Youths want a place to call their own

Where bored teens gather, drinking often occurs, say a couple of Flathead High School students. So why not give them something to do?

Colin Bradley and Kelly Bleck are leading a push for the city of Kalispell to create a teen center so students are entertained 'd1 and consequently less inclined to get into trouble.

They'd5ve surveyed fellow teens and begun talks with city officials in hopes that the Montana National Guard Armory on U.S. 93 South will be revamped as a teen center when the building is given to the city in August.

The city is interested in the idea but hasn'd5t discussed funding or ruled out other options or locations for a youth facility, City Manager Jim Patrick said. Nor has the city nixed the idea of using the building for something else 'd1 such as office space 'd1 in conjunction with a teen center, he said.

During September, Mayor Pam Kennedy suggested to members of the youth council that they see whether area teens would be interested in such a center.

Bradley, 16, and Bleck, 17, are the mayor and lieutenant mayor of the Kalispell Youth Advisory Council, a group of students organized by the Flathead Prevention Alliance.

The alliance is a group of social-service agencies, such as local schools and United Way, that work to address quality-of-life issues and promote healthy lifestyles for people of all ages. Some alliance programs focus on youths.

What is their motivation for a youth entertainment and activity facility?

'd2There'd5s just nothing to do Fridays and Saturdays,'d3 Bleck, a senior, said.

'd2It'd5s something to keep us out of trouble,'d3 Bradley, a junior, said.

The students say they know friends and acquaintances 'd1 even teens with 4.0 grade point averages 'd1 who turn to drinking or other destructive behaviors simply out of boredom.

Bradley said the reason for drinking given by those students is, 'd2What else are they going to do?'d3

Linda Ravicher, the Drug-Free Communities Support Grant coordinator for Flathead Prevention Alliance, is the youth council'd5s adviser. She said Bradley and Bleck are right about the boredom factor.

Underage drinking affects a full spectrum of ages, economic classes and other demographic categories, she said.

'd2It'd5s not about bad families,'d3 she said.

Teens often turn to drinking primarily out of boredom, so providing

youths with activities is good way to prevent drinking and other problems or destructive behavior, she said.

The youth council surveyed Kalispell students during the past school year to gauge interest in a facility and find out what amenities they would want.

'd2We got a lot of interesting feedback,'d3 Bradley said.

The first survey went to 250 youths at Flathead High School during the second quarter of the school year and garnered 120 responses.

That poll asked students to make suggestions for amenities. The answers included a dance club, and paintball and laser tag.

The council refined the survey and sent the second poll out in April to 1,730 teens at the high school and 930 students at Kalispell Junior High School. About 1,560 responses were received from the schools, and students ranked the activities they wanted to see offered by a teen center.

A pool hall, laser tag, a caf'8e and paintball were among the most popular activities. Mini-golf and roller skating, on the other hand, were not ranked highly.

Another message the council heard from many students was that they wouldn'd5t want to feel like the center staff were baby sitters.

'd2They wanted supervision,'d3 Bleck said, 'd2but they didn'd5t want to be hounded.'d3

The youths presented their findings to the Kalispell City Council at a recent meeting and asked the members to consider a teen center.

The timeline for the project now lies with the city.

Soon, the city will look at possibilities for creating a teen center and also will consider how best to use the armory, Kennedy said. Kalispell officials have talked about putting the Parks and Recreation Department offices in the armory.

Bradley and Bleck anticipate forming a group of students that would work with the city to create a youth facility if the City Council moves forward with the idea.

The Valley Youth Recreation Association, a nonprofit community organization founded in 1958, previously operated a teen center at Third Street East and Third Avenue East. The center was active until it was sold in 1974. The organization lapsed after the sale and reformed in 1987 under a new name, Flathead Youth Foundation, said foundation secretary Becky Groose Jones.

During past years, the organization has sponsored community events such as dances and motivational speakers.

The Flathead Youth Foundation is interested in learning about a potential new center and helping get it off the ground, President Bob White said.

Reporter Camden Easterling can be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at ceasterling@dailyinterlake.com.