Southside Neighborhood Association
The Derrick
(As reported in the Derrick)
Teenagers offer views of Oil City
By JUDITH O. ETZEL
South Side Neighborhood group members relay the information to Oil City Council.
Plying
Oil City teenagers with "food and fun" and offering them a forum to
express views about their hometown community has yielded some key
information for the South Side Neighborhood Association intent on
improving its surroundings.
"It takes a community to raise a child and never has that been truer
than now," said Roger Brock, an association member, at a city council
workshop on Monday. "...I found our young people have a great deal of
pride in their community...and if we get behind them, they'll do great
things."
Brock and others in the association sponsored a campaign called the 814
Initiative to find out what teens believed the community should do for
them and, in turn, what they could do for the community. The one-night
April event was held at the Latonia Theater and included more than 70
local teenagers and a large group of association members.
Leah Gesing, president of the South Side group, and Bonnie Schoeppner,
an association member, outlined to city council what some of those
responses were.
In answer to what the community can do to make Oil City a better place
for young people, nearly half the respondents said places such as a BMX
bike/skate park, recreation center, teen club or teen theater that are
specific to teenagers should be created.
"They want activities, too, such as movies right here in town like a
big screen set up on Central Avenue for movie night," Schoeppner said.
"And they want more shows in Justus Park and more dances for older
teens."
Surprisingly, the young participants also suggested the city needs "to
take pride in its appearance by cleaning up and dressing (decorating)
it up" and offered that adults should "look out for and listen to
teens."
Gesing said there was also talk about tapping the now vacant National Guard Armory on State Street as a teen center.
WHAT TEENS OFFER
On the other hand, local teenagers had several ideas as to how they can lend a hand to the city, Schoeppner said.
"They said they can help the elderly and neighbors through something
like a rent-a-teen program. They can mentor younger kids, paint murals,
adopt a city street and more," she said. "...They also said one way to
help would be to change their attitudes...to be kinder and more
helpful."
On the issue on eradicating drug and alcohol problems in the community,
the 814 Initiative participants said school-based programs, including
counseling and teen hotlines, should be promoted. Businesses can help,
too, they added, by being more stringent when checking identifications
for the purchase of cigarettes and alcohol.
Many of the comments were directed at law enforcement, Schoeppner said.
"They were very strong about feeling that police should focus on the
big drug dealers before teenagers, that police ought to have more foot
patrols and that communication should be better between adults and
teenagers and the police," she said.
The South Side Neighborhood Association is poised to "get the youth
together to plan projects," but it needs someone to lead the effort,
Gesing said.
"We are looking for a leader for our youth initiative and we need someone to partner with us," she said.
John Bartlett, city council member, suggested the association approach
the YWCA, YMCA or Youth Alternatives because "this is part of their
mission."
The association intends to continue exploring how to accomplish some of
the teenagers' needs as well as how to tap into youths' talents on
behalf of the community, Gesing said.
Please contact us at:
PO. Box 805, Oil City, PA
16301or email us
at:
Email: Southside
Neighborhood Association
Southside Neighborhood
Association
We Watch Out For Each Other