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Politics and the People"We don't have anywhere we can take our kids to play - no park, no place to play ball, no place to swim."
- Community Member
The following describes available recreation outlets in Warren County. Warren County maintains a Parks and Recreation Department, which coordinates sports leagues for younger children, and one county park in Soul City with a swimming pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, and picnic facilities. Livestock shows and other agricultural pursuits, including the annual county fair, are available for the county's youth. The county is also home to Kerr Lake and Lake Gaston where residents take can advantage of the hunting and fishing opportunities. These areas bring in tourists from outside the county. Lakeland Cultural Arts Center in Littleton is a local theater company that serves Warren and neighboring counties. The center also provides training in dance, music, and other fine arts.
Sponsored by the Agricultural Extension office, a group of community members, called Community Voices, have initiated the development of a recreation area near the county 4-H grounds. As part of their training, the Community Voices group identified areas of need in their community and took action to address each need. A small group of the Community Voices members tackled recreation, garnered the support of Congresswoman Clayton and convinced the county decision makers to utilize a recent grant to fund a recreation facility. Consequently, Buck Springs is currently under construction. Although community members are excited about the new area, several have noted that building Buck Springs so far out of the town automatically excludes many people from being able to access its facilities. Thus, some community members are glad to see improved opportunity for recreation, but others still feel frustrated with the facility's distance from town.
A directory of churches in Warren County indicates that the county holds 114 churches, with Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist and several other faiths represented. There are over 40 churches in Warrenton alone. Roughly 45% of these congregations are Baptist fellowships. While there are some facilities provided for recreation in Warrenton and Warren County, churches are clearly the most readily available opportunity for community gathering, and as qualitative data show, are the only recreational outlet for many county residents.
Almost universally, Warren County residents want better recreation in the county. Many respondents described mothers with young children who have no playground where their children can play. As a result, families must stay home. Another source of concern is that the nearest swimming pool is in Soul City, which has been closed for two years. Senior citizens in Warren County are concerned that their grandchildren have no entertainment when they come to visit. Seniors often hear children complain, "Warrenton is boring."
While there are school sports, residents feel that teenagers, in particular, have little opportunity for recreation. When asked about recreation for teenagers, one respondent replied, "For the teenagers - nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a thing." Since Warren County has no movie theater, bowling alley, or recreation center, teenagers have no local place to socialize. Since many teens do not own cars, they are prevented from accessing the recreation opportunities available outside the county. Residents were distressed about lack of opportunities for teen activity, and many felt that teen boredom leads to sex and drugs. "We have nothing in Warren County for our children to do, so it's sad to say but sex becomes an extra-curricular activity." One community member noted, "We are telling our children, don't do crack cocaine, don't do this and don't do that, but we are not providing any place for them."
The lack of bowling alleys, movie theaters, restaurant selection, and transportation to recreational events affects adults, particularly young adults, as well. "We need activities for the young people, especially 19-20 years old." Another noted that there is "not a thing to do for youth aged 18-25." There is a golf course in the county, and if you are able, there is hunting and fishing at Kerr Lake about 15 miles away from Warrenton. Many community members felt that even if recreation opportunities were available, they would be difficult to access without better transportation resources in the county.
The most prominent form of recreation in Warren County is church. When asked what there was to do in Warren County for fun, many respondents talked about church. Many people said it was the only recreational outlet available. Churches are valuable because they provide a gathering place for community members each week. Many people said they look forward to seeing other members of their congregation every Sunday and at Bible study on Wednesday night. According to focus group participants, youth groups provide some activities for the young people.
Warren County residents who participated in focus groups called for more recreational opportunities for all people in the county. The most prominent need according to community members is a community recreation center that is supervised and serves the entire community. At such a facility, children could have a place to play, teenagers could "hang out" together, and adults and senior citizens could have an outdoor track on which to exercise. To sum up this issue, one community member noted, "We need a rec center!" Coupled with this desire, though, is the feeling that there is not enough money or local government support in Warren County for such an initiative.
In recreation as well as education, service provider perspectives matched community member perspectives. Service providers were more aware of facilities in existence. Several listed county parks and recreation services, the senior center, the lakes, and school facilities, although most acknowledged that there is "not much organized recreation." Another said recreation is "a big issue - [there's] not much outside school and church activities." Others were concerned about the health effects of few recreation opportunities. "Obesity is a major problem across all ages," said one provider.
Other service providers had a bleaker perspective. "Here we have nothing. There isn't anything. I don't even know if there's a swing set around here to tell you the truth." Another said, "I don't even know where my granddaughter can play on a public swing or a sliding board." And again, providers acknowledged that access to existing or future recreation facilities would be limited by the lack of transportation in the county. "People have equal access to the facilities but they have to be able to get there." One provider claimed that "We can be [at the Vance-Henderson YMCA in the same time as it takes someone to drive across Durham," but other providers and community members feel this distance is too great a barrier to overcome.
In regards to youth and recreation, many providers agree that if the youth in the county had more positive recreational opportunities, they would be less likely to get into trouble. "Without things to do, there's standing around and getting into trouble, like drugs. Maybe people wouldn't get into trouble if there were recreation outlets." Another said the lack of recreation has "a huge effect on young people - leads to destructive behaviors." At the very least, kids are spending too much time in front of the television as service providers see it. Kids "just sit at home and watch TV."
While more service providers than community members acknowledged recreational opportunities in Warren County, the two groups generally agree that the county needs better facilities for recreation. Some of the service providers interviewed were more powerful and affluent than others, and it was more likely that these providers had a positive view of recreation. These more affluent service providers were also much more likely to be white. One provider even noted that "every third person has a [lake] house or a boat." But that perspective does not match housing and economic secondary data or with other interview and focus group data. Sentiments such as these indicate that there is perhaps not a gap between the "outsider" and "insider" perspective but a gap along racial and economic lines. Overall, the majority of respondents felt that recreation in the county needs attention and suggested adding playgrounds, building a recreational center for all ages, and providing transportation to those facilities.
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