Prosser prepares Boys & Girls Club for Aug. 31 opening
By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer
PROSSER -- Fresh paint, new furnishings, a new boss and trained volunteers are ready when Prosser's Boys & Girls Club opens for business Aug. 31.
"We've been very busy," said Ron McHenry, executive director for Prosser's program.
McHenry, who came from Kennewick, where he opened a Boys & Girls Club, said the makeover on the city's building at E. J. Miller Park has been coming along very well, with lots of volunteer help, including some muscle from Mayor Paul Warden.
About 65 youths in first through fifth grade are expected when the doors open in less than three weeks. The program, which offers supervised activities, will have seven adults and nine teenagers from Prosser High School overseeing the children.
McHenry said community support helped push the project along to meet its annual budget goal of $187,000. About $115,000 came from individual donors and businesses, and the city is putting in $70,000 and adding the long-term lease of its building.
"This is a pretty neat thing for a community this size," McHenry said.
Facility improvements to the 3,500-square-foot building include new siding, paint, a new concrete ramp to replace a wooden wheelchair access ramp, a new back entry and 81 lockers for the children's use.
The club, which first was proposed in 2008 and really gained momentum once the fundraising campaign began in February, is seen as an important alternative for youth gangs.
About $24,000 is coming from the Whitehead Foundation, founded by farmer Edgar Whitehead to support good causes in Prosser, including Prosser Hospital.
The Whitehead donation is paying for game tables, a computer and copier.
The city's financial support is possible because the Prosser City Council decided to invest its recreation dollars in the club.
"Essentially we are the recreation program for Prosser," McHenry said.
McHenry said the school district will contribute by busing students to the clubhouse and allowing some activities at the school gymnasium across the street.
PROSSER -- A new aquatic center. After-school programs. Student participation in school board meetings. And a Boys & Girls Club that hosts 84 kids per day.
The wide spectrum of resources and programs to make this city kid friendly was recognized last week when Prosser was named one of the nation's 100 Best Communities for Young People by the America's Promise Alliance.
"My biggest challenge on this application was to fit everything in," Lisa Schmitt, the Prosser mother who nominated the city, told a crowd of city and school officials, youth advocates and about 680 pre-teens watching the news on an Internet broadcast inside the Housel Middle School gymnasium.
PROSSER -- Once a year, families gather in Depot Square in downtown Prosser to greet Santa, sing carols and toast marshmallows during the city's Family Holiday Celebration.
This year, they have another reason to celebrate Sunday. Last month, Prosser was chosen as one of the America Promise Alliance 100 Best Communities for Young People for 2011.
It's a national competition to recognize communities with programs and initiatives aimed at supporting youth and reducing the number of high school dropouts.
A simple idea of sharing a passion for jewelry-making with troubled kids has blossomed into a community effort to give teens a way to express their creativity in a positive way.
Nearly four years ago, Richland resident and local artist Lucy Dole first agreed to teach a group of teens girls on probation in juvenile court how to make necklaces and bracelets as part of the Girl Power program.
It didn't take long to hook Dole, who decided to start Beads Behind Bars by going into the juvenile detention center every Sunday afternoon to work with locked up kids.
Prosser School Board #2 candidates differ on focus
PROSSER -- In the District 2 race for the Prosser School Board, incumbent Tim Rankin is focused on preparing for more steep cuts from the Legislature, while challenger Bill Jenkin says the biggest concern is the partnership among the district, parents and the community.
The Prosser School Board general election is Nov. 8. Ballots for Benton and Klickitat counties will be mailed Wednesday.
Rankin, 46, an orthopedic surgeon at Prosser Memorial Hospital, has been on the board since 2007, and says the biggest issue facing the district is the financial strain being handed down from Olympia.
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