The Mayor’s Corner ...
An update on Village of Gowanda Recreation
A brief history
In April, the Gowanda Village Board made recreation a priority and added a part-time recreation director to the 2004-05 recreation budget. In May, six weeks prior to the start of the 2004 summer program, all three members of the Recreation Commission resigned.
The village board appointed two liaisons to the commission and solicited volunteers for the Recreation Commission. Job descriptions were developed and salary schedules were determined. Interviews were held and the most-qualified applicants, from those who applied, were selected.
A new recreation director
We are extremely pleased to announce that Mark Benton was selected as the Recreation Program director. We believe a qualified director is the key to an innovative program.
Benton holds a degree in physical education from SUNY Brockport and is presently Completing his graduate work in sports management from the United States Sports Academy in Alabama.
A Gowanda native, many know Benton for his energy, enthusiasm and devotion to sports, recreation and youth. We are indeed fortunate to have a man with his leadership skills as our director.
Our summer program
Our summer program manager is Barb Inglut. She is a teacher at St. Joseph School with years of experience with elementary-aged children. She is responsible for the leadership, supervision and safety of the children attending the Summer Recreation Program. Under her very capable hands, the program runs smoothly. She manages and coordinates activities and daily schedules and supervises staff.
The recreation counselors this summer include an impressive group of young people with skills in areas of sports, music and early childhood education. Each counselor brings special talents and skills to the program. The playground staff includes Callan Bergmann, Jordan Bergmann, Jonathan Ham, Meghan Hinkley, Charles Hurkes, Charleen Lincoln, Shelley Lyndsley, Bryna Moritz, Nicholas Nowakowski, Lindsey Peglowski, Sarah Spicola, Theresa Tonello and Emily Wheel. Our arts and crafts instructors are Lincoln and Lyndsley. Pool staff includes Anthony Hooper and Briana Snyder. And of course, Stefenena Kysor is pool director and is responsible for a full swimming program from infants to advanced swimmers.
Our program this year is held at the Gowanda Middle School, where we have use of the pool, the gym, tennis courts and cafeteria. Weather is no longer an issue. We can easily move indoors if it’s raining or just too hot. We are grateful for the cooperation and assistance of Superintendent Charles Rinaldi and the GCS staff. They have been terrific!
We have an outstanding summer program this year, offering children a wide range of choices in activities including: outdoor games, swimming, arts and crafts, tennis, music, a week-long basketball camp, movie afternoon, a reading club, weekly activities with Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H staff, a visit from the Zoo-Mobile, the GFD Fire Prevention Trailer, Darien Lake field trip, and more! We also offer a preschool program for children ages 3-5 years old. A free breakfast and lunch program is offered daily.
Parents and the community can be assured that our staff is working very hard to deliver a safe, effective and well-organized program.
We fully believe that neither the summer program nor our children has suffered without a play structure this summer.
The play structure
Community members built the original play structure. This was a grass-roots effort involving both the fundraising and building of the structure. This effort, involving donated materials and funds, did not have to comply with the competitive bidding process required by a municipal government.
The village board IS committed to rebuilding a safe play structure at St. John Park. We have applied for grant funding so that the taxpayers of the village do not have to shoulder the entire burden. The village will be notified of the grant award in about six months, with the play structure to be built in the spring of 2005. The decision to proceed thoughtfully was one of “dollars and sense.” It was a decision based on fact, rather than emotion; The development of an appropriate play area for children takes careful planning.
One of the first steps is to determine what type of structure is needed. A single structure designed to accommodate 250 kids aged 4 to 14 may not be the most desirable. Two structures designed to each be age appropriate (2 to 5) and (5 to 12) may make more sense. Would you send your 4-year-old out to play with teenagers?
We need to have a total view of what is needed in terms of park design. Do we want play areas for preschoolers next to the basketball courts? Do we need more fences if we have a quality recreation program providing sufficient supervision? These are the types of issues that need to be carefully thought out prior to starting to build, or demanding answers.
We wish to thank all of those who have contributed their time, efforts, ideas and energy to creating a dynamic summer program. The more people who help, the more it makes Gowanda a better place to live. If you have questions, feel free to contact Mark Benton (532-4053), Kevin Eddy (532-1118) or Barb Nephew (532-5779).