FERRIDAY &045; From basketball, cheerleading and weight lifting during the week to dances every other Saturday night, the gym on Florida Street is giving the children in Ferriday a lot of things to do.

Right now, people are participating in cheerleading, basketball and weight lifting. The ladies lift weights separately from the men. And soon, Rydell Turner, newly appointed recreation director, hopes to add aerobics classes and cardiovascular workout machines like treadmills. The program also is looking into bringing things like art, plays and dance.

&uot;We want to provide something year-round,&uot; said Turner, who is also thinking of adding flag football.

Turner has been trying to get the program started for about three years. He has two volunteers helping him run the program now, Tim Downs and Jerry Mays.

&uot;We stuck with it because we didn’t want that dream to die,&uot; Turner said, to give the students of Ferriday something to do to get them off the streets.

The sports are about more than just playing, but teaching the students about the sports and teaching them sportsmanship, Turner said.

Not only have the men started sports programs at the gym, but the gym has been completely redone. They repainted the walls and bleachers, put in windows in the downstairs room and adding lights, flowers and picnic tables outside.

The town has been instrumental in getting the program anything it needs to get off the ground and looking for grants to fund it.

&uot;If you don’t like what you see in your community, you have to come in and change it,&uot; said Shannon Beatty, assistant town clerk for Ferriday.

She has lived in Ferriday for about 12 years and she has raised her family here.

&uot;We’re trying to get as many kids involved as possible,&uot; Beatty said.

But one thing the recreation program needs in community support, she said.

Neither the cheerleaders nor the basketball teams, all eight of them, have uniforms to wear. Those would be helpful for their Saturday afternoon games each week.

Volunteers. That is another thing the program needs.

Turner said he would like to see parents and other adults come to watch the children. Then, once they begin to come, they can give him input into things the recreation program can provide for them to do as well.

&uot;We need young males, especially black males, to step up&uot; to serve as role models, Turner said, &uot;to show them there is more than just street life.&uot;

Turner’s main vision is to see the whole community come together at the gym.

&uot;We have to make a change here in Ferriday and this is the place,&uot; he said. &uot;It’ll really change Ferriday.&uot;

The best part, Turner said, is the role he is taking as a role model for the students that come through there. He counsels many of them, he said, and also gets parents phone calls thanking him often.

&uot;The joy is knowing these kids really look up to you,&uot; Turner said.