Youth Opportunities Unlimited is a place to give all community youth a safe haven during high risk, after-school hours with caring adults. Pictured are YOU! representatives: Kelsie Liechty, part-time youth development professional; Grace Zolnosky. YOU director; Jesse Barnes, activities director; Cory Harrison, part-time youth development professional; and Carrie Ferguson, Café manager. Not pictured: Gloria Magana, youth development professional. HERALD PHOTO/Becky Crum

Youth Opportunities Unlimited is adding new activities this month to their calendar of events.

Youth Services Activities Director Jesse Barnes said they have added a paintball club every Tuesday that will be taught by Dillon Kelly, a volunteer at the YOU!.

“Dillon will feature a paintball workshop each week to explain paintball and what it is about. Over spring break, we will take the kids that are involved in that workshop to Utah to paintball. Our goal someday is to have a paintball venue,” Barnes said.

Barnes said the youth will go sledding on Bear Hill on Feb. 10, fulfill their annual tradition as the Chinese New Year Dragon on the 19th and sponsor a Rock Show on the 26th.

“We’ll have a Rock Show with five bands performing at the YOU!. The Rock Show starts at 6:30 and the tickets will be $10. Part of the proceeds that are raised from the show will go toward our Leadership Conference in July. We have three bands from Salt Lake — Until Further Notice, Atilast and Avenue of Embers. We’ll have one band from Randolph, whose members are all high school students, called Count Me Out and local high school members who have a band called Detour from Doom. It will be a lot of fun to bring in some bands for the kids to enjoy some good music,” Barnes said.

Barnes said they will have an “unplugged day” on Feb. 11 — a day they will not use electronics.

“We won’t use computers or anything with electricity. We will play board games, card games and have good conversations. It is a day when we communicate verbally with each other and have one-on-one small group settings that is hard to get when the games and television are on,” Barnes said.

For the complete article see the 02-05-2010 issue.

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