Boys and Girls Club ‘looking for a home’
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 1, 2000
FERRIDAY – The Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of the Delta is set to meet Thursday to discuss the possibility of the club occupying a proposed Ferriday youth center, President Clarence Hymon said Monday.
&uot;That’s the only item on our agenda — discussing an agreement for a site location,&uot;&160;Hymon said of the meeting, to be held at 11 a.m. in the council meeting room at Ferriday Town Hall. &uot;We’re looking for a permanent home.&uot;
The Concordia Parish School Board is set to discuss, at a meeting set for 5:30 p.m. tonight, leasing its old Florida Street Gym building to the Town of Ferriday for use as a recreation and education center for youth.
&uot;Nothing’s finalized yet, but I’m hoping it will be at that meeting,&uot; said Mayor Glen McGlothin, who said he will attend the meeting.
Superintendent Lester &uot;Pete&uot; Peterman could not be reached for comment.
Alex Promise, administrative assistant for the town, said last week that Hymon recently approached him about the possibility of the club locating in the center.
The Ferriday-based club now meets in the Sheriff’s Office substation on Doty Road just outside the town limits.
In a special meeting held July 25, the Town Council gave McGlothin authority to negotiate and sign a lease with the district.
Meanwhile, Promise is seeking grants from the Alexandria-based Rapides Foundation and other sources to establish a youth center in the gym building.
Locating a Boys and Girls Club in the building is not the town’s only option for using the facility.
Promise has received information from the YMCA about the possibility of opening a Y branch in the building. Y officials have said those discussions are still preliminary.
McGlothin has also said he would like to see part of the building used as a community center that would host educational programs, such as tutoring, and cultural events, such as concerts.