Community Campus use increases
By MEGAN THOMAS
Express Staff Writer
Hilarie Neely?s pre-ballet class dances their way through an afternoon at the Community Campus. Photo by David N. Seelig
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This fall the new Community Campus in Hailey experienced significant increase in activity. During its first fall as a centralized location for education, recreation and community activities, the campus attracted an array of children and adults to the community center.
?It?s the best kept secret in town,? said Dave Keir, executive director of the Blaine County Recreation.
With the latest activity at the center, the secret seems to have leaked.
On Thursday, Oct. 4, Wood River High School Performing Arts Academy students utilized the Footlight Dance Centre studio during school hours. While the high school students danced, young Footlight Dance Centre ballerinas clad in pink tights and black leotards anxiously awaited their pre-ballet class.
Around the hall children ran through the gymnasium in a game of capture the flag during the Blaine County Recreation District?s new after school program.
The same afternoon, teenagers gathered to socialize in the HUB youth activity center, and others gathered at the Internet Café for a snack.
?It brings education, recreation and the arts under one roof,? Keir explained.
The campus opened in February 2004 as a partnership between the Blaine County School District, the Recreation District and the College of Southern Idaho to revitalize the former Wood River High School.
The building maintains the feeling of a student union building, while serving as classrooms for the school district?s academies and the headquarters for the Recreation District. Other occupants include the College of Southern Idaho, Hailey Chamber of Commerce, Head Start, Footlight Dance Centre, Sun Valley Music Conservatory, Wood River Gymnastics, the Internet Café and the HUB youth activity center.
With the new facility, the Recreation District expanded its offerings with after school games and art for youths. About 40 kids take part in the after school program. Activity buses bring elementary and middle school students from their respective schools to the facility. Staff members greet the students at the bus.
?Now we can offer more, to meet more needs,? Susie Wrentmore, the Recreation District?s community services director, remarked.
The district coordinates the after school program with other classes offered at the facility. Potentially kids can move from an after school program, to dance class, to gymnastics?all without driving anywhere.
Teenagers are also flocking to the campus for the HUB youth activity center. The HUB boasts pool tables, ping pong games and computers. According to Janelle Grider, the director of the HUB, the facility has averaged about 38 youths per day. During September, 695 youths visited the facility?nearly double the 354 kids that visited in April. Students come during school, lunch and after school.
?We?ve had a good mix of kids from the community,? Grider said.
The facility is not just for kids. An important element of the center is the intergenerational mingling that takes place at the campus. Students of the College of Southern Idaho and senior citizens also utilize the facility.
?All the elements are there. The possibilities are endless as to what this facility can provide,? Keir remarked.
After the holidays the Recreation District will again offer tours to showcase the campus.
