48,000 pounds of sod laid at Skatepark

Weather has not been kind to the building of the Malta Skatepark, with snow, rain, thunder and high winds threatening to stop the progress of Evergreen Skateparks since they started the project in April.

Nonetheless, through hard work Evergreen Skateparks powered through and finished the project a couple of weeks ago. The park was built thanks to the generous contribution of Pearl Jam Bassist Jeff Ament, who donated $50,000 to build the skatepark located in Malta's Hillcrest neighborhood. Since its inception, the park has generated quite the buzz and has also brought in donations from communities and people in and out of Phillips County.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, the community of Malta continued to show its generosity this time with manpower as a couple dozen citizens laid sod around the skatepark. The project was led by Malta Trails, Malta Parks and Recreation and PhillCo Economic Growth Council.

"We are completing the sod laying phase at the skatepark in Malta," said Mark Kunze President of PhillCo. "We've got a pretty good crew out. We've weathered a pretty good rainstorm and here we are."

It rained and it poured last Tuesday with gusts of wind and lightning threatening anyone outside. The freak storm lasted about 35 minutes just as the crew was about to unload the sod by forklift from Ezzie's Wholesale.

"We just got started and the wind hit," said Jake Stuart. "It kind of blew us out of here. That was forty minutes ago and it looks like a different day now. "

Even though the rain was coming down hard, Ezzie's worker Robert "Arnie" Arnold unloaded the entire truck which consisted of 48,000 pounds of sod divided by 1800 pound pallets.

"It was good to get a little water to get that dust out of my face," Arnold said.

The Malta Mustangs football team provided a lot of muscle that day and though many of the players don't skateboard they seemed more than happy to oblige.

"It feels pretty good because you get to help with something that you might not use but people younger than you will come and be able to use," junior Taylor Matthews said.

Matthews admitted that he doesn't skateboard but has in the past and it didn't end well as he rolled his ankle.

Matthews will not try his hand at skateboarding at the new park but Jake Stuart is looking forward to hitting the park.

"I wakeboard and snowboard," Stuart said. "I'm open to it. It's a little harder surface. I'm going to need some elbow pads and a helmet on that's for sure. I think I'll try it."

Laura Pankratz of Malta Trails hasn't ruled out trying out the park as well. She is excited about having the park for the youth of the area.

"Malta Trails is always encouraging outdoor activities and this is it," Pankratz said.

Others helping out with the project included the local Volunteer Fire Department, Boothe and Sons, Henderson Construction.

"It's definitely been a community effort," Kunze said. "It takes a lot of dedication, hard work spearheaded by Laura Pankratz, Ashley Stuart with the trails group, PhillCo, the City of Malta. Without their cooperation and help this wouldn't have started. I'd like to thank Mayor Jones and the council for their help."