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In Central Point parks, summer fun packs 'em in photo by Bob Pennell By BUFFY POLLOCK CENTRAL POINT - More than 25 kids are meeting at Pfaff Park this week for Discovery Week, a finale of sorts for a summer program put on by an ever-growing Parks and Recreation Department. While the youngsters, ages 6 to 12, likely will remember Discovery Week as a fun time packed full of stories, painting, watercolors, birdhouse building and sculpting, it will stick out for city staff as part of the flagship year of Parks and Recreation. Director Nancy Hanson said the department, which changed from "just Parks" to Parks and Recreation in November, started out small but quickly exceeded capabilities of staff and indoor locations available. Hanson was hired to coordinate programming when the city decided it needed to offer recreational activities. In nine months, Hanson said, the program has expanded so much that she will hire a recreational assistant to help handle the workload. "Things have really just taken off more than we ever thought possible. We've even run out of room for all the classes scheduled and had to add more classes to accommodate the numbers registering. It's been amazing." Hanson said next year's program would be even bigger, with classes on Japanese writing and dance already added to a long list of courses. She said more opportunities may arise from plans to build a skate park and from the city taking possession of and remodeling a former fire station. "There's just so much going on. Every time we expand to accommodate we grow a little more." Central Point resident Connie Moczygemba, who signed up her son Walt for Discovery Week and several other summer activities, said she was pleased the city was offering such a variety of choices for the community. "He attended Jewett's summer program last year. It was a good program, but we opted for what the city had this year. It was a little more hands-on and creative. We love that the city is offering these types of programs. Kids need an outlet and something to help their artistic interests develop." "It's very, very neat," said Walt, a second-grader. "We've been able to do watercolors, and today we're making a Jacob's ladder. I really like getting to come to the park for all this, too. It's a lot of fun." Moczygemba's son was one of more than 225 school-age children to participate in summer activities offered by the city this year. Hanson said attendance has skyrocketed. "It's at least quadrupled since it all started, and we only see it getting bigger," she said. "With all these programs going the way they are, there was obviously a need. "We just really never imagined it would grow so fast." For information on classes and activities offered by the city, call Hanson at 664-3321. Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.