Down River

By John Lipez

Something to Do:
We’ve all heard the lament, or perhaps said it ourselves at some point, “There’s nothing to do.” It’s often heard from young people, often after school is over for the year, and their perception, if not their reality, is there is in fact nothing to do.

There are those among us whose job it is to provide something for the kids to do, many times through structured, sometimes expensive offerings, sometimes something as simple as access to activities at a local playground and Clinton County, we’re happy to write, has plenty of those.

Here’s a new one to add to the list, one just underway in Lock Haven and you can read about it on page one of this week’s Record. It’s called the Haven Summer Youth Program, a low cost, low budget, frill-free offering each Saturday morning into July in Lock Haven and Flemington.

And yes, it provides “something to do” for its participants. The Haven Summer Youth Program is open to any local school kid, grades kindergarten through 12th. But its pitch is there for, and geographically close to, young people living in Lock Haven’s subsidized housing; locales in the vicinity of Hoberman Park and the Lock Haven Gardens basketball court.

The story of its establishment is a heart-warming one. Program principal/volunteer Nick Walker acknowledges he had a hard-scrabble upbringing in what he termed “low-income housing” in Lock Haven. And he had problems growing up, getting into trouble and, he told The Record, there was no one there to help him find a way out.

Walker grew up but not without difficulty and had to overcome his own demons, a battle he has won, proudly stating he has “been clean” for almost 13 years. So now he and his wife Shonna have taken it on themselves to give back, to give kids in the vicinity of Hoberman Park and Lock Haven Gardens the opportunity to find something to do.

And they’re doing it every Saturday into July and they’re doing it in a hands-on style. Nick was having as much fun as the dozens of kids involved in a tug-o-war near the soon to be rebuilt skatepark at Hoberman Park last Saturday. Nearby there were craft activities for those not so interested in more physically demanding activities.

The close by basketball court was alive with hoops for kids of all ages and sizes, male and female. Plus hotdogs on the grill and some prizes to hand out. And fun; did we mention there was a lot of fun?

The Walkers were aided by Nancy Hackenberg and volunteers from her Be One Healthy Fitness Center outside Mill Hall where Nick Walker assists as a trainer.

When there is a problem, Nick has stepped up to solve it. One of the volunteers said when the facility restrooms had been found locked one time, Nick on his own went out and rented a port-a-potty.

You could tell in talking to him how much this program means to him. He was open about the personal battles he had to win to make the Haven Summer Youth Program a reality; how he first had the program dream 20 years ago, but he had to first overcome those personal demons along the way.

And it’s not just the Haven Summer program that has benefitted from Walker’s involvement. Down River learned independently that he has been supportive of Clinton County’s specialty courts programs and also provides assistance to the county’s Rally for Recovery. That event, headed by District Attorney Dave Strouse and Sheriff Kerry Stover, was first staged last August and it will be back again this August.

This is hands-on stuff from the Walkers and so far, in just a few short weeks, the Haven Summer Youth Program, operating on a shoe-string budget, is an unparalleled success. Find out for yourself this Saturday. Drive by Hoberman Park sometime between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and see dozens of young people having a good time; all thanks to people like Nick and Shonna Walker.

While you’re going by, pull in and drop off a few bucks for the good of the order. It’s more than a worthwhile cause and you’ll be the better for your assistance in providing kids in need with something to do.

And read the page one story in this week’s Record and think about making a donation to the program; it will be money well spent.