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Public Comments - Media

All invited to Monmouth Community Youth Summit
Polk County Itemizer-Observer
April 4, 2001

The needs of youth in Monmouth will be addressed at a Community Youth Summit at 7 p.m. Monday, April 9, at Central High School.

Tom Henderson
April 04, 2001

MONMOUTH -- The needs of youth in Monmouth will be addressed at a Community Youth Summit at 7 p.m. Monday, April 9, at Central High School.

Young people and their parents are invited to come. Representatives from the YMCA, Central Youth Sports, local churches and other organizations that work with kids will also be there.

The point is to find ways how all these different groups can best serve kids in Monmouth, said Mayor Paul Evans.

A survey was sent out to 800 kids about what they want to see in the community. About 500 came back. "That's a pretty good return for a survey," Evans said.

From the survey, a general wish list emerged.

Kids generally agree they have a couple of hours of "dead time" after school lets out. They would like to see more after-school activities. But not just a place to shoot hoops.

They want activities related to their interests in school. For instance, they would like to see activities revolving around computers, music and drama.

They would also like to see a Nite Court program geared for older students. Nite Court, offered every Saturday evening at Talmadge Middle School, offers an open gym and variety of other activities for youth,

It is open to high school students, but it is largely attended by younger students. According to the survey, a Nite Court for older teens would go over well.

So would a return to more traditional industrial arts such as metal and wood shop.

Evans said kids want a lot. "But they're also more sophisticated than we give them credit for. They recognize nothing is free."
Kids surveyed said they are willing to make sacrifices and work for some of these projects. "That's a giant step forward in my opinion," Evans said.

Jamie Hendry, an intern from Western Oregon University, worked on the survey with Evans. Western students Sarah Chambers, Mark Miller and Jessica Wilken helped count the surveys.

Officials at West Coast Bank are pitching in with boards and other materials for the summit.

Evans said he hopes the meeting will come out with at least a couple basic priorities for the community. He said he is not unrealistic about large-scale projects.

"Coming from a lower middle class background, our resources are not unlimited, but each group can identify what it can contribute to the priority that's identified."

Evans said he is looking forward to some robust discussions. "This is something I've been working on for a year and a half. I'm really excited about it because this is something a community can do well."