Saturday, April 26, 2008

Non-Toxic's 15th Anniversary Celebration


We had a fabulous time last weekend...great people, great food. It was fun. We feel incredibly blessed.
BUT
The Band was AWESOME!!! Bop Ritual is made up of a group of brilliantly talented musicians.
I have a very short video that shows them playing, but my camera is not good at picking up sound so if you wanna hear what they really sound like, head over to www.myspace.com/bopritual and check them out.










We had some girls there that were great sports and got up and danced a bit.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Edgerton Reporter's Awesome Article on Non-Toxic

Jason Francis, writer for the Edgerton Reporter, did a fabulous job researching and writing up this article.
If you click on the article twice, it enlarges it and makes it much easier to read.



Thursday, April 17, 2008

Non-Toxic in the Gazette - Great Photos

The Janesville Gazette was kind enough to do an article on Non-Toxic

Teen center celebrates 15 years of positive activity

By STACY VOGEL ( Contact ) Monday, April 14, 2008

PhotoVideo


Edgerton youths socialize at the Non-Toxic Teen Club on the city's north side.  The club has managed to survive for 15 years.

Edgerton youths socialize at the Non-Toxic Teen Club on the city's north side. The club has managed to survive for 15 years.

PhotoVideo


A group of Edgerton youths practice a pool trick shot at the city's Non-Toxic Teen club on Saturday night.

A group of Edgerton youths practice a pool trick shot at the city's Non-Toxic Teen club on Saturday night.

PhotoVideo


In addition to game tables, the Edgerton Non-Toxic Teen Club also offers kids a quiet place to socialize, as well as play video and board games.

In addition to game tables, the Edgerton Non-Toxic Teen Club also offers kids a quiet place to socialize, as well as play video and board games.

PhotoVideo


Joseph Flood, 12, watches intently while volunteer Kyle Schliem makes a move during a 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe game.  The pair were playing at Edgerton's Non-Toxic Teen Club where Schliem is a board member.

Joseph Flood, 12, watches intently while volunteer Kyle Schliem makes a move during a 3-D Tic-Tac-Toe game. The pair were playing at Edgerton's Non-Toxic Teen Club where Schliem is a board member.

— Sometimes, it’s hard for Dave Flood to believe he’s run a teen center for 15 years.

“When we started, some of these kids weren’t born yet,” he said, looking at the two dozen teens at Non-Toxic Teen Center, 512 N. Main St., Edgerton, on Saturday night.

For a decade and a half, Flood, 45, has been inviting Edgerton teenagers to spend weekend nights shooting pool, playing air hockey and spending time with friends in a positive environment instead of finding ways to get in trouble.

This Saturday, the center will invite the community to an open house to see what it’s all about.

Flood had a vision to create a teen center while attending Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He’d commute by train from Rock County to Chicago, and he was saddened by the teens he saw through the windows with nothing to do.

“Your heart just kind of breaks because they’re not in trouble, but you just kind of wonder, ‘Is this their lives, hanging around on street corners?’”

A few years later, Flood left Dallas Theological Seminary, where he was working toward a master’s degree, to open the teen center in downtown Edgerton.

“We had one pool table, one foosball table, that was it,” Flood said.

Today, the center is at a bigger location with more activities. Teens gather around four pool tables, an air hockey table, a foosball table and musical instruments available for their use. A smaller room offers a snack bar and board games.

Non-Toxic has expanded beyond its building. In 2006, the center bought 16 acres in Rusk County for a campsite, and it plans to start holding teen retreats there this summer.

Saturday, teens occasionally picked up paintbrushes to work on a wall mural depicting the cabin up north. They hope to finish the mural before the open house.

Elsewhere, about 20 teens milled around the pool tables or bought snacks as rock music blared in the background.

In winter, the center sees up to 70 teens on Friday and Saturday nights, Flood said.

Cheyenne Krull, 14, said she comes to the center for the same reasons as everyone else: “Pool, friends, hang out.”

Jayson Williams, 15, said he wouldn’t have much to do on weekends if he didn’t come to the center.

“This is the only place I ever see my friends,” he said.

The teens also are looking for positive adult interaction, Flood said. He hopes more adults become interested in the center through this Saturday’s open house.

Several of the center’s adult volunteers were once teens hanging out at the center. Kyle Schliem, 32, has been coming to the center since it opened when he was 17. Today he sits on its board of directors.

He wants the center to stay open until his daughters, ages 6 and 9, become teenagers, he said.

“I’d like to see them come here when they get older,” he said.

JUST THE FACTS

The Non-Toxic Teen Center is open free of charge to teens ages 13 to 19 from 6:30 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The first Saturday of the month is a pool tournament.

On Wednesday nights, founder Dave Flood runs a teen Bible study from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The center is run entirely by volunteers and funded by donations.

For more information about the center, call Flood at (608) 751-6101 or (608) 884-0312. Visit the Web site at www.nontoxicteencenter.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Open house to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Non-Toxic Teen Center with refreshments and live blues and jazz music.

When: 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Where: 512 N. Main St., Edgerton.



Published at: http://www.GazetteXtra.com/news/2008/apr/14/teen-center-celebrates-15-years-positive-activity/

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Here are the winners!


From left to right: Seth 4th place, Joseph 3rd Place, Nick 2nd Place and T.J. 1st Place

Congrats to the winners of the 8-Ball tournament this month. There were 25 names put in so it was quite the contest this last Saturday. All four will get points for their wins to earn their way into the Grand Champion Tournament in December.

8-Ball Tournaments are held the first Saturday of every month, starting at 7pm sharp.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Greetings From Non-Toxic!

Welcome to our new blog! Visit our blog at least once a week to find out about upcoming events, things that are going on now, tournament winners, fun photos and just all-in-all good stuff!