
DATE: Sunday, May 4, 1997                   TAG: 9705050209

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:  159 lines

SUFFOLK TRIES TO FILL GAPS IN RECREATION FOR CHILDREN

A school bus pulls away from Third and Bank streets.

The children left behind are wired.

It's nearly 4 p.m. and they've been cooped up all day.

They just finished a 25-minute ride from Driver Elementary.

``I want to play football!'' said Marquis Waters, 10. His brother Mario, 9, stands by his side, impatiently shifting his weight from foot to foot. Mario, too, can't wait to feel the rough texture of pigskin against his palms.

But in their Lloyd Place and West Jericho neighborhood, a community of modest houses and corner grocer stores near East Washington Street, there aren't many places for children to play football.

Marquis and his brother scrimmage with friends on a vacant lot. But their mother, Tonya Waters, worries. She would rather they stay inside the house, and wouldn't feel comfortable allowing them to travel to a community center about five blocks away. Besides, she said, there is little supervised activity when they get there.

``Most of the time,'' she said, ``my kids stay inside and play Nintendo.''

It's the same throughout Suffolk: parents desperate for more recreation for their children.

But in a year where a tax increase is unlikely, city officials are trying to make do with less.

They are increasingly relying on schools, civic-sponsored athletic associations and the private sector to provide services for children that the city can't afford.

The City Council will have a public hearing on its $143.5 million operating budget at 7 p.m. Wednesday at 441 Market St. It is the document that will determine how much each city program will get next year.

The parks department had requested $2.1 million for fiscal year 1997-98 - roughly 1.4 percent of the city's budget. The budget prepared by City Manager Myles E. Standish, however, recommends $1.9 million for recreation.

The $200,000 difference, according to the department, will mean that additional staff to supervise children at several city-school recreational programs can't be hired. A summer camp program at five area schools will not be expanded, or a senior services coordinator for the senior center can't be brought on. And there will be less money for equipment that keeps up ball fields and basketball courts.

Rather than throw up their hands, however, the department has tried to find ways to provide recreation.

``We know there's a need for indoor community facilities,'' said parks director Dinesh Tiwari. ``I'd like to be able to go to the city and ask for $10 million to build a facility in every community. But realistically we know the resources have to be pragmatic and cost-effective.''

That means leaning more on the schools, parents and the private sector to cover the financial gap.

Mark A. Croston, Suffolk's school board chairman, said he sympathizes with parents who want safe play areas for their children.

``I think if you look at Suffolk in general, we haven't put enough dollars into recreation,'' Croston said. ``We don't have bowling alleys, arcades like other cities.''

About five miles from the Waters family, an innovative private/city/school program was started a year ago at John F. Kennedy Middle School. It is primarily for JFK students, but the school opens its doors to children from other parts of the city as well. To make it accessible to the children of working parents, the school system buses the participants home after the program is over. About 100 children participate.

There is also a recreational program at Northern Shores Elementary. And renovations are under way to expand the gymnasium at Oakland Elementary to provide a combined community center/recreational facility.

At JFK, the after-school program combines tutoring and recreation. Children must study and do their homework with the aid of instructors and volunteers from the InnerCity Athletic Association before taking part in recreational programs, said Johnnie Edwards, supervisor for student services for Suffolk schools.

Devon Stephens, 13 and a seventh-grader, said the program has given her studies more structure. Before, Devon was distracted by afternoon talk television, such as the Ricki Lake show. Her parents both work. Now, she does most of her homework before she gets home, and her grades have improved, she said. ``I'm doing my homework here,'' she said, ``so I don't have as much to do when I get home.''

Randolph Boone, assistant principal at JFK, said he has noticed a change in the students who have participated in the program. Taking part in recreation at their own school has created a desire to learn.

``The more structure you give that child, then that child will see it's important to be organized,'' Boone said.

There have been trade-offs. To ensure that they could pay to bus the children home after the recreation program, the schools had to cut nearly half their paid tutors there, said Assistant Superintendent Milton R. Liverman, who added that the program has not suffered as a result.

Councilwoman Marian ``Bea'' Rogers, whose borough includes Northern Shores Elementary, said using school facilities for more than education is an economic way to maximize services. Rogers said Northern Shores has helped community organizations, too. Before the school construction, community groups had to commute downtown or to other cities to meet.

``You had to beg the rescue squad to use their facilities, and they charged,'' said Rogers.

Staffing is a challenge for most recreational programs citywide, officials said.To fill the gap, civic leagues and parents have formed athletic associations. But many in the leagues say more parents need to step up to the plate.

Harry Lee Cross and other parents helped form the Suffolk Youth Athletic Association in 1983. They started in the north end with only a handful of youngsters. Now they have 1,000 who participate in baseball, soccer and basketball.

Cross said SYAA has been successful because parents and local businesses volunteer their time and resources to man fields, sell concessions and supervise. Cross estimates that it would cost taxpayers $250,000 annually to run the association if the city had to staff it.

But providing recreation isn't only about money, Cross said. It's about taking time.

He understands that some parents don't have transportation to take children to games. Others are struggling to rear their children alone. But he said that is where the community and local businesses need to work together.

``If you really want a youth athletic association, you need adults to volunteer for free,'' said Cross. ``You have to have individual citizens who will step up and say, `I'm willing to help you raise funds.' ''

Meanwhile, the city will continue forming partnerships to meet recreational needs the city can't cover alone, said Tiwari. In a sense, the schools and the city are evolving with the times. ``The school is becoming a community place,'' said Tiwari. ``The traditional role of government is changing.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

JOHN H. SHEALLY II/The Virginian-Pilot

Recreation leader Connie Boone, left, gives Shameka Holland some

pointers on how to turn double Dutch jump ropes during after-school

activities at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Suffolk.

Graphics

What: Public hearing on city's operating budget

Where: 441 Market Street When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

RECREATION AT SCHOOLS

Lakeland High School

215 Kenyon Road

Summer recreational program, S.P.O.R.A.C, holds two three-week

sessions.