[Vision2020] [OFF LIST] Family-Friendly Activities (was U of I Program

Tom Hansen thansen at moscow.com
Thu Jan 15 11:37:27 PST 2009


Very well put, Mr. Keim.

I was tempted to say something to Arnold along those lines.  But I was 
afraid that profanity would get the better (or lesser) part of me.

My wife grew up here in Moscow, attended MHS and went on to UI in the mid-
60s.

Trust me when I say that while she was attending MHS, she and her high 
school peers found plenty of legal and ethical fashions to entertain 
themselves.  They didn't sit on their hind honches waiting for somebody 
to "spoon feed" them entertainment.

Thanks again.

Tom Hansen
Moscow

> Donovan:
> 
> Have you ever lived anywhere outside of Moscow?  Especially in a
> similarly sized community?  I have, several different places in fact,
> and I'm willing to bet you have not.  For the size town it is, Moscow
> has an impressive list of things for families to do.  And, despite
> your incessant carping, a decent range of salaries, too.  The key is
> that you have to compare apples to apples.
> 
> Instead of listing what you think the town doesn't have, maybe you
> should try being positive for a change.  Perhaps the listserv will
> help you come up with a list of things to do in town.  I'll start:
> Great restaurants
> Nice parks
> Several art galleries
> What can you add, V2020?
> 
> 
> 
> > From: Donovan Arnold [mailto:donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com]
> > Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 10:30 AM
> > To: 'vision 2020'; Jennifer Ingalls
> > Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Family-Friendly Activities (was U of I 
Program
> > Cuts)
> >
> >
> >
> > Jennifer,
> >
> >
> >
> > I liked doing all those things too as a child in Moscow. But lets face 
it,
> > there is only so some many times you can visit the McConnell Mansion 
before
> > it no longer entertaining to a child. And camping doesn't count 
because you
> > have to leave Moscow to go do it.
> >
> >
> >
> > If you are an outdoors type of person, there are lots of things to do 
in
> > North Idaho. But for many people that are not, it leaves something to 
be
> > desired.
> >
> >
> >
> > One of the biggest complaints I heard from students was that there was
> > nothing to do in Moscow, and why so many people supported the Student
> > Recreation Building, which is more like a glorified and over priced 
Idaho
> > Athletic Club with a climbing wall then a recreation center for 
different
> > kinds of recreational activities.
> >
> >
> >
> > I do not think I have found a mother at UI that thought Moscow's 
daycare was
> > inexpensive. There is a huge waiting list too.
> >
> >
> >
> > What few things there are to do in Moscow, also cost a lot of money, 
which
> > is hard to afford when you have no money, because there are no jobs 
that pay
> > above what you need to scrape by.
> >
> >
> >
> > There is less to do in Moscow now then was when my Mother was child in
> > Moscow.
> >
> >
> >
> > We have no bowling alley. We have no roller skating ring. We have no 
IMax
> > Theater. We have fewer quality restaurants. We have no high tech gaming
> > center. We have no science discovery park, we have no big museums. No 
race
> > cars. No theme parks, no big fancy hangouts, we don't even really have 
a
> > year round swimming pool,
> >
> >
> >
> > The best thing Moscow has for entertainment is the Library. Which is a 
great
> > library, but hardly the place that comes to mind when we want to think 
about
> > entertainment.
> >
> >
> >
> > Yes, you can always THINK of something to do in Moscow, but that is the
> > problem, you really have to THINK, to find something to do. Its 
Midnight in
> > Moscow, besides the bars and the Jack N the Crack drive-thru, what is 
open?
> >
> >
> >
> > Best Regards,
> >
> >
> >
> > Donovan
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- On Wed, 1/14/09, Jennifer Ingalls <jennifer at inlandradio.com> wrote:
> >
> > From: Jennifer Ingalls <jennifer at inlandradio.com>
> > Subject: [Vision2020] Family-Friendly Activities (was U of I Program 
Cuts)
> > To: "'vision 2020'" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> > Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2009, 1:27 PM
> >
> > I don't necessarily want to get into the argument about diversity in 
Moscow
> > or at UI, but I do take some issue with Donovan's statement, "Not to 
mention
> > the lack of affordable child care, or family fun activities."
> >
> >
> >
> > I grew up in Moscow and though my family had more money than families 
where
> > a student is the primary financier of the household, we were not at a 
loss
> > for family-friendly free activities (unless we were willfully bored). 
This
> > is not to say that we can't do better as a community at providing free
> > and/or inexpensive activities, but I think many of us forget those 
things
> > that are available to us. For example, I –regretfully—cannot remember 
the
> > last time I went to the McConnell Mansion or picked up a walking tour 
guide
> > of the towns history and hoofed it through Fort Russell (two 
activities that
> > occupied Spring and Summer days of my youth). The library (which I 
remember
> > as only being the old part of the building) was cool in the Summer and 
warm
> > in the Winter. Organizations like Campfire, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and
> > local churches provided the three of us a lot of fun and educational
> > activities (both our family's church of choice and the churches or 
religious
> > organizations of friends). My mom used to take us to Good Sam to 
distribute
> > our wares after craft days at the house. We'd ride bikes out to 
Robinson
> > Lake Park , "fish" in Hordeman's pond, or take advantage of all the
> > demonstrations, concerts and educational lectures the University 
offered.
> > There were a lot of things to do!
> >
> >
> >
> > I'll grant that I was a nerdy kid (still am). I, too, would love to 
see more
> > activities available after school that would appeal to "at risk" youth 
(I AM
> > doing something about that with my involvement in Latah County Youth
> > Advocacy Council), but I don't think can jump on board with the whole
> > "there's nothing to do here" claim.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Jennifer L. Ingalls
> >
> >
> >
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> >
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> >
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> >
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Unitarian Wiccan Agnostic like myself there's really no reason ever to go 
to work."

- Roy Zimmerman


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