Published: September 03, 2008 01:50 am      

TOWN OF TONAWANDA: Students try to keep recreation facilities in line

Hundreds of people flock to town parks and pools for some fun, sun and relaxation during the summer months. But the parks aren’t always a picnic for the students paid to supervise them during their vacation.

After ejecting a rowdy crowd of teenagers from Thurston Playground on July 20, Alex Dockstader found herself in a disgusting situation the next morning.

“She found a picnic table pushed up against the door with feces on it,” Dockstader’s father, William, said at a meeting of the town board.

That incident prompted Alex to resign from her position with the town’s Youth, Parks and Recreation Department after serving only half of the season.

But occasional vandalism aside, this summer didn’t see anything outside the norm in terms of kids acting out, said Youth, Parks and Recreation Director Dan Wiles.

“All of our part-time workers are told that if they feel uncomfortable, call the police right away,” Wiles said. “We always try to handle problems internally, and 99 percent of people, if you treat them with respect, will respond to it. But there’s always that 1 percent who don’t.”

Supervisors review the logs of what’s happening on town property and make calls to parents if there are on-going issues with particular youths, Wiles said.

The problem with playgrounds is the blurred line on who should be there. Kids start coming to the playground around the age of 5 and keep coming when they’re 12 or 13, too old for the playground’s equipment but still with an affinity for the place as a hangout for their friends. That hasn’t changed since the mid-1970s, when Wiles said he was a part-timer sent to Lincoln Park because other workers asked for a male presence that would deter rambunctious kids.

“It’s usually the older kids testing the boundaries of authority,” Wiles said. “They have an ‘I’m not leaving, you can’t make me leave’ attitude. So you just refer them to the police, who can make them leave.”

Alex Ivancic, a senior at Kenmore West High School, just finished his second year as a lifeguard at Lincoln Pool and said he hasn’t encountered many incidents where the police had to be called. Still, there are some people who need to see a badge before they’re willing to listen.

“We do have a problem from time to time,” Ivancic said. “I think there was one police call this year, but it was just an uncontrollable woman who didn’t want to pay for her day pass. When something like that happens, the police give them the same message we do, and coming from them helps it get through.”

With most troublemakers, there’s a quick fix to running around the pool or horsing around in an unsafe manner. If after two or three warnings the youths don’t stop, lifeguards make them sit out for five or 10 minutes. After that, one more infraction gets you sent home for the day, Ivancic said.

Most of the time that kind of thing isn’t necessary, but for a certain group there’s no way but the highway.

“There’s the same bunch of 10 or 12 kids that have to be asked to leave everyday,” Ivancic said. “But mostly it’s a great job. You deal with an irate parent once or twice a year, but most people are just happy to be here.”

Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.