The Calhan Youth Education and Recreation Foundation is banking on eastern El Paso County’s teens. Literally banking, because the newly remodeled teen center is located in the former Farmers State Bank building. FSB donated the building on Bank Street in Calhan to house and fund the group’s programs.The center resulted from the efforts of educational professionals and civic leaders in the Calhan area. ìWe were thinking it would be great if we can have a teen center in Calhan,î said Larry Troesh, CYERF board member and Calhan high school teacher. ìThey realized they were both working on it. The students came up with more ideas for putting it together, and everything fell into place.îThe initial funding for the facility came from donations from the Calhan United Methodist Church, and FSB donated the entire property but left the center with an option to sell part of the land. ìThey allowed us to sell off parts to fund the director position,î Troesh said.Kevin Acre, the center’s director, saw a need for youth programs and a teen center as the supervisor of the El Paso County Sheriff Office special operations section. ìWhen teens are out and about past curfew, nothing good can come of it,î Acre said. ìBased on my history in law enforcement, I worked with a lot of teen programs that got them off the street and into something they can grow with and be proud of. I foresee a big drop in crime among teens because of what we have here.îYouth programs beyond sports are often neglected in rural communities, Troesh said. ìIt’s part of the motivation behind this,î Troesh said. ìIn a small town, there’s a thousand things to do for sports, but not a lot for the arts and music.îWhen there are long distances between things to do for teens, or even between neighboring homes, teens might find themselves in negative peer pressure situations. ìWith rural areas, things are spread out,î Troesh said. ìThere is often a lot of alcohol use because neighbors may not see what is going on. With a central location, things can be more controlled and a safer environment.îThe center has been open for about a year. In March, they hosted a grand re-opening after remodeling the center to add a dance floor and new electrical systems. ìRight now we have a large HD (high definition) television with Netflix and Xbox One,î Acre said. ìWe also have air hockey and a professional karaoke machine for karaoke nights. Outside we have volleyball with a basketball hoop coming soon. We’re going to have outdoor and indoor movie nights and barbecues.îCYERF is partially student-run, and the adult coordinators plan to gradually turn more leadership over to the teen members. ìIt’s going to be all student run,î Acre said.ìThat’s the vision because the kids have the pulse on what they want to see and what is going on out there. So I want them to really, as a group, come together with solutions and projections.îThe board is made up of at least 20 percent teens, according to the group’s rules, Troesh said.Maddie Troesh, one of the teen board members, said she appreciates having the arts outlet for her talents. She plays the guitar and sings at the center every Friday night. ìIt’s fun to come here and perform. A live band is more interesting for kids than just playing radios,î Maddie Troesh said. ìIf different bands from the schools wanted to get together, it’d be awesome to have a battle of the bands region-wide.îThe center sees 20 to 25 teens on a regular basis, and is open to the thousands of teens anywhere in eastern El Paso County. ìWe want to make sure students from other school districts, and their parents, will know that it’s a resource for them as well,î Acre said. ìOur worst fear is that no one realizes we’re here, and it dies out.îìWe want only good things to come out of here, not negative things,î Troesh said.Hours of operation, calendar of activities and additional information about the center is available at their website at http://cyerf.org.
