By Nathan Duke
Staff Writer

A local teen skateboard designer is coordinating efforts to provide a safe, clean skatepark for area skaters and plans to name the park in memory of Grant Leavitt following its completion in the spring.

Jordan Davis, 18, began a project to rejuvenate Candia's skate park, which is located behind the town offices and police station, in mid-June, following several years of wear and tear on the park that left its ramps worn and the site in disrepair.

"About four years ago, the park was the best it has ever been," said Davis. "But it became a slab of tar and people stopped going there."

The park was built in 2001, through the diligence and hard work of six Candia teenagers, one of whom was Grant Leavitt. Pattie Davis, of the former Candia Teen Center and no relation to Jordan, said the skaters approached her to help get the park started, and then raised money through bake sales and car washes, as well as built some of the park's equipment themselves.

"This has been a total kidoriented project from the start," she said.

Jordan Davis, a full-time student at New Hampshire Tech College in Manchester, works at New Hampshire Snow and Skate in Hooksett and owns Renegade Skateboards, a small company for which he designs boards and sells through Snow and Skate.

He said he intends to name the park in memory of Grant Leavitt, who died in the spring of 2004 at age 20.

So far, Jordan Davis and a group of local skaters have cleaned the entire park and fixed an existing ramp by adding metal to the top of it to better preserve it.

He said the skaters have also begun to keep an eye on how the park is being put to use.

"They have started policing it on a fairly regular basis," she said. "They are making sure they stop kids from throwing trash on the ground."

Davis said the total cost for the project will be about $3,000 to $4,000 and that a grand opening and dedication will likely take place in May 2006.

Some of the money spent on the project was left over from the now defunct Candia Teen Center, while other local businesses, such as Macy Industries, have donated money as well. Additionally, a snowboarding fund established by Leavitt's parents - Roger and Sandy Leavitt - has provided money for the rejuvenation project.

Jordan Davis and several of his fellow skateboarders will take part in a skateboarding/BMX bike demonstration at Candia's Old Home Day on Saturday, Oct. 8, to raise more money for the project.

He said one of the most important elements of fixing up the skate park is to prove to the town that skaters are responsible, and he hopes that the younger generation of town skaters will take over the reigns to keep the park in good condition in the future.

"To have the support of the town is the biggest thing," said Davis. "The image in town of skaters is that we destroy everything."