Editor:

I would like to share some observations about our new skate park (in slow progress) and the skate scene as a whole in Casper. I have driven by the site of the new skate park a few times recently and noticed the basic cement work looks done. I don't see anyone working around the skate park.

It's just sitting there as the summer ticks by. My guess is the cement needs curing time and or the prefabricated transitions are being waited on to be shipped and assembled.

I am asked frequently about the new skate park. All I can tell skaters is it's just sitting there partly done. A progress report on occasion on the skate park Web site or in the paper would be informative to the skate community. This whole process has been slow as molasses and frustrating.

It's time to go on the road again because it definitely isn't happening in Casper. Most everyone is going out of state because that's what you have to do stave off a lack of progression. June 21st was International Go Skateboarding Day. I have seen on TV the huge gatherings of skaters taking it to the streets or having contests and demos at their skate parks, like Missoula, Mont. The whole idea is unity and a celebration of the passion of skateboarding.

What did we have in Casper? Zilch. Where were the local skate shops or other groups to help put on a little get-together and skate session? I see all of the events surrounding Go Skateboarding Day in city after city across the United States, and it demonstrates just how disconnected Casper is from the rest of the skateboarding world.

If Casper can't muster any support on Skateboarding Day next year, I will go somewhere that will. It gets frustrating waiting for something positive to happen regarding skateboarding in Casper. That applies to a new skate park as well as Skateboarding Day.

Bottom line is if you want to get sponsored or progress, you have to leave Casper; it makes me wonder if that will change even with a new skate park. This city makes it hard to promote something positive about skating here.

I get tired of people saying to be patient. I have wanted to see a concrete skate park in Casper since the first generation of skate parks in the mid to late '70s. If we can't come up-to-date with the rest of the skate community, other states and cities will fill that need.

STEVE G. FORD, Casper