Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 24, 1994                   TAG: 9409270023
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HANGING OUT

Say what?

But wait. Not all homes in the valley have computers, and the teen center has a well-equipped and free-of-charge computer lab available during after-school hours. It also has a big, neat game room offering something for everyone, from pinball wizards to wanna-be Forrest Gump Ping-Pong champs. The games are either free or cost 25 cents.

There's a food court, of course. Pizza and hot dogs, of course. And a dance floor, and a jukebox, and about everything you'd expect to find in a teen hangout if teens could order it - and in this case they did.

Indeed, teens not only advised the county what to make available. Students at the county's Arnold R. Burton Technology Center spent the summer designing and ``building'' the Teen Center, as part of a renovation project at Roanoke County's former administrative offices on Brambleton Avenue. If it doesn't become a popular spot for teens, it's not because old fuddy-duddies wouldn't listen.

The county's leaders did listen. Three years ago, concerned as are other local jurisdictions about teen pregnancy, teen drug-and-alcohol use, teen crime and other problems, the county surveyed each of its middle-school and high-school classrooms to hear teen-agers' ideas for solutions. A safe, clean, fun place to hang out made nearly every student's list.

They asked for it; they got it, and so has the Roanoke Valley gained a welcome new asset. The Teen Center, which opened a week ago, will be formally dedicated tonight. After the usual speeches by fuddy-duddies, there'll be music, dancing, food and games. It'll be OK if the computers are neglected for a night.