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White City kids will get their own club photo by Jim Craven Boys and Girls Club Director Greg Wicklem will see this new building filled with activites and kids by week's end. New building to open Friday By Vicki Guarino WHITE CITY -- The carpet is down, the paint is dry. All that's needed now are some arcade games and furnishings. And, of course, a couple hundred kids. The community's new youth center, the Boys and Girls Club of White City is ready for business. Equipment is arriving at the 4,500-square-foot, $550,000 center on Avenue G for its grand opening at 3 p.m. Friday. Director Greg Wicklem says the center's daily after-school hours will provide much-needed safe, supervised recreation. And by being separate from home and school, it is intended to give youngsters a sense of ownership and participation. "Especially with the kids who are a little older -- 11 and 12 -- they want to get away from school," Wicklem says. "They want a place of their own -- that sense of place. "This is their club. They'll have their own membership cards, and they'll have a big say in the sorts of things that go on here.'' A small group of White City kids already has been involved in determining some of the new center's features. "They said they wanted arcade games and snacks," says Wicklem. So the center will have a snack bar and a glass-enclosed arcade room. Also, there will be a larger game room with pool and ping pong tables, air hockey and Foos ball. At one end, a television and tape player will be set up for movie watching. A third large room will provide space and equipment for arts and crafts projects. Although the club isn't intended to be an extension of school, academics haven't been forgotten. Eventually, Wicklem said, he wants to screen off a portion of the art room for a computer lab. Meanwhile, the art room will include a quiet place for study and homework. Contests and awards will be structured around finishing homework assignments. "We're going to recruit older kids to tutor the younger ones," Wicklem says. The youth club's opening day has been years in the making. More than five years ago, a community development group listed a youth center as a top priority. The first planning grant came in nearly three years ago. Construction began this summer with a federal grant through a state economic development program. An additional $8,600 grant is paying for equipment. The Boys and Girls Clubs runs after-school activities in several Jackson County communities -- mostly in schools. This is the organization's first newly constructed club house. Another center operates in renovated building in Talent. Operations rely heavily on volunteers, local fund raising activities and grants. The organization charges kids $30 a year to join. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA