Rec Center sees rise in unaccompanied children

“We had to fish three little girls out of the canal, no parents were home and there was nobody we could contact,” Rec Center Director Julie Eagan said.
Eagan was referring to three children who attempted to swim in the canal on the opposite side of the Rec Center. However, with a growing number of unaccompanied children meandering down to the Rec Center, Eagan is concerned similar issues could occur on that side of the canal.
“What you are seeing is an increase in unattended children all over Whitehall,” Town Supervisor George Armstrong said.
In particular, Eagan’s concern is with children under the age of 10 making their way to the Rec. Center and simply getting lost in the mix with the other kids. She presented this concern to the town board and asked for guidance on what the Rec Center could do about this issue.
“I guess my question to you guys is how do we handle this?” Eagan asked board members, “They’re in a safe place, but we have to firm up our guidelines, all we have right now is a sign.”
The sign that Eagan is referring to dictates that kids 11 or older are allowed to come to the Rec. Center without a parent, however children 10 and under require adult supervision. The concern becomes how to enforce the sign.
“I don’t want to tell a 7-year-old to leave and make them walk home, by themselves,” Eagan stated.
Board members had varying opinions on how to prevent these instances moving forward.
Town Attorney Erika Sellar-Ryan advocated requiring an emergency contact sheet in order for children come to the Rec Center, that way Eagan and staff could contact parents, guardians or older siblings in the case of an unsupervised child.
Councilwoman Stephanie Safka suggested the idea of checking with other similar facilities to see what they do or checking with child protective services, to see if they could get involved.
Councilman Farrell Prefountaine said that getting word out about the dangers of unaccompanied children, through newspaper and television could deter parents from letting their children wander aimlessly.
Eagan said that she will be checking with the Ticonderoga Rec Center to see what they do to tackles similar problems.