06/26/09

People have been talking about building a Boys and Girls Club in Buhl for years now, and before you know it, that dream could very well become a reality. The Boys and Girls Club of Magic Valley has had more kids than usual for its weekday program. In fact, the club managed to buy a school bus to transport kids from Buhl to the club in Twin Falls.

According to Sam Fowler, Executive Director of the Boys and Girls Club of the Magic Valley, “Every day the average is about 255, with a high that nears 300 on a given day. And it's a mix of kids from mostly Buhl and Twin Falls and Jerome.”

Fowler says the Buhl City Council and the Buhl School Board have both voted to approve a land transfer from the school district to the city, which would then be leased to the Boys and Girls Club. The new club would be built on the site of the old Buhl Middle School, which was torn down a couple of years ago.

Fowler says, “If it's approved, then we're in conversation with all of our donors who've made pledges toward that facility. And then at that point, once we get all those numbers and all the financial things set in line, then it will be the process of putting shovels into the ground and getting the thing going.”

He says with a number of kids coming from Jerome, they're also discussing the possibility of a club there, but they haven't made arrangements for running a bus to Jerome just yet. In the meantime, all of these happy and healthy faces are enjoying the Boys and Girls Club in Twin Falls.