Thursday, June 26, 2008

Every night is now a hockey night in Crescent.

Thanks to a donation and some volunteer manpower, Riverview Park welcomed its latest addition in years -- a multi-purpose interlocking decking suitable for hockey, basketball or tennis.

"I live along the road to the park. It's (great) to see people walking to the park and kids out there using it."

The path to the new facility began on May 16 with Jesse Marshall of South Heights.

For him, it was a typical day driving to work when he glanced at a Hopewell facility where he and groups of 20 or so friends would gather three times a week to play deck or roller hockey.

To his surprise, it was being deconstructed just as the Pittsburgh Penguins were ripping apart the Philadelphia Flyers on their Stanley Cup quest.

"We didn't know they were tearing it down that day," Marshall said.

"We had tried to raise money to save it, paint it and put new wood down. (The property owner) declined that option."

So Marshall reversed his course, and he and fellow hockey fans dropped what they were doing as quick as George Laraque drops his gloves.

More speedy action resulted in a call to Crescent Commissioner Bill Cook.

He fielded a request with a donating resident, who offered the decking, worth $31,000, to Crescent, he said. After a quick trip to Hopewell, the deal was sealed and Marshall and his team took over.

"The kids took it upon themselves to install it," Cook said.

"It's a great thing for them. As long I can remember they've been playing deck hockey down there," on a former tennis court.

Now, players have a proper rink, much like the one off Mt. Nebo Road in Ohio Township.

But getting the neutral-colored decking a few miles down the road required some sweat and a little heart, said Marshall.

"It took us eight hours to move the material and about five days to install it."

Since then, the puck has been dropping up to three times a week as people travel from Hopewell, Ambridge and South Heights to play at one of the only such facilities in the area.

For the parks board, the decking was a gift they also planned to give Crescent.

The donation just sped up their timetable, said Karen Patton, township commissioner.

"When we got that phone call we jumped on it. We had discussed installing a deck hockey (facility) for older kids."

But an $80,000 cost hampered their efforts. Now the planned rehabilitation for Riverview Park has a spring board, with a possible next step being a bumper installed around the new decking, said Patton

"This was a benefit for our kids. We didn't have anything for this age group to do down there."

Now cheers of joy and shrieks of heartbreak pierce the air bringing life to a forgotten park.