To the Editor:

My name is Tom and I am a proud Newtown skateboarder who uses the skate park at Dickinson [Park] on an almost daily basis, and I recognize an ongoing problem. Whether its because my peers were denied the upbringing I had, or its that they just don’t care, one thing is for certain, the regulars of Newtown skate park don’t know how to clean up after themselves.

On any given day you can drive past around 7 pm and see that our beautiful skate park is littered with plastic bags, water bottles, soda cans etc. As a middle schooler, I watched my mother work tirelessly, fundraising and putting together events for two years so that we could have such a great place to come and skate. So, needless to say, this is nothing short of infuriating. I used to convince myself that this problem was due to “the out-of-towners,” but after years of using the park, I have come to realize that it’s not just them, the trash is primarily left by locals who come to the park regularly.

I urge parents dropping their kids off to please remind them to throw away their trash, and I'm asking that young adults make sure to use the trash cans provided at the park. I have heard that the town workers responsible for the upkeep of Dickinson Park as a whole hold a grudge against the skateboarders, and why shouldn’t they? They clean up your mess every day! I hope this letter will get around and maybe make a difference. I wouldn’t want everybody to suffer over the blatant lack of respect of just a few, but maybe the only way to get through to litterbugs would be to shut the park down for a week.

I can only hope that together the skateboarders and bikers can collectively make a difference, and simply throw away their trash, so that we can enjoy the park that our town has so graciously provided for us for years to come.

Thomas Capozziello

Cedar Hill Road, Newtown                    August 24, 2014