We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Jeff Ament, Evergreen Skateparks Crew and Lions Members
The Chinook Skate Park development had a special visitor Saturday when Jeff Ament showed up to check out the progress. Ament is the bass player for the rock group Pearl Jam who is on a break right now before they head to Australia for two weeks. He is the chief benefactor to the skate park. Ament had just been to Glasgow who recently completed their skate park.
"It looks awesome," said Ament. "They are making good progress." The work crew from Evergreen Skateparks has been pouring concrete the past two weeks and the skatepark should be ready for skate boarders by the time the paper has come out. Evergreen Skateparks is one of three companies that works with Ament on skateparks.
Ament has been helping build skate parks in Montana for the past 20 years, mostly in smaller communities. "I don't think small towns get the focus they deserve," said Ament who grew up himself in Big Sandy, Montana. "Small towns have good infrastructure, we're trying to make these small towns more attractive if we can." He added that for 20 years, skateboarders were kind of the troublemakers of the community. He's making places for them enjoy their talents. "Skateparks are pretty low maintenance," said Ament, stating there isn't much upkeep on them except for the occasional repair to some concrete. "It's a cool activity to do."
Montana Pool Services, Ament's organization, has funded more than 30 skateparks for rural and native communities. "We built 3 skateparks this year for the Salish Kootenai community and have two more planned for next year." There are also 2 skateparks in South Dakota, one in North Dakota and one in Washington.
The Hi-Line has been the recipient of several skateparks, including Browning, Shelby, Havre, Malta, Wolf Point, Glasgow and now Chinook. A few more spots on the Hi-Line have been talked about.
Spokesman for the Chinook project, Jay Eslick said that the goal had been reached for matching funds thanks to recent fundraisers and donations.
The crew is now started work on a park in Pablo which will be the final one of the season. Ament also donated several skateboards for locals which will be disbursed soon. Ament plans to return in the spring for a dedication and a ribbon cutting ceremony.
