Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Aug. 19, 2021, edition 1 / Page 2
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
A2 August 19, 2021 The Chronicle New club for adults hitting the skating rink for fun and fitness BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY THE CHRONICLE Nearly everyone above the age of 40 can remem ber having a fun outing at the skating rink as a child. Skating is not as popular as it once was, but Ole Skool Skaters (OSS) is seeking to change that for adults in the Winston-Salem area. OSS will hold an event ev ery second Saturday of the month at Skateland USA of Clemmons, located at 2512 Neudorf Rd. Donald Scales, presi dent of OSS, came up with the idea because he was looking for a way to get more adults above the age of 40 active while also having fun. He connected with Christina Werts, vice president of OSS, and soon afterward they started the group. The group is for skaters of all skill levels and the only qualification is that you are over the age of 40. “He (Scales) came up to me one day and he was like, ‘You know I’m think ing about trying to find something to do for our age group’ and I said okay and he said he wanted to start a skating group and again I said ‘okay,’” said Werts about the initial conver sation about the group. “I asked him why he wanted to start a skating group and he said, ‘Well you know, that’s where we spent our childhood, we grew up in the 80s.’” Werts felt it was a good idea and told Scales to start the group on Facebook and Donald Scales, president, and Christina Werts, vice president, are the founders of Ole Skool Skaters. Hanes From page Al trict use the 21-acre prop erty on Indiana Avenue to house different program ming needs. He also dis cussed ways the district could partner with the city. “When we come back with the plan ... there’s going to be a piece of that that I want to save for community use. So maybe the Lowrance portion will be a medical clinic space, conference room meet ing space, and then we’ve talked about converting the kitchen into a teaching kitchen and working with some partners to come in to teach folks how to cook food, can food, and do that on weekends and after hours so it gets that com munity use,” Walker said. “I know it’s not exactly what they want, but it is a bit of an olive branch to put out there.” Walker said district staff plans to speak with architects and develop- Submitted photos courtesy Lil Red Photography by Morris Ole Skool Skaters is a new skating club for adults 40 and older. she would assist him in his efforts. What started off as a small idea quickly took on a life of its own as more and more people began to join the group. More than 2,000 people have joined the group in less than two months. “Before we knew it, people were just join ing and joining and it just grew,” she said. “Every body was saying they were joining because they wanted something to do. If you don’t go to the club or anything like that, we real ly didn’t have anything to do. Everybody just started buying skates and posting them on the page.” For their first event back in July, the group needed 40 people to show ers over the next few weeks and come back to the board with a recom mendation next month. He also mentioned that a new air quality study has been conducted in the area. If the board does de cide to repurpose the fa cility, according to Walker it would need about $5 million in repairs. Right now The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem, a local performing arts organiza tion, is leasing space in the building. Elisabeth Motsinger, who is the longest serving member on the board of education, said she would like to see the district re claim the building and let the community know that the building is safe. “It’s important that we all learn that these build ings are good buildings and they’re usable buildings,” Motsinger continued. “I think it’s really important, educating our community that these kinds of plumes are under most of the city up and pay the $10 en- try fee to make sure they covered the cost of rent ing the rink. The group was nervous about having enough people show up to cover the cost. Surprising ly enough, more than 100 people showed up for the event, letting organizers know the group is bigger than they thought. “We were very sur prised, because we are in our 40s and 50s, so we didn’t think a lot of people would want to skate, be cause we don’t heal like we used to,” Werts said with a smile. “Everybody was excited and people were showing everyone their skates and going to the skating rink during the - week practicing, trying to get themselves together for the next event. Everyone was so enthusiastic about it and it was just awesome. ; It surprised us.” For their second event i held on Aug. 14, Werts ; wanted to include a com- i munity aspect to the event, j The group collected school ] supplies that will be given to the Enough is Enough ] nonprofit organization for I distribution on Aug. 21. “I feel like if you can go and buy skates, you can help someone who doesn’t have food or doesn’t have clothing, you know just to help somebody else,” she continued. “That’s when of Winston-Salem and it’s important that we reclaim these areas. One of my biggest reasons for mak ing a big deal about that is that if we don’t learn about this, we will never build schools in cities again and that would be a terrible, terrible travesty against our children.” Dana Caudill Jones, who serves as chair of the building and grounds com mittee, said she hopes that the district can find a way to partner with the city on repurposing the facility. “I think Mrs. Burke brought up some great things that the community needs,” Jones said. “My hope is that we can have some conversation around this property so it fits the needs that the district needs, but yet it fits the needs that Councilwoman Burke has brought up and I think if we can do some thing like that, then it’s a win for the whole commu nity.” we decided to do the back- to-school drive. “A lot of people are still suffering from the pandemic and not able to provide for their children. We really want to continue to give to the community and one of ideas is to bring skating back and make it more popular, so maybe these children will start en joying skating and maybe that will get them out of these gangs and shooting each other.” Werts says they have skaters of all levels in the group, so if anyone is not a good skater, they have the resources to assist them. She stated there is no need to be shy, because every one has to start somewhere in order to become a good skater. Werts says they are somewhat apprehensive about the progress of the group due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the state. She feels people are not quite ready to be in public places with other people right now. “We had a good crowd last night, but we didn’t have as big a crowd as .■■■■■ Become a travel agent Face hook @TRAVELIAMTHTHET IMINS I NS TA GRAM.* OT RAVELNIT HT HET Mil NJ 39 Years Chelsea & Case# Jones 336-251-7271 or 336-836-1781 travelwiththetwins@gmail.com Pest Control. Termite Inspections FHA & VA Reports . Bed Bugs Senior Citizens are given a 1 time service FREE of charge, (some stipulations may occur). lid P^ GOh^ 0t0 MIL-HOW Bo Gilliam President & CEO we thought, because the pandemic cases are on the rise again and people were fearful of coming to a group event,” she stat ed. “We are also going to try and list places where people can skate outside. There are greenways and parks around the city with flat asphalt and concrete. We are going to keep push ing it, because it is good for fitness as well.” The next event will be held on Sept. 11 and the theme will be NFL Sat urday and OSS wants ev During their last event, the club collected school sup plies to be donated to a local nonprofit. fl PORKR'S BAIL BOnDinG MICHAEL D PORTER Owner bogtriadpestcontrol@yahoo.com Telephone: 336-788-3020 Toll Free: 1-800-930-WASP (9277) eryone to represent their favorite NFL team. They will also honor the vic tims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Because the group has grown so fast, they would like to branch out and have different chapters in other cities and states. They are actually outgrowing their current venue at Skateland, so they may have to relo cate sooner than later. For more information about Ole Skool Skaters, please visit their social media page on Facebook. C 336-575-2890 Linkedin Instagram CONTACTING THE CHRONICLE www.wschronicle.com To send news items: email news@wschronicle.com 1300 E. Fifth St, Winston Salem, N.C. 27101 Main Phone Number: 336-722-8624 To send a Letter to the Editor (350 words or less) or column (550 words or less): email letters@wschronicle.com Advertising: Ext. 113 For advertising: email adv@wschronicle.com Circulation/Subscriptions: Ext. 100 For subscriptions: email plewis@wschronicle.com Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/WSChron- icle Follow us on Twitter: WS Chronicle The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every Thursday by Chronicle Media Group, LLC, 1300 E. Fifth St., Winston Salem, N.C. 27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C. An nual subscription price is $30.72. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636 Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636 Editor: Ext. 108 *
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 19, 2021, edition 1
2
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75