We had an old friend return to the Complex recently, namely the Grizzly Bear Out of School Care program who were a tenant here for a good number of years up to when the Facility Enhancement project began in 2008 or so. This program originally started under the auspices of the Creston Valley Childcare Society (CVCCS) in 2002 and provides quality afterschool, summer and holiday care for 5 to 12 year olds.
For those history buffs, the CVCCS was incorporated as a non-profit in 1974 by parents and other community members to fill a need for childcare in the Creston Valley and incidentally has run the Teddy Bear Daycare at the Cook Street location over by Gleaners since 1980. That space including the large lot was specifically designed for childcare with its positive outdoor space for play and learning. I think of places like this in Creston when we visit our kids in Edmonton and drive by those places at the end of a strip mall that have a postage stamp play area on concrete surrounded by chain-link fence. I guess you do what you have to do…
Fast forward to 2003 when Kootenai Community Centre Society (KCCS) took on the operation and management of the CVCCS. Once the construction began here on the complex, the decision was made to move offsite and eventually landed in the building next to the bowling lanes until just recently when they are back in the same room they occupied oh so many years ago at the Creston & District Community Centre (CDCC). So to recap, they were CVCCS until they became KCCS and now are at CDCC. (I wanted to do a column once on all the acronyms in the Valley but it just ended up looking like a Word Search puzzle.)
It goes without saying it’s a great place for kids to spend some time here; whether it’s childcare, minor sports like hockey, even swim lessons or a birthday party – it provides the opportunity for children to appreciate and hopefully take ownership of the space. Developing respect for not only this facility at an early age leads to respect and engagement as youth, young adults and eventually grownups – we see that now with people that are proud they went to Creston Valley Nursery School here decades ago or took swim lessons outside or played hockey when the changerooms were under the bleachers. This is why we can have “nice stuff” all around the Valley such as our Main Street, beautiful parks and the Community Complex; the 99 percenters respect the value of this and dig in on the increasingly rare occasions to clean up, repair damage and make right so we all can enjoy. It’s also why more and more you hear the term “Hidden Jewel of the Kootenays” when people discuss the Creston Valley.