 The
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat on July 25 published a feature about the reaction
of local teenagers to the posting of a set of prohibitions at the recently dedicated
Nanty Glo memorial park gazebo, "Gazebo’s
rules perplex park-goers in Nanty Glo." The kids interviewed for the
feature gave sensible and thoughtful reflections on the Beautification Committee's
seeming to expect the worst from them and the incongruity and irony inherent in
prohibiting "loitering" in a public park presumably meant for rest and
spending time with other people. The Nanty Glo Home Page wanted to give a few
more of the teens an opportunity to share their thoughts.
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Declaration
of hostilities? Some regard the "no-no-no" sign a declaration of hostilities
against the Valley's teenagers. The inset, lower right in photo, is a typical
engraved stone similar to one that broke when someone allegedly stepped on it.
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Tony Rummel, 19, Twin Rocks: If we destroyed things, we wouldn't have anything.
We don't do any harm. We used to have dances in Twin Rocks but people complained. «
Steve Hauch, 17, Nanty Glo: We get kicked out of everywhere.. We go to Memorial
Wall to sit on the public benches and we get kicked out of there. If it's for
adults, you're (kids) not allowed to be there. Would they rather we be hiding
somewhere and doing bad stuff? I wish we had a pool hall, dances, a skate park,
and not be kicked out of everywhere. | Cory
Williamson, 18, Nanty Glo: I come »
to the gazebo because it's shaded
and a place to sit down. People tell us to get out of here (gazebo) or we'll get
fined. We get kicked out of everywhere...there's no pool hall, no playground.
We can't sit in front of the firehall because that's for adults. If you're a kid
in Nanty Glo, there's no place for you. |  |  | «
Todd Cruley, 15, Nanty Glo: When I come to the gazebo, I just sit and talk with
friends. We don't hurt anything. I've been chased out of the gazebo by "old
people." The cops told us that the gazebo is only for the miners. It depends
on what cop is on duty if we get chased or not. Sometimes, the cops just stare
at us. I wish we had a pool hall and a skate park. Someone on the recreation committee
told us if we used our own money we could build our own skate park. |
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