Sandpoint Teen Center reopens

SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint Teen Center partially reopened Monday with “at the door” contacts with area teens.

The center will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the center at 221 S. Division.

“We really have missed the teens,” said director Joan Avery. “We’re excited to be opening again.”

First mission is serving snacks over the lunch hour. “The food will be hamburgers and hot dogs at first,” said cook Sandy Carter, “but we hope to add things like salad to give it a swing.”

Another project is raising crops, including strawberries, tomatoes and green onions, in the special raised beds at the center. “We need teens to help plant and care for our garden through the summer—and they will reap the reward of fresh produce for their families,” said Avery.

For teens with sports in mind, the center has a basketball hoop, and a frisbee golf course of five “holes.” For players seeking a bigger frisbee challenge, arrangements are made to play at the Baldfoot disc golf course on Baldy Road.

The center has also organized a nature scavenger hunt with prizes of $5 for the first 3 participants who bring these five items (in a plastic bag):

1. Needles of a Ponderosa pine.

2. Seed cone of a Douglas Fir.

3. A piece of quartz, however tiny.

4. Flower of a forsythia.

5. Tansy seed pod (dead, from last fall).

“A good place to find the quartz pebble,” said center volunteer Jim Payne, “is along the bike path to Dover.”

Information on the scavenger hunt and weekly challenges will be posted on the Teen Center’s Facebook page.