Wednesday, April 21, 2004

A place of their own

---

The famous teenage whine heard ’round the country—"There’s nothing to do and nowhere to go"—should quickly become a thing of the past in the Wood River Valley.

The Hub is here.

Teens in middle school and high school had long complained that all after-school and weekend fun in the valley was reserved for adults who could hang out in bars or restaurants.

Businesses didn’t welcome groups of teens hanging out for hours. As paying customers, they left a lot to be desired.

Teens couldn’t lay their hands on the pool tables and video games in bars, and other video game rooms required that mom and dad tag along—definitely not cool. If teens gathered inside or near businesses, owners often asked them to leave.

In this land of skateboard parks, ice rinks, ski mountains, bike paths, hiking and mountain biking trails, a public swimming pool, bowling alleys and youth programs galore, it was a tough whine for adults to understand.

Even so, the teens had a point: There was no gathering place in the valley where they could spend unstructured time with friends away from home—a community family room, so to speak.

The Hub is it. It’s open during school lunch hours, afternoons and evenings Monday through Saturday.

It offers a resource library, TV lounge, card tables, games, arcade games, pool and Foosball tables, arts and crafts, a stage for performing arts, music and karaoke. It was designed by teens and for teens.

Wow! What a place. Now teens can listen to their parents whine, "Why can’t we come, too?"

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.