Park Board made aware of Emerald Palace intimidation

Sunday, April 10, 2016
Banner Graphic/Eric Bernsee Entrance to Emerald Palace playground on the northwest side of Robe-Ann Park.

It was the spirit of community that created the Emerald Palace playground in Greencastle's Robe-Ann Park 15 years ago.

Six days and 1,200 volunteers turned a dream into a reality back in October 2001.

Now the Greencastle Park Board is hoping a few bad kids aren't going to ruin that spirit or its memory.

Banner Graphic/Eric Bernsee Sign displays rules for use of the Emerald Palace playground at Robe-Ann Park in Greencastle.

Board members were advised at their April meeting that some older children -- likely teenagers exceeding the intended 2-12 age range for the park -- have been intimidating smaller children and even some of their parents with inappropriate behavior at the Robe-Ann Park facility.

"If we have kids chasing parents and younger kids out of the park, we've got a problem," Greencastle Park Director Rod Weinschenk acknowledged.

Park Board member Cathy Merrell who lives on Anderson Street recently witnessed some of the problems, saying it was intimidating for young children.

"It's not that they're doing anything terribly bad," Merrell said, "they're just off in their own world, running around (playing ) 'I'll get you, you get me.'"

But scaring little kids to the point they don't want to go back in the playground shouldn't be tolerated, Weinschenk said.

"They're breaking the printed rules (displayed outside the playground)," the park director said. "Running and rough play are not allowed, and certainly not running people over."

The problem isn't that the culprits might be 13 or 14 years old, he said, adding that as long as they are not causing problems, age is not an issue.

He suggested parents can be the best line of defense against such misbehavior.

"Remember, it takes village to raise a child," he said, indicating parents can help alleviate problems by standing up to misbehaving children.

Weinschenk suggested adding verbiage to the Emerald Palace playground rules sign along the lines of "if a parent or an adult feels the need to correct a child's behavior at the facility, that youngster needs to leave the playground."

Merrell said the older children aren't necessarily "doing things so bad that we feel we need to call the police."

However, Park Board audience member Tina Kennedy said she no longer lets her young children use the playground after witnessing one older child throw a bottle at another.

Another parent at the park Saturday afternoon was not surprised at the reports.

"I've seen it," she said as she sat in her vehicle while kids played nearby. "And some of the language, oh my."

Then she added another layer to the issue.

"I've seen older kids climb up in the towers (either side of the entrance to the Emerald Palace) and start kissing and hugging on each other. Little kids don't need to see that."

Weinschenk told Park Board members he would share the new signage for the playground with them once it is formulated and run past the city attorney.

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  • I am concerned about the older kids running wild at Emerald Palace and feel there should be a Park Attendant watching on a regular basis. I feel there are many places teens can get together with out it being in the children's sections of the Park. I also have a real concern for the Splash Park. Mothers and Fathers (or Grandparents) are gathering at the tables and letting the older kids run, climb and control the activities- meanwhile the smaller kids cannot get a turn, they are knocked down by the bigger kids, and some of they kids use filthy language. Although we live in Greencastle we have found it far better at the Danville Park.

    -- Posted by Trying hard on Mon, Apr 11, 2016, at 7:55 AM
  • If attention is going to be paid to the state of affairs at Emerald Palace, smoking by parents needs to be addressed as well. In my opinion the entire park should be smoke free. But at a minimum more needs to be done in the area around Emerald Palace. I stopped taking my little ones there over a year ago because every time we went, there were adults smoking in, around and near the playground making it impossible to let my kids play in "fresh air."

    I also agree with "Trying hard" about the Splash Park. I have seen adults smoking inside and right around the Splash Park, not paying attention to their children and letting children (sometimes older children, but sometimes younger as well) climb over the activities, run, push and just be dangerous in general toward other children.

    I am someone who will step in and say something, but it would be nice to be able to go enjoy the park without needing to do so.

    Also with recreational softball season starting, I'll add that it would be great to have a smoke free park that you can feel good about bringing your kids to family friendly events.

    -- Posted by workingmomma on Mon, Apr 11, 2016, at 12:09 PM
  • Stuff like this will continue to be a problem until Greencastle starts investing in its teens in a positive way. They have nowhere to go and nothing to do unless they are involved in athletics, and athletics are generally limited to the families who can afford it. It's too bad that there have been incidents at the park, but there is a much bigger issue regarding our teens.

    -- Posted by eabrandon on Tue, Apr 12, 2016, at 8:28 PM
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