School’s out... Now what?

Rick Charmoli | Cadillac News Lake City kindergartner Zeb Czygan hangs out on the monkey bars during the last day of school in Lake City Wednesday. There are a variety of activities available to keep kids from getting bored during summer vacation.

Lake City students were not thinking about school, books or teachers’ dirty looks.

Rather, students from elementary to high school were thinking about summer and having fun.

Although students’ minds across the area should be recharging before the fall, there are things they need to keep in mind when out and about this summer.

Cadillac Michigan State Police Sgt. Michael Salasky said motorists should always be paying attention while driving but now that school is out for the summer they need to focus on their surroundings even more.

He also said that children and teens should pay more attention when playing, walking or driving around town as summer also means more traffic on local roads and streets.

“Obviously, kids are excited to be out of school and running around. They are not used to being home and having a large amount of play time,” he said. “Parents should make sure kids are aware that there is more traffic, they should not run in the road for toys and know the rules of the road on bikes.”

Missaukee County Sheriff Jim Bosscher also said that children, teens and basically everyone should simply be responsible no matter what they are doing this summer.

“Obviously, when schools are out more kids are walking around. When they are crossing the street they are not always paying attention,” he said. “When you see groups of kids realize might not always be watching out. For students, slow down with driving. Be and act responsible.”

Although safety is an issue, finding something to do during break as well as avoiding the summer doldrums inevitably will become an issue for many.

Luckily, the Cadillac area is full of opportunities. There are beaches such as Kenwood Park and Mitchell State Park in Cadillac, Rose Lake Park in LeRoy and Lake Missaukee Park in Lake City, fishing, camps such as Camp Torenta in Cadillac, Center Lake Bible Camp in Tustin and Camp Living Water in Luther, parks, camping and various summer festivals that children and teens may take advantage of.

If all else fails, there is always mowing the lawn, other yard work as well as getting a summer job — but who would want to do that?

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