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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 31, 2005 Skate park has online fan base By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — When Carla Phasey’s 9-year-old son, Trentyn, heads out after school to practice his stunts at the city’s new skate park, she’ll be able to check in on him without leaving home. In fact, any resident can watch local skaters ride rails and jump ramps simply by logging on to the city’s "Skate Cam" on its Web site. A camera with streaming live video was recently installed at a cost of $1,500 to $2,000 to give city officials a bird’s-eye view of activities at the park, which opened Aug. 1. It’s been dedicated as the Joel Tanzi Memorial Skate Park in memory of a local skater who died Oct. 6. The Web cam went live weeks after the opening. On a recent afternoon, many parents and skaters weren’t aware of the camera. But those who had logged on to the cam from home described it as useful. Phasey said she sticks around when dropping her son off at the park, but "with the Web site (cam), I can log on and check in on him so I don’t worry so much — although I have a hard time watching him crash," she said. "I don’t know how much I want to see, but it’s neat to be able to check in." Advertisement Phasey said for a few afternoons a week at the park, her fourth-grader will clean his room, do laundry and clean out the family car. "He’ll do anything to come up here," she said as her son rolled his eyes and skated away. While some neighbors had initial concerns about noise and other problems a skate park might bring, such incidents have been few since the park opened, said Public Works Director Bob Pierce. The Web cam, Pierce said, was something city officials thought would be a nice addition to the new park, a way for parents to keep an eye on their skaters and for city officials "just to check in." "It was really one of those things where we just thought it would be cool to be able to see what’s going on down there," said Pierce. "We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, and people seem to be logging on quite a bit to check it out." With the skate park right next-door to city Parks and Recreation offices, skaters have been minding their manners, Pierce said. But if problems begin, the camera could be set up to record for long periods of time, he said. "I suppose that would give us the opportunity to check in when we needed to," he noted. "We would have the capability to check to see if somebody’s doing some damage down there or whatever." The only damage done on this afternoon was to kneecaps and egos of a handful of amateur skaters. Central Point 13-year-olds Shawn Lambert and Dalton Claget, who were practicing jumps, were pleased to learn their stunts were being aired "live" on the city Web site. "Now everyone can see me get air," Dalton said. "You mean they can watch you eat the ground," joked Shawn, who thought the camera was "pretty cool." Shawn reasoned, "We could use it to, like, check out when it ain’t so packed or when there ain’t little kids up here making it all where we can’t skate." Visit the Skate Cam at www.ci.central-point.or.us/cams/skatepark.php . Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Investments & Loans Advertisement s