HUMBOLDT — Four 11-year-old boys tugged at the heartstrings of Humboldt Council members Monday night in their request for a skate park.
“Right now, a lot of kids our age don’t have many places to go after school or on weekends,” Elisha Ivy read from a prepared statement. “Most of the time we end up stuck inside on phones, tablets or video games. A skate park would give us a safe place to be active, hang out with friends, and do something healthy instead of being on electronics all the time.”
Standing with Elisha were Trev Johnston, Tripp Korte and Ryker Roach.
In their consultations with grown-ups, the boys figured a skate park would cost around $7,000 to $10,000.
“We understand that money matters,” Elisha Ivy said. “We’re not asking for something just for ourselves. We’re asking for something that can benefit kids for many years and help make our community even better.”
When queried by new Council member John Lassman where they thought a skateboarding park should be located, Elisha’s father, Milton Ivy, said Cannon Park would be ideal, noting a “75-by-75 space that would be ample.”
Council members appeared to wholeheartedly support the idea, saying that the Council’s recreation committee would study the proposal.
The boys received a round of applause after their presentation.
THE MEETING then took a decidedly somber tone when Jennifer Casper, the mother of a Humboldt High School student, was harshly critical of the Humboldt Police Department for what she considered their inadequate response to an incident that involved her son in the aftermath of the school’s Jan. 17 Sweetheart Dance.
Casper alluded that a firearm was involved and that “I have not been contacted by the police department for a subsequent investigation.”
Casper accused the department of downplaying the incident, saying that “Our police department felt like the kids and parents may have overreacted.”
But that “When firearms are brought on school property, we are not in Mayberry anymore,” she said.
Police Chief Shannon Moore addressed Casper’s concerns, saying the department had completed its investigation and that she has filed a case with the Allen County Attorney’s office.
On Tuesday morning, Moore said the incident occurred in the school’s parking lot where students had gathered after the dance.
“A person had a gun,” Moore confirmed, but “he is not a student.”
Moore said parents contacted the police on Sunday, Jan. 18, and that they began investigating the matter Monday, Jan. 19.
