News Item: Officials want to close popular Woodlawn roller rink

Story seen on Baltimore Sun...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-co-skateworks-survival-uncertain-20100416,0,4996403.story

Ok, so here's the gist. A Baltimore native wanted to open up a roller rink for kids to come hang out at instead of, you know, dealing drugs, killing each other, and generally everything else a Baltimore kid would end up doing, considering the city's track record. And it was a HUGE hit. LOTS of kids come and hang out on Friday nights. But, when the place closes at midnight, and everyone goes out, there's been reports of fights occurring nearby, kids trying to cross a 6 lane highway to get to a bus stop, and general crowd issues. So, Baltimore County has decided that the owners of the club need to decide by Wednesday on a plan to stop these issues, or else they will be shut down.

Granted, the incidents are an issue. But really???? Close down the club, that'll fix it all? I'll tell you EXACTLY what closing down that club will do...Kids won't have a spot to hang out on Friday nights, so here are their options...1) Sit at home until you get so bored you do one of the other options, 2) Stroll around the other prime hangouts in Baltimore, where by the way, our crime rate is still awesome, 3) Get involved with one of Baltimore's choice activites, such as gangs, murder, drugs, or assaults. Seriously, does Baltimore County really think kids won't fight each other if they don't have this spot to hang out? Instead, they'll fight each other spread out in different neighborhoods. But maybe the cops want that, since little 2-3 person fights aren't likely to be called in as a crime statistic, but a BIG fight...yeah, that's another mark against Baltimore.

I think the county needs to work WITH the club owners to figure out a good solution. How hard would it be to schedule an MTA bus stop on Friday nights on the other side of the highway, so you don't have the crossing issue. How hard would it be to provide some police to have on hand in case some bad apples want to spoil it for the good kids. One of the kids who goes there is quoted as saying "If this place closed down, I'd have no social life". That says it all to me...This isn't a raunchy club where kids come to drink, smoke, do bad stuff. This is the kind've place the county should be CELEBRATING, not trying to find a reason to close it down.