MAHONING VALLEY Go or stay? Youths offer mixed views

The flight of young people from the Valley has been discussed during Youngstown 2010 workshops.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- The Mahoning Valley doesn't have the professional sports of Pittsburgh, the shopping of Columbus or the nightlife of Cleveland.
What it does offer some local young people, however, is the comfort of family.
And those young people say that family will be enough to keep them in the Valley after they finish their education.
"I just like it here -- all my family's here," said Chad DeAngelo, 15, a freshman at Boardman High School. "It'd be a hard adjustment if I moved."
Chad was one of about 70 local high school students who recently attended a leadership conference at Fitch High School. About one-fourth of the students at the conference said they want to return to the Valley after they finish their education.
"I think it's a good place to raise a family," said J.R. Miller, 15, a sophomore at Fitch.
Adam Kagarise, 14, a freshman at Fitch, said he wanted to study to be a pediatrician at Ohio State University before returning to the Valley to work at Forum Health Tod Children's Hospital. He said other members of his family also work at the hospital.
Fitch freshman Adam Blazak, 15, said he wants to go to college in the area so he can stay close to his family.
"It's more convenient that you live by your family," he said.
Keeping them here
Hunter Morrison, a senior fellow from Youngstown State University's Center for Urban and Regional Studies, said local officials can help keep other young people in the Valley by determining what makes the area good for families.
"Would rebuilding Idora Park be an asset? Is a children's museum an asset?" he said.
Yet family isn't the only draw for some young people. Jeff Weimer, 17, a junior at Liberty High School, said he liked that the Mahoning Valley is only a short drive away from a variety of recreational attractions.
"You're close to everything. You can ski, go to the lake, an amusement park ..." Jeff said.
Not eager to stay
Other students, however, didn't share Weimer's enthusiasm.
"It's boring. There's nothing to do here," said Fitch sophomore Marisa Wiery, 15. Megan Groat, 16, who's also a sophomore at Fitch, added, "It's not exciting enough around here."
That attitude has led many local young people to leave the Mahoning Valley for good after they graduate from high school. Officials from YSU's Center for Urban and Regional Studies said the continued flight of young people could be detrimental to the Valley's chances of turning itself around.
Thomas Finnerty Jr., the center's associate director, noted that young people who leave the Valley may take with them the knowledge needed to solve some of the area's problems.
Community workshops
Other local residents also have acknowledged the need to keep young people in the Mahoning Valley. Among the topics discussed during community workshops for Youngstown 2010 was the problem of young people leaving the area.
Youngstown 2010 is an effort to create a comprehensive plan for the city.
A synopsis of comments made during the workshops states: "We need to show our youth that there is a reason to be here.
"We have a number of young people in our community -- they need opportunities and reasons to stay. There aren't enough good jobs for our educated young people. Kids go away to college and they never come back."
Jamal Arrington, 14, a freshman at Fitch, also said he didn't think there were enough professional job opportunities in the Valley to attract young people.
"There's not as many corporations and industries out there," he said.
Boardman High School junior Amanda Haff, 17, added that she wouldn't come back to the Valley for a job in her chosen field -- politics.
"The politics here are very rotten," she said.
hill@vindy.com