City falls with park plan

City of Athens officials took fiscal mismanagement to the extreme when it approved the next step toward a skate park that could cost the already strapped city $250,000. In the face of a stanch budget that forced officials to close a fire station to avoid overtime costs, city council members unanimously approved to pay up to $15,000 for the design of a skate park.

The city’s budget already is woefully inadequate. The prospect of allocating $15,000 to hire Portland, Ore.-based design company Grindline is irresponsible. The proposed park will be built next to the current and barren one at 701 E. State St. Few skaters use the current park because it is too small and cannot accommodate patrons.

Even with the proposed park, skaters will continue to vandalize Athens streets. Part of the draw to the extreme sport is experimenting on different terrains. If skaters become bored with the proposed facility, they will return to the streets, leaving paraffin wax and shards of paint in their wake. Although skating is illegal Uptown and on Ohio University rails, officials routinely turn the other way and allow facilities to be destroyed under the boards’ weight. It is absurd that officials are forced to accept this behavior because skaters have no alternative.

The key to bringing about a skating facility rests on the ability of the city to form partnerships to bring funding to the table. While OU has pledged $50,000 to the effort, city leaders must solicit other funds from stakeholders whose property could be destroyed. At Monday’s council meeting, members said a potential exists for donated labor and materials from concrete companies and excavating firms. The notion of a skate park is positive, but if skaters want a skate park, then skaters should be leading this cause — and the fundraising — not a council already strapped for cash. Private funding is key if this project is going to move forward.

In a city where fire stations have to be closed to save money, it is reckless for city officials to spend money on a skate park that will benefit a handful, increase the burden on the city and stretch an already shaky budget beyond its limits. Until city officials develop a way to cope with the budget they should review their spending habits carefully and act in the best interest of the city.

J-School profs must move on

In a journalism school that preaches the sanctity of the First Amendment, a he-said/she-said barrage of free speech has embroiled two professors for five years and has dragged on too long. Now that a special counsel's report has confirmed six incidents of non-collegial and nonprofessional conduct, Ohio University must take necessary steps to block further banter.

Patrick Washburn and Eddith Dashiell have been exchanging barbs since Washburn was denied an interview to become the director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Dashiell, who sat on the committee to identify a director, said she became the victim of Washburn’s harassment following the 1997 search. Washburn countered by distributing his unfavorable peer evaluation through Scripps Hall in 1998. He then filed a complaint against Dashiell for writing negative comments in his evaluations.

The escalating back-and-forth personal hostility in the school continued for five years, during which time the public jabs at each other damaged the school’s morale and reputation. The infighting took professors away from their duties and wasted school resources.

This behavior must stop. Now. While Washburn said he will not change his behavior based on the findings, he must let the issue die. The bickering already has brought enough casualties: an Ohio Civil Rights Commission inquiry accusing OU of “reverse racism,” a special investigation and hours wasted on interviews and depositions.

Dashiell must be aware that her position in the Dean’s Office adds another layer to the already dense situation. A civil tone must be returned to Scripps Hall, and that requires both parties to admit past bad behavior and work toward a more professional environment.

OU officials, however, should be commended for handing the issue to special counsel James Sillery. By bringing in a third-party to investigate the allegations and to recommend how to repair the rifts in the journalism school, the university took appropriate steps to rectify an already tense situation. But OU officials must take further steps to ensure all members of the faculty are aware of proper workplace behavior so incidents like this are not allowed to repeat themselves.

Washburn must take whatever the College of Communication hands down as a reprimand and cut his losses. The third-party counsel issued his ruling. The college should not issue a punishment that exceeds the crime. Both parties, talented and noted academics, must move beyond the egos and enter the classroom and return to what should be their primary responsibility — students.