After operating more than two years at the Muskogee Recreation Center the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club is being told to go elsewhere.
Muskogee Parks and Recreation Director Mark Wilkerson said the city wants to use the facility, originally a National Guard Armory, for a variety of other youth programs. The city will meet with prospective programs at 4 p.m. today at the center, 322 Callahan St.
“We’re making an invitation to youth programs,” Wilkerson said. “We want to see who’s out there to provide opportunities in the building. There are ladies who want to have a baton class. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts. Oscar Ray wants to do a program on cinematography.”
However, Boys and Girls Club Director Michael Robinson says the after-school program cannot find a place to accommodate both the kids’ and teen programs. He said about 15 kids from four Muskogee schools are bused to the center’s after-school program while 18 to 20 teens come to the teen center.
“There are days you do not want to leave, there are so many people here,” he said. “We have volunteers buying them cakes and pizza.”
For more on this story, see Tuesday's Phoenix.
