Hey guys, I work for the Tualatin Hills Parks District, and this morning my boss gave me word that the Thursday after next the parks district will be having an open house with Grindline to hear from local people what they would prefer for a NOVICE skatepark. I highlight novice because I know if there’s anyone that’s all about ripping the deep end, it’s MC… I swear, if I hear any complaining about building novice parks for beginners, you are all fired, kicked off the staff, team or whatever! I hear that they might consider a bowl if there is enough interest, but please, let’s not stack the deck. Instead we should consider the needs of the community. Plus, a good novice park might draw all the little scrappers away from the more advanced parks in the region. So there you have it. When: Thursday February 28. 6pm- 8pm. Where: Dryland Conference Room at the Howard M Terpenning Recreation Complex. 15707 SW Walker Road, Beaverton, OR 97006. Additioanl information contact Wendy Bell, Park planner at 503 529 6305 x2932, or wbell at thprd dot com.

Two mediocre shots of Dave and Damien from some recent sessions at the DOS bowl in Portland. Mediocre because of the photographer, not the skaters. Enlarge the action after the jump. They recently added lights to the bowl and now you can actually see back there. Where as it used to be like skating in a very dusty closet, it’s almost too bright now! With the fairly new birch layer and the sudden illumination, it’s like the bowl riders are now more than an afterthought there. Thanks guys! These shots were taken mid installation, so it’s actually a lot brighter now.

This Week’s Shot of the Week is Marc Haziza at the newly opened Skatepark of Paris, taken by Frederic Lannois. Check out the full size version. Look at those seams and you’ll see it’s a prefab concrete park. But, hey! Check out that roof! Sure could use one of those around here.

When he’s not busy sponsoring every ripper in a two state radius, he’s giving back to the community, even when it’s not his community! Clark County’s Parks last email contained the following bit of info on a local Portland skateboarding industry big wig, (Well, biggest in Portland!) Some idiots set fire to the Vancouver WA park cleaning supplies box (Dudes, HILARIOUS!) and Colin Sharp (colin, not evil Colin) stepped up to resupply it. New Storage Cabinet Installed at Park; Supplies Donated by Bacon Skateboards The plastic cleaning supply cabinet that was set on fire and destroyed at the park about 2 months ago has been replaced with a big metal cabinet. In case you’re curious, this is just a basic cleaning supply cabinet. We have a group of local skaters and BMX riders who signed up to be stewards of the park and each have keys to the cabinet, along with the county’s park maintenance people. The contents of the cabinet are: a couple of shop brooms, a long-handled squeegee, dust pans, the emergency access ladder for the two bowls, and some other basic cleaning supplies. Most of these supplies were generously donated to the park by Colin Sharp at…

Add another one to the list. Old Man Army is gearing up for the Cannonball Run on February 16th. They are starting bright and early at 6am with plans to hit 16 parks in one day. It’s a lot easier if it’s not freezing or raining, or both. If you are in the AZ area check it out. I’m pretty sure these guys wouldn’t discriminate against you if you aren’t old or a man for that matter. You can see the flyer enlarged after the jump, although I suppose it would make more sense to go directly to the source.

I got a my film back from Saturday’s Lincoln City trip. Here are a couple of additional views of the snake run in progress. Link to a larger view after the jump.

Oh man, it’s going to be so good. (Updated)

Marek Litinski sent in some pics from his recent trip to his homeland, Czechoslovakia. This spot is located in Hrušovany nad Jevišovkou. They’ve got a web link for the skatepark complete with a history and construction photos. Of course I can’t read it, but it looks like it was built out in the middle of nowhere in an old government building, as evidenced by the official portraits various nefarious Russians above. Here’s what Marek had to say: About that wooden bowl… Scene sucked, to the extend of non-existence. Placed in very small village in an obscure Czech country side. Posiblly a Czech type Donald situation. So I wouldn’t be surprised if one day somebody ripped it a new one, which isn’t gonna be spectacular in any way because those trannys are like six feet tall. That bank wallride is around twelve, which makes it not so easy to skate so thats where you get your stoke on. What’s the meaning of the Donald reference? Donald Oregon and Putting hte cart before the horse. The city must have gotten a grant from somewhere and decided to build a park “for the kids” before there was any skateboarding to speak of. Now…

Ryan Hass writes: Here is the answer to prefab in New England.  Back in 2000-2003 these parks were springing up all over the place.  Asphalt footers, huge cracks and terrible seams are par for the course.  Not to mention these objects are usually dropped into place with little or no thought about layout. Suh-weeeet!

As a followup to our earlier coverage of the Jacksonville Beach, Florida skatepark, here’s some more info on Spohn Ranch and their prefab concrete option. Aaron Spohn got his professional start building ramps for the X Games in 1992. According to their official correspondence, Spohn Ranch has some sort of ongoing partnership agreement with Pillar Design Studios as well as an organization called the Action Park Alliance whom they bill as “skatepark operations professionals.” (Uuuugh! That’s a topic for a different post altogether.) Spohn Ranch also builds metal, wood and alternative surface prefab ramps, but I’ve highlighted the concrete offerings. (Updated)