No more teachers, no more books... and for many area residents, the end of the school year signals a sudden need for reliable child care, a luxury out of reach for many low income families.

And while the local Salvation Army has stepped in with its annual Boys and Girls Club program, officials say area residents that haven't registered their children for the summer activities may be in for a wait.

“We set a 75-child limit on the program this year, and we've already filled the roster,” said Sonnet Hildebrand, director of the Boys and Girls Club of America program. “Parents can still get on a waiting list in case room becomes available during the year, but as of right now we have a full house.”

The Salvation Army will once again hold it's Boys and Girls Club of America summer camp program beginning June 9, providing child care services to area families from 8 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

And while preparation for the summer program are progressing nicely, Hildebrand said efforts to provide the children with an admission-free swim day each Friday may have hit a snag.

“We had originally planned to have a swim day for the kids every Friday at the city swimming pool in Comanche Trail Park,” said Hildebrand. “However, our request for the city to waive the admission fees for the children was denied during the last city council meeting, so we're currently looking at other options.”

Hildebrand said those options, however, are limited.

“The way it looks right now, if we want the kids to be able to use the city swimming pool, we're going to have to pay the admission fee,” said Hildebrand. “Another option would be to use the pool at the Northside Community Center. However, the city swimming pool is a more fun experience for the kids, and it's a lot friendlier to the children that aren't necessarily strong swimmers. One way or another, the kids are going to get to swim, its just a matter of where at this point.”

The Big Spring City Council voted 5-2 to deny the Salvation Army's request to waive the $2 per child admission fee Tuesday, with Councilmen Manuel Ramirez Jr. and Greg Biddison the only members championing the cause. All of the remaining council members, including Mayor Russ McEwen voted against the measure.

“When I was a kid I participated in these types of programs, and it had a very positive effect on me,” an emotional Ramirez told the council after making the motion to accept the request. “It was one of the best experiences of my life.”

McEwen said he felt the approval of the measure for a single group could present problems for the council in the future.

“I think this sets a precedence,” said McEwen. “Anyone can come in and make the same request, and it would be difficult to do it for one group and say no to others.”

The council did agree to consider the idea of providing a free swim day at the city facility, however, no action has been taken to do so at this time.

According to members of the city staff, admittance to the pool located at the Northside Community Center is being provided to the local Boys Club — not associated with the Salvation Army endeavor — at no charge, an arrangement Assistant City Manager Todd Darden said would extend to the Salvation Army.

According to Capt. Linda Keeney, there have been some changes made to the Boys and Girls Club program since last year's term, changes she and the rest of the Salvation Army staff are very excited about.

“This year we're going to have a theme for each week during the Kids Club,” said Keeney. “For example, one of our weeks is a 'Green Week,'  where we're going to teach the kids ways they can help save the environment. We'll talk about recycling, conserving water and a number of other topics. We're also going to have a chemistry week, where the kids will get the chance to gets some hands-on experience with simple chemistry stuff. We're very excited about it.”

Keeney said they will also be starting a special program for the program's teens this year.

“We call it 'Reality Check.' We're going to teach the teens some of the things they need to survive in the world today, like how to balance a checkbook, make budgets and financial things like that,” said Keeney. “One of the projects we're going to have for them is a budgeting exercise where they have to take $10 and pay for a meal for six people. It should really help open their eyes to what it's like trying to budget and stretch funds in the world.”

For more information on the program, call 267-8239.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it