SNOWFALL SPURS SMILES, SLEDDING

Snow day turns to fun day at popular sledding hill at Riverview Park

When asked how he got recruited to shuttle a crew of young sled-riding enthusiasts from Lake and Ashtabula counties to a popular sledding hill in Madison Township on Dec. 14, his answer was simple.

“I volunteered,” Tony Salajcik said. “I mean, it’s a snow day, man!”

The Madison Township resident was accompanied by 11 school kids, representing three families, at Lake Metroparks’ Riverview Park around 1 p.m. And there were at least two more across the river at Hidden Valley Park cruising the hill over there on snowboards at about the same time.

As Salajcik explained that he went as far as Jefferson to pick up some of the crew at the sledding hill, he confirmed Riverview Park is a favorite wintertime destination.

“Yeah, we live right near here, so it’s a favorite spot,” he said as the kids under his care prepared to dare the hill as a human sled-riding train with an 11-member line, each on

his/her sled configuration of choice.

The group confirmed this was each member’s first snow day of the season, then gleefully plummeted down the south-facing hill before their trajectory transformed from a straight line into some sort of squiggle which ended up coming to rest in classic yard-sale style.

As the carnage played out, Salajcik said he got a text message about 5:30 a.m. alerting Madison Schools parents there would be a snow day.

He said although the roads seemed rather treacherous overnight, by the time they got to the park, conditions were ideal.

“It’s perfect,” he said.

JONATHAN TRESSLER —THE NEWS-HERALD Tony Salajcik snaps a quick pic with his smartphone Dec. 14 at Riverview Park in Madison Township before all the kids he brought to the park for their first snow day of the season cruise down the park’s south-facing sledding hill as an 11-rider train....

JONATHAN TRESSLER — THE NEWS-HERALD An 11-person sled train prepares to take the plunge down the hill at Riverview Park in Madison Township Dec. 14.