Local residents flock to library on day off
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on February 19, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Zitereon Cobb, 7, enjoys playing games on a computer in the library on Wednesday afternoon with his grandmother on his day off from school. The library was filled with children and their parents.
Zitereon Cobb was going stir crazy.
Three days out of school and there was nothing to do.
The snow days' ice left much to be desired when building snowmen or throwing snowballs.
His grandma Margaret Gray was tired of her three grandchildren trying to tear up the house.
The afternoon ended with a trip to the library, where the 7-year-old played a Power Rangers game on the computer while 6-year-old Shachiya Gray worked on a school project. Ms. Gray tried to convince 3-year-old Nazariah Gray to color, but she was busy playing hide-and-seek among the shelves of books.
"I'm trying to keep them entertained," Ms. Gray said.
Katie Price, library assistant, said the facility was a popular place during Wednesday's school closing.
Though the library operated on a two-hour delay, she said patrons were waiting at the door to come in.
The children's section remained busy throughout the day, with the crowd double the size that the library usually sees.
"It gives them something to do," Ms. Price said.
The library offers books, computers with Internet and toys for children to interact with.
Mom and substitute teacher Hope Hart brought her children and a family friend to the library to spend the afternoon as well.
They spent the morning inside, cooking and eating pancakes with funny faces on it. Her son, Mikal Honor Carter, spent Tuesday playing in the ice, throwing it against the bricks.
"They're boys, of course," she said, laughing. "They'll find a way to play in it."
Mikal and his friend Nyrese Williams played on the computers. He said they tried to play in the snow earlier in the day, but they just slipped a lot.
His older sister, Hope, did not even try to play outside.
"It's just ice anyway," she said.
She spent her time off reading books and video-chatting with her friends. Hope said she was worried about falling behind in her Greenwood Middle School classes.
"We learn a whole new chapter each week," she said. "It's packed."
Ms. Hart was also concerned about the lesson plans.
"I'm worried about how behind they're going to be and trying to make that up," she said.
But even with a packed school schedule, Hope said she still hoped that school would be canceled today.
And her wish, one she likely shares with hundreds of children across the county, came true.