Center offering summer youth program

Parents will have another option for their children this summer to help encourage healthy activity.

Johnny Ledbetter, Portales Recreation Center Director, said the goal of the director’s inaugural summer youth program at the Portales Recreation Center is to keep children healthy and active.

“I think kids need to have things to do in the summer,” Ledbetter said. “I want this program to be an annual event. I hope it will be really successful. We have a very good curriculum. We have the facility to be able to hold many activities (inside) or take them across the street (to Rotary Park).”

The youth program consists of two four-week sessions. Parents can enroll their children in either of the four-week sessions. Each session requires a $10 non-refundable registration fee. On registration day, the $10 registration fee and $10 first week fee is required. Parents will need to pay an additional $10 for each week the child is in the program.

The first four-week session is from Monday to Friday, starting Monday and ending July 1. The second four-week session is from July 5 through July 29. Ledbetter said there are three age groups the children will be enrolled in: Ages 5-7, ages 8-10, and ages 11-13. Ledbetter said there are still openings in each of the categories.

Ledbetter said the children will be able to play basketball, soccer, floor hockey, water games, tug-of-war, darts, kick ball, ping-pong, tennis, jump rope and many other activities. Ledbetter said he is trying to organize field trips to go with the program to the swimming pool, library, Clovis zoo and Roller World skating ring in Clovis. He said the field trips may require additional money from parents of the children participating in the field trips.

Each week, the children will be at the recreation center from 8 a.m. to noon and will be supervised by four counselors. Ledbetter said the children can be picked up from noon to 1 p.m. or parents can choose to have their children shuttled to the city pool and parents can pick them up at the city pool later.

The Portales Recreation Center received a $2,500 grant from the Hubbard Foundation for the youth program. Ledbetter said he has already applied to receive more funding for next year for the youth program.

Parents can pick up packets describing the program, with a medical consent form and policies from the recreation center and they can call for more information, 356-8598.