Heylan Tsumagari, 16, of Milan volunteers as she paints a dugout in the Town of Milan Recreation Park Sunday, March, 30, 2008, off of County Route 53 in the Town of Milan.
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Youth rake, weed, paint – and enjoy
Milan park readied for baseball season
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MILAN – While many of their peers were probably playing video games or watching college basketball Sunday, more than 40 Milan youths gathered and performed maintenance work at the town’s recreation park. |
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It was one of the rare occasions the word fun was associated with weed-pulling, raking and painting. |
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“It’s a good way for people here to come together,” said Ali Brundrett, 16, a Milan resident who attends Red Hook High School. “We don’t have a school in town, so some people may feel left out because they go to school in Red Hook or Pine Plains. But we’re all Milaners.” |
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Sunday’s community service project kicked off the Milaners youth group. The group was established recently to create cohesion in the town and give young people a chance to meet and work together through community service. |
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The project involved getting the Milan Recreation Park spruced up for the start of Little League baseball next month. Boy Scout Troop 45 assisted. |
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At the end of the day, volunteers sat down together for a barbecue dinner. |
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David Byrne, a member of the Milan town board, said he got the idea for the group while he was campaigning last year for his board seat. |
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Although a youth group was created in the town last year, it was more of a social group, Byrne said. |
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“For a small town, we’ve been fractured,” Byrne said. “I thought this program would be a good way to teach the youth here about community service.” |
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Milan has a population of 2,649, according to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, and is divvied up among the Rhinebeck, Red Hook and Pine Plains school districts. |
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Maggie Salamone, a Milan resident and a parent who volunteers with the town recreation committee, said this scenario makes it hard for children in the town to meet and form strong connections. |
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“Otherwise, the only other way they’d meet is by facing each other on the baseball team,” Salamone said. |
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Marc Salamone, 12, said he had a good time Sunday. Plus, he believes the hard work will benefit him in the long run. |
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“I just thought that it would be good to help out and the community service will look good on job and college applications,” he said. |
Recreation park gets renovated :
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