‘The absolute meaning of community spirit'

To the editor: I spent the morning of July 29 with a large group of young skateboarders painting the skatepark. It was a terrific experience; one that showed how much these kids appreciate the skatepark. They worked hard to reinvigorate the equipment, proving that they are willing to do their part to keep the park in shape. While I was busy making sure the kids’ paint brushes were pointed toward the skatepark equipment, there was a gentleman working very hard in the background. He brought his own talent to the task that day and a message that was more significant than the one from the boarders. This gentleman was a skateboarder’s father who showed not only his son, but the rest of the volunteers, the absolute meaning of community spirit. Russell Dougherty arrived at the skatepark at 10 that morning and got busy replacing and repairing wooden railings and missing or broken couplings in the fence. This was not part of the plan when Mayor Newhard and I set up the project; we had our sights set on painting only. Mr. Dougherty took it upon himself to add these jobs to the list. He didn’t ask for reimbursement for the parts and he didn’t ask for help during the job. I’d like to take this opportunity to publicly and separately thank Russell for his generous contribution to the skatepark project. Eileen Patterson Trustee, Village of Warwick