You may think of skateboarders as noisy, self-centered pests. When it comes to Ellsworth skateboarders, think again.

With the help of the James Russell Wiggins Downeast Family YMCA and the Ellsworth Rotary Club, they have designed and built their own park, agreed on a few rules such as no bad language and mandatory helmets, and supervised the place for a successful first month of operation. Now they are taking down the wooden ramps and preparing to convert it into an ice-skating rink for the winter.

Other skateboard parks have a mixed record. Brewer had to abandon its park after neighbors in the residential district complained about noise and rough shouting. Bangor’s park, though unsupervised, has had very few problems in three years of operation, says Frank Comeau, director of parks and recreation.

In Ellsworth, Rob Eaton, the Y’s youth services director, advises a Teen Advisory Committee, which manages the rink and is preparing for a skaters’ float in the Ellsworth Christmas parade on Saturday. A leading committee member, 15-year-old Ryan Glass, says the most important thing he has learned is teamwork. The skaters take turns skating, help one another when someone gets hurt, caution each other when someone skins a knee or bangs an elbow and comes out with a curse, and sometimes tutor a member whose school grades are slipping.

At weekly meetings called “Tuff Stuff,” they have discussed current issues such as the casino and racino gambling controversies and heroin addiction. Mr. Eaton says they may take up the Iraq war at one of their sessions. They plan to call on the principal of Ellsworth High School before long to broach a plea that they be allowed to take their skateboards to school. They contend that their boards are as much a part of them as their bikes. As a compromise, they intend to suggest a stiff penalty if one of the skateboards so much as touches the floor or pavement on the school grounds.

It begins to sound as if organizing and running a skateboard rink has helped transform a group of high-energy teenagers into the beginnings of some good citizens, the very kind our country needs. At least that’s what the Ellsworth police seem to think. When an officer recognized the names of some members of the Teen Advisory Committee in a newspaper article, he marveled at the transformation. He told Mr. Eaton: “They’re the ones we were having the most trouble with.” Maybe not anymore.