Oh, stop it, Dan. Everyone agrees that kids are more important than dogs. You can’t compare a dog park to a teen center. We have SERIOUS problems with our youth and no matter what we do to help, they respond by informing us that they wouldn’t have so many problems if they weren’t bored.

I don’t appreciate people trivializing tragedies in our community by blaming a lack of entertainment or a lack or government intervention as the reason teens have so many problems. I also don’t appreciate the insinuation that our community has long neglected our teens when they thumb their noses at the many opportunities we have given them.

Shelby tells us that we should respond to their “quiet cries for help through drugs, violence and sex” by giving them a “place of their own” where they can “hang out away from their parents.” They want “little or no” help in planning their events. And they want to call all the shots without having a “bunch of old men” making decisions.

When I hear kids demanding the City to build a teen center to keep them out of trouble because they are bored, it tells me: 1) They aren’t accepting responsibility for their own actions 2) They don’t appreciate the boundless opportunities they already have and 3) They haven’t learned anything about the effects of peer pressure and egotism from the historic tragedies and experiences of their peers.

Shelby may be passionate about trying to help the youth, but he is approaching this in a typical adolescent manner. The solution he offers is short-sighted and self-gratifying. He assumes that boredom is the root of all teen problems. He assumes that kids won’t be bored if we build a place for them to hang out. He assumes that just because the answer is “no” that we must not be “acting like adults and listening” to him, or that we haven’t asked our own teens what they want. He overlooks the fact that we have been through this a zillion times already. He assumes that Jitterbugs, Puzzles, Blueberry Hill and all the other teen ventures failed because the kids didn’t get involved in planning or they didn’t ask for it. He won’t listen when we tell him that teen centers didn’t work in the past and they won’t work now because >>>> NEWSFLASH: Teens don’t want supervision, rules, or boundaries.>>>>

Leoah Whineknott

Dear Mayor and Members of Council,

I am writing to ask for some help on something that has been neglected in town for too long.

As a former councilman, I know the difficult job you have, believe me. You spend a tremendous amount of time trying to make this city run efficiently and effectively and you still manage to make somebody angry on virtually every vote! At least you get the big bucks for the mostly thankless job you do.

Well, I am here to say thank you no matter the level of help I get on an issue that is very near and dear to me, and that is the idea of a teen center. I don't even have a teen in my house, but I have two young sons, and a son, Joe, in heaven who died of an asthma attack when he was a teen nearly nine years ago. Maybe, it's Joe that is telling me to help make a teen center a reality in PTC.

Much has been said on the subject over the years, but little if anything has been accomplished. My stepson, Shelby Barker, is a former chairman of the Peachtree City Youth Council, and is a very vocal proponent of a teen center. So far, he hasn't gotten much support because he is young and sort of brash. But he's also very passionate about this, which I greatly respect and admire. Remember, Shelby has no dog in this fight. He has nothing to gain, as he will be out of his teens in a few short months. He's working full-time and going to school full-time, but he certainly knows the value of a teen center.

Mayor and council members, I am here to tell you the time is NOW to act. I understand that money is tight, and I also understand that teens don't vote, but there is NOTHING more important in your job as an elected leader of this fantastic city than to promote the health and welfare of its citizens. We have a wonderful recreation program, we have many churches which offer youth programs, and we have cart paths for the teens to use. But they don't have a place of their own, and that needs to change. There is an enormous void to provide for those who are not involved in sports or church groups as well as those who are.

The thinking has to change. It's all about making an investment in our kids, not spewing out money for a worthless cause, as some would have you believe. We have a wonderful senior citizens center at the Gathering Place. Of course, older folks vote, and we all know that. But heck, we also have a Dog Park, and to my knowledge they don't vote, yet they mustered the political muscle to get a place of their own.

Kids are more important than dogs.

Yet we need not reinvent the wheel. We can transfer resources from the Kedron Field House to the Teen Center. We can have a successful collaboration of city government and volunteers to ensure the teens have a safe, yet fun place to call their own. And it's important, in my view, that the place is their own.

Much has been said about reserving space at Kedron Field house for teen activities. Others talk about turning over Glenlock to the teens. Both of these ideas are certainly worthy of discussion. In the end, however, I would strongly prefer to see the city invest in a separate facility. It can be leased at a relatively nominal cost, and it can be manned by city personnel and volunteers with simple reallocation of resources. Heck, we can charge a cover charge as a user fee---I don't think that's unexpected by the teens.

I'll give you a pefect place to get this project moving. The old World's Gym in Aberdeen is vacant. It's right in the middle of town, it's adjacent to Partners, there's plenty of parking, and it's big enough to accomodate the kids' needs. Furniture and games can be donated. Businesses can be solicited to provide sound and lighting for entertainment. Food can be served, even if it's just pizza and cokes similar to the refreshment stands at the ball fields.

My wife Robin is the Adult Coordinator for the PTCYC, a hugely successful organization dedicated to giving the teens a voice in city government. Shelby, Robin and I are willing to spearhead the effort, but we need your backing. We need your help. More importantly, the kids need your help.

This request is not about a reaction to the suicides we see in town, it's about being proactive for once and getting in the game of life our youth needs here.

I'd greatly appreciate hearing back from each of you to let me know your thoughts and to help us make this happen. As we all know, if it's the will of council, anything can be made to happen if you can count to three! Please, help us and help the kids and let's make this project a reality.

Sincerely,

Dan Tennant
120 Ardenlee Drive
Peachtree City, GA 30269
Home: 770-631-7712
Cell: 404-375-2115
Fax: 770-631-2966
Email: DanTennant@aol.com