Kids Shouldn’t Be Made To Feel Like Criminals

My hometown, Troy, is made up of about 950 people. It’s a homey little town that welcomes you the minute you enter it. Anyone could easily fall in love with this small, remote town in northwestern Montana.

There used to be a lot more people who lived here, but three years ago our biggest source of income, the Asarco Mine, closed down. Lots of people moved away and practically left Troy a ghost town. Troy may be clean, comforting and calm, but there is absolutely nothing here to do for young people.

There is a small theater that shows one movie a week and the only other thing to do is play sports. So many teens hang out in parking lots and drive around. The bank parking lot is the most popular hang out in Troy. It’s a small lot located next to a bowling alley, an auto parts store and a grocery store. On an average night, there are 10 to 15 people there. Those businesses complain that we scare off customers because they think we’re gang members.

Night after night we are run out of parking lots due to older people complaining of noise. We aren’t doing anything but standing around, playing hacky-sack and talking among ourselves.

My friends and I agree that many of the citizens in this town are out to get us. Time and time, they have tried to ticket us for loitering. They are currently trying to get a curfew law passed that states we have to be in at 10 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on weekends.

Troy’s biggest attempt to help out was the invention of a teen center. It consisted of four pool tables, a foosball table and about 13 video games. We hung out there for a few weeks but it quickly became old. Over time, the teen center was taken over by all the rude teens. Every time you’d step in, you would get rude death glares and come out reeking of smoke. It wasn’t a very healthy environment.

At this point, many of us feel that we don’t have any rights at all and that it is almost a crime to be a kid. I don’t think we should have to feel like this. I hope these adults in Troy realize what they are doing and I hope they know we won’t let them take all our privileges away.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.