Dear Editor: Keep the Skatepark Clean

Dear Editor,

After a trip up to Ringing Rocks with my three small children and some friends last Saturday, we decided to drive into Whitehall for a frosty treat from the KFC/A&W. After getting our treats in the drive-through, we made our way over to the town skate park and gazebo to let the kids eat their ice cream and run off their wiggles before our trip home to Dillon.

I was shocked to see how much trash was laying on the ground in the park! There were pieces of push brooms, a broom head on the roof of the gazebo, innumerable bottles, cans, and other assorted trash lying inside and around the gazebo, and stuck in the hedges. I understand completely that the wind in the spring brings trash from all over the countryside, but it made me sad to see my hometown park in such bad shape.

I am diligently teaching my kids to be good citizens and stewards of our beautiful land, and picking up trash when they see it is part of that. My three year old son made a valiant effort to pick up handfuls of garbage and deposit it into the nearby trash can, but I finally told him to go play and not to worry about the rest.

May I suggest a volunteer town trash pickup day? Earth Day seems to be a popular date for this sort of event. Not only does it spiff up the town but it also helps create a sense of community. I grew up in Whitehall and still have family there, and I remember a community that came together when needs arose. This is definitely a need Whitehall should address. Seeing a trash-strewn park can be very off-putting to out of town visitors and may lead to a decrease in tourism and the associated revenue.

From a Whitehall alum and mom trying to teach my young kids to be good stewards of the land and good citizens, that is my $.02! Thank you to the good citizens of Whitehall for taking the time to read this.

Stephanie (Burtch) Vinson

Dillon, Montana