Michelle Fulper Web.jpg: Dimond Recreation Center director Michelle Fulper shows offthe center's newly renovated kitchen.
Stolen Super Deuce Web.jpg: The public is asked to be on the lookout for a green go-cart like this one. The go-cart was stolen fro

by Dimond Graffiti Web.jpg: Graffiti like this began showing up in the park just after the theft.

Shenanigans on the Boulevard

New Dimond Recreation Center Director Wants to Make Positive Impact

By Dennis Evanosky

Michelle Fulper recently stepped into the job as Dimond Recreation Center director. The center is in Dimond Park, at 3860 Hanly Road next door to Lions Pool. In last month's Metro, Fulper told Dimond community leader Hoang Le Banh that she's eager to meet neighbors and "get a lot of input from the community on how they would like to see Dimond Park in the future." To this end she has scheduled an advisory committee meeting for Saturday, June 11.

The City of Oakland has owned Dimond Park since 1917. The property had belonged to the Dimond family. Hugh Dimond, a wealthy entrepreneur who made his money as a Gold Rush merchant, purchased 267 acres 50 years earlier in 1867. By 1877 he was living with his family in a handsome home near the end of Dimond Avenue. It's no accident that Dimond Avenue ends in a round cul-de-sac. Dimond built his circular carriage turnaround where the avenue meets the park. The family's handsome white two-story home stood just beyond the redwoods that grace the park near Dimond Avenue.

The park is a pleasant retreat from the outside world. Picnickers can enjoy a day away from home, and children can romp and swing. The sidewalks and trails invite joggers and walkers.

The recreation center offers programs that include T-ball, basketball, soccer, cooking, arts and crafts, self-defense, and hip hop dance. The Oakland Jazz Quartet plays at the center every Tuesday, from 4 to 6 p.m. "It's amazing," said Fulper. "The kids come in, and their music fills the air. Tuesday is my favorite day."

The center's kitchen has just been renovated, and Fulper hopes to offer culinary classes in the near future.

Fulper's job has its challenges. The park has seen at least one brazen daytime robbery. "The way I understand it, five men jumped and robbed a young man," Fulper said. She sees more adult presence in the park as a solution. To this end, she is proposing walking groups to stroll around the park three times a day at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m. "Meet your neighbors, hike for an hour. It's good for your health and good for Dimond Park," she said.

A second incident in the park is also disturbing. "Please keep an eye out for our Manco GoKart," Fulper asks. "It's a two-seater, green-bar metal-framed ATV sort of vehicle with oversized tires."

Thieves stole the cart from the locked patio yard sometime between 3:30 p.m., Saturday, April 30, and 11 a.m., Sunday, May 1. "They had to use bolt cutters to remove the large thick chain and the two locks that held the gate shut," Fulper said.

If anyone knows about the theft of this very expensive investment, call the Oakland Police, 777-3333, or Fulper, at 681-5129.

Just after the theft, vandals began spraying graffiti in the park. Fulper does not think this is a coincidence and feels the theft and the graffiti are related.

Fulper's aim is to bring people back into the park. "This will happen when everyone feelssafe," she said. "I'm seeking community input and invite the community to attend the center's advisory committee meeting on Saturday, June 11.

"I want to make a positive impact on some negative stuff," she said.

And the positive certainly outweighs these negative incidents.

For example, Groupo Cuauhtonal recently held its second annual Ceremonia Huehuetlatolli, a Mexican native-elders ceremony, in the park. Song, drumming, and dance performances filled the air from morning to early afternoon.

Fulper invites the community to see all that the center has to offer at the Dimond Recreation Center Open House on Monday, June 27.

"There's another way the community can help," Fulper said. "We are always in need of sports equipment, especially tennis rackets. We are also looking for donations of arts and crafts materials."

The Dimond Recreation Center is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Lions Pool at Dimond Park is next door and offers learn-to-swim programs, parent and child aquatics, and lap and public swimming.

For more information, call the center at 482-7831, or e-mail Fulper at mfulper\@oaklandnet.com. To learn more about Lions Pool, call 482-7852.