for it and youll get it. not a tag crew considered as a community violent,state to state connected gang. get real. "




Whats Up wrote on Aug 22, 2008 9:13 AM:

" This whole artical above is about the Tinnell Memorial Committee putting on an event for the local kids and also to benefit a worthy charity. So drop all the talk about graffiti and gangs.

Yes we have gangs and yes we have graffiti. Part of the Tinnell Committee's goal is to give these kids something positive to do so they dont get board and join a gang or turn to drugs and vandalism for entertainment.

Quit focusing on the negative and give these kids and this committee the kudos they deserve.... "




to GF wrote on Aug 22, 2008 8:04 AM:

" Why don't you ask DPS and the PD about gangs. YOu think there is a gang task force here in the county for nothing? Think again. "




gf wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:46 PM:

" yeah but this town doesnt know the different between artistic and gang affialated graffiti. all this city does talk and its so ignorant. first of all nothing in havasu can be "gang-affiliated" why? because there are NO gangs here. "




parental direction maybe wrote on Aug 21, 2008 8:41 PM:

" DSK RATFINK - come on, don't lay your guilt on the community for the drug problems of your friends. I'm sure they would have done drugs with or without a skatepark. It appears you have had some direction. Unfortunately, direction was most likely not there for your friends.

However, I do agree, my kids will be going to college and not returning to lhc to live (which is the way it should be - go see the world). "




jeff wrote on Aug 21, 2008 6:56 PM:

" maybe this can help you guys see how we feel....

if you play football,baseball,soccer you want the best field possible for you to play on

if you ride motorcycles or atvs then you want the best prepared track you can ride on

we biker,razor, and skateboarders want the best skatepark we can get. Having a better park helps us progress in our own sport we love to do "




Jerry wrote on Aug 21, 2008 3:39 PM:

" You know, in the 60's I grew my hair long, wore bell bottomed pants and had a long moustache and sideburns. My parents thought I was influenced by communists. Well, I actually became a cop and served 25 years in Oregon before retiring. And, I have spent some time with kids from 2 later generations. They are just like we were back then. Searching, yet thinking they have the answers. They have to learn to become and most of them will. The rest are just like those of past generations who are feeders or predators. Graffiti is not cool, it is property damage. I like to think most kids that do that regret it later. Those that don't will likely end up in the system. Actually, If I found someone spray painting my property, I would likely not react very kindly. Think about that kids. "




Artist wrote on Aug 21, 2008 8:22 AM:

" To GF... Although it is against the law to go around and spray painting. There is a huge difference in Gang affiliated Tagging and artistic graffiti. If you were tagging then you deserve to pay your fine.

Everyone is making a big deal about this graffiti, when the whole event was about kids and raising funds for the Tinnell Memorial. That night was beautiful and peaceful and fun..... "




gf wrote on Aug 20, 2008 10:27 PM:

" im surprised bout these comments.
so just graffiti. not a big deal?
thats not what they told me when
i had to pay over $1000 in fines for
graffiti at the park.
and if graffiti at the park looks
beautiful get me some spraycans
and ill make the park look real artistic. whats on there isnt a logo
its a graffiti. ive seen it close up.
it says Why...? and a picture of two
monkeys. so as i just said. if graffiti
is artistic. ill make the park
look beautiful. "




To Each His Own wrote on Aug 20, 2008 4:43 PM:

" While you go kick balls we skate our park and, ride our bikes. Alot of kids find a release from homework and sports by coming to the skatepark. So to each his own. Just respect and quit hatin.... "




think about it wrote on Aug 20, 2008 2:21 PM:

" bj welch " you rock " you abused every body on your first post, keep it up! "




LHC YFL wrote on Aug 20, 2008 10:36 AM:

" Griff B: Pop Warner isn't the biggest LHC sport. There are 200 kids playing on 7 teams. There are 1,200 kids playing soccer. "




triple J wrote on Aug 19, 2008 7:49 PM:

" the turnout was amazing! live band,great prizes,food and drinks where offerd and even free water bottles from donations all put together to one of the best turnouts...everyone was smiling and not ONE! not a single negative was said about this. It comes to show that when we all unite and show appreciation and support for what we have coming that anything can be done. the graffiti problem is nothing here...go online and find one park that is mint,i bet you that it cant be done...its not a good thing though but still minor to what ive seen at other parks...im excited to see the next turnout asap! keep up the support yo! whooo! "




g steeze wrote on Aug 19, 2008 3:56 PM:

" there is no graffiti in lake havasu "




griff b wrote on Aug 19, 2008 3:42 PM:

" agreeing with Dustin's post, but throwing in my two cents. "supporting" the graffiti will not get us a new park. if you want the community to find interest in our goal, then i suggest you show respect in what we have already. Rachael and the Tinnell park committee has done an amazing job at pushing this, and so have all you.

trust me, this "graffiti" will backfire on you if you mention it.

as for the kid without the helmet, i have no idea how he managed. literally everyone, including the riders themselves, were pushing the "wear your helmet rule"

Havasu needs this park. Pop Warner football wont be the biggest LHC sport for long. "




Feeeeesha wrote on Aug 19, 2008 2:52 PM:

" I agree with Rachelle. When I look at this picture I see a talented young man doing something positive with his time. He isn't smoking pot or vandalizing anything. I was at this event and saw the committee loaning out helmets to kids who didn't have them. With parents like Julie Sasseen and Rachelle Duncan on board believe me they are doing all they can to ensure that these kids are as safe as can be.

My son has been a skater nearly his entire life and grew up in the current park. He has seen his share of bump and bruises, but he is not a drug addict. He is now one of the "older skaters" and he encourages other younger skaters as they learn the sport. He has turned out to be a fine young man that grew up in a skatepark... "




Joey Mena Kaytay Friesz wrote on Aug 19, 2008 2:02 PM:

" the graffitti problem isnt really a problem at all, it brings life to the park. it add characters and all those other fun things. as far as the helmet problem this is arizona not california, you get to skate at your own risk, its on a sign right at the entrance of the skate park. untill people in this state start wearing helmets while riding there motor cycles why should we have to wear one while rolling around, there are more accidents in this stat/world on a motor cycling then there are while riding your bike/skateboard/or razor, if when kids are on there razors doing razor burns. "




skatermom wrote on Aug 19, 2008 12:32 PM:

" I think the park is great and cannot wait until the new one is open and running. I have a son in California who is on the junior Vans skate team and is also sponsored by active and others. He sure enjoyed the park while here this summer and also the competition.I also enjoyed taking and watching him. Atleast these kids are active and not staring at a T.V. all day long. "




Dirty wrote on Aug 19, 2008 10:21 AM:

" Believe me guys.. the grafitti problem at the park is very very minute. Seriously, concerned and gf, do some research on the history of skateparks and the community that they arose from. It is a very creative community, and if you had half of that creativity, you would think of a solution for it (such as boulder,CO does a grafitti wall at the park that is open to anyone, and gets recovered every month, and wala! no more park grafitti). That little park that makes no difference to you is all of those kids second homes; I was there.
YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THAT YOU ARE OLD, AND THESE KIDS ARE OUR FUTURE AND THE ONES WHO WILL BE TAKING CARE OF US ALL.. KARMA WILL ACT.

HELP THESE KIDS OUT AND GIVE THEM A PARK THAT IS WORTH BEING A SECOND HOME, and for god sakes.. its grafitti at a skatepark.. be thankful it not on the front of your precious boat shop or lifted truck. "




DUSTIN MILLARD wrote on Aug 19, 2008 10:04 AM:

" Believe me guys.. the grafitti problem at the park is very very minute. Seriously, concerned and gf, do some research on the history of skateparks and the community that they arose from. It is a very creative community, and if you had half of that creativity, you would think of a solution for it (such as boulder,CO does a grafitti wall at the park that is open to anyone, and gets recovered every month, and wala! no more park grafitti). That little park that makes no difference to you is all of those kids second homes; I was there.
YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THAT YOU ARE OLD, AND THESE KIDS ARE OUR FUTURE AND THE ONES WHO WILL BE TAKING CARE OF US ALL.. KARMA WILL ACT.

HELP THESE KIDS OUT AND GIVE THEM A PARK THAT IS WORTH BEING A SECOND HOME, and for god sakes.. its grafitti at a skatepark.. be thankful it not on the front of your precious boat shop or lifted truck. "




Rachelle wrote on Aug 19, 2008 8:58 AM:

" The event on Saturday was awesome. No serious injuries, no fights.. These kids got out there and did some really incredible runs. There were parents and grandparents, and friends there to watch and be supportive. Families came from Phoenix and Kingman so their kids could be a part of this event. All to benefit a new park in memory of their friends.

Please instead of finding the negative in this. Find the positive.

To Concerned- It is MANDATORY that a competitor wears a helmet to compete. We encourage the kids to wear them when not competing. We work with parks and rec to hand out hundreds of helmets every year. We had a stunt team come down and they did a whole skit on wearing helmets. If you are really that concerned, go buy some helmets and donate them to the Parks and Rec. Dept. for Family Fun Safety Day Sept 27th. We would be grateful for the support.

To GF- Some of the top skateparks in the world are covered with artistic graffiti. Yes there is a law and the city parks maintenance dept. probably didn't have time to get this covered up before our event. Is that all you saw in that photo? I saw a very talented young man....

We are trying to do something positive for our youth. Instead of going against us please find it in your heart to support our efforts. "




letcher wrote on Aug 19, 2008 8:33 AM:

" i like graffiti!!!!!! "




D. Delgado wrote on Aug 18, 2008 10:10 PM:

" The event was a great time for everyone involved. It was very hot and humid, and the turnout was amazing. There were plenty of volunteers selling food and beverages at reasonable prices and all proceeds went to help build the skate park.

And to "concerned"- The people who donated their time to help organize and run the competition urged everyone young and old to wear a helmet, and even had some to lend out to kids who didnt have one. They cannot force anyone to wear the helmets, only the parents can.

And to "gf"- I cannot tell of the top of my head what the "graffiti" actually is, but it is most likely a logo of some sort. These kinds of things are all every skate park in the world.

Please fellow citizens of Lake Havasu City, I urge you to lend a hand or donate a dollar to help this cause. You may not understand the need for another skate park, but this town is in desperate need of economic stimulation. If we had a competition level skate park, more people would come here, and that means more people would buy houses, and that means more construction.

I know there are plenty of people who don't care about the skate park one way or the other, and there are just as many who feel the need to be negative about it. This skate park is going to happen and it is going to be the best thing that has ever happened to this town.


If you are interested in helping out the committee, please come down to the aquatic center at 6pm on the second Tuesday of every month. "




Sam wrote on Aug 18, 2008 10:00 PM:

" How can you all just look at the negatives?! This is about a bunch of kids having fun doing the one thing they love the most, not about a little harmless graffitti in the background. Also, it is a local park where kids ride/skate at their own risk, so they can choose to wear a helmet, or their parents can decide for them. Everyone should support this cause for the youth of this town...us kids are the world of tomorrow. "




DSK RATFINK wrote on Aug 18, 2008 9:46 PM:

" For all the people in this town that all they can do is complain about kids actually having something to do in this town, you are the reason why kids are all wraped up on drugs here, because of all your little complaints it makes the city not allow things like this, our city doesn't take the time to realize they need something for these kids to do, and sports is about the only thing kids that are not on drugs like to do. I was born here and watched more than half of my friends I grew up with result in drugs, its sad, in fact that is why i moved away from this town. And its going to continue to get worse until the Tinnell park is built. So why don't all you people who never have anything good to say, donate, put some time into your community to make it a better place. Im sure every young adult in this town would agree. Sorry to come off like this but the truth hurts and the people of this town need to know it. "




BJ Welch. wrote on Aug 18, 2008 9:34 PM:

" YOU GUYS NEED TO STOP LOOKING AT THE BAD IN THE CITY AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE GOOD THAT KIDS GET OUT OF THIS. id rather have a graffiti artist in my skatepark than a drug user any day. id rather have a kid riding a skateboard without a helmet and at least some brains than a kid doing drugs on the street with no brain at all. "




kelly wrote on Aug 18, 2008 9:30 PM:

" these people need to chill out about the grafitti "




nate wrote on Aug 17, 2008 10:19 PM:

" were are the pictures of the other kids? who cares a bout the graffitti it isnt that big of a deal "




concerned wrote on Aug 17, 2008 7:35 PM:

" the other photo in the paper showed a skateboard without a helmet on. I'm tired of these type of photos in the paper. Kids need to wear helmets. period. "




gf wrote on Aug 16, 2008 10:50 PM:

" isnt lake havasu graffiti-free?
this image makes a contradiction big time. "

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