April 12, 2001 SHERWOOD'S YOUTH POPULATION ROCKETS 320 PERCENT IN 10 YEARS Summary: For area teens, it means more business and entertainment along with an opportunity for greater civic involvement "They proved their worth ahead of time. The skate park was a youth concept, and they proved it could be a reality" -- LOU OGDEN, TUALATIN MAYOR by Kelly Kennedy      Sherwood's youth population leaped 320 percent in the last 10 years -- a growth spurt that means almost one out of three people is younger than 17, according to recently released census figures.      Young people make up 32 percent of Sherwood's population. Tigard and Tualatin are close behind with youth populations of 26 percent and 28 percent, respectively.      For the cities' youths, this means entertainment and businesses geared toward their needs and wants, jobs just for them and -- in some cases -- a larger voice in city government and civic affairs.      It also means cities and schools have to plan ahead.      At Sherwood High School, Principal Rob Saxton is trying to figure out where to put his students:   According to a recent demographer's report, the schools will almost double within the next five years.      In Tigard, school administrators just moved their boundaries to account for overcrowding at Tigard High School -- and it wasn't easy. Some Tigard families will watch as their children go to Tualatin High School, but the children will have room to walk down the hallways.      As the number of soccer players increases, Sherwood also is trying to find room for playing fields. None of the city's parks have football, soccer or playing fields, but Mayor Mark Cottle campaigned on the promise of getting them.      Tigard children also would like a place to hang, and have until May to make a case to take over the school district's vacant Larry Hibbard Administration Building.      In Tualatin, teens watched a teen center dream sink when the Atfalati park district measure failed. Now, they've joined the mayor to see if they can create a place of their own on their own. Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden recently said Tualatin's skate park was a proving ground for the city's young people.      "They proved their worth ahead of time," he said. "The skate park was a youth concept, and they proved it could be a reality."      Ogden created a youth council last fall so he could understand growth from a teen-ager's perspective. Sherwood growth most drastic       Sherwood has seen the most drastic youth growth among the three cities, with the general population growing by only 281 percent compared to the youth jump to 320 percent. In 1990, 888 youths roamed Sherwood's fields and forests. Today, 3,734 people under 17 have helped change the landscape.      They say it's for the better, though some are concerned it could get too big.      Chelsie South, 16, scoops ice cream at Sherwood's Baskin Robbins.      "I hear older people talk about how it has grown," she said. "We need to get used to it: The world's going to grow."      She watched the ice rink and movie theater go up, as well as an array of fast-food joints.      "A lot of kids are coming to Sherwood from Newberg for entertainment," she said. "They don't have anything there. Sherwood is a nice place. It's clean and well kept-up. And it's totally for youth employment. A lot of kids work at the movie theater and here and at the gas stations. We couldn't really ask for anything more -- except maybe a bowling alley."      Brianna Munger, 12, has seen the city, and her school, grow in her short time on earth.      "They're making the schools bigger," she said. "They just added a sixth-grade wing at Sherwood Middle School because there wasn't enough room. We study in school how it used to be a small town with a lot of farmland. I just hope it doesn't get any bigger."      Jonathan Fite, 13, agreed that he wants it to stay the same. "There are more houses being built, but it still feels small to me," he said.      For entertainment, Fite builds forts and rambles through the woods near his home -- he doesn't want to see that change.      At 15, Kyle Drost can recite some of the other changes:      "It used to be that the food pavilion was the only thing here," he said. "Everything was closed on Sundays, so it was a dead town then."      Drost grew up in California and said he liked the range of activities available there, but said Sherwood is better than it used to be.      "My favorite was when they built the theater," he said. "But maybe a bowling alley would be nice."      Lacie Stonehouse, 15, praised the new YMCA, but she is concerned that the school district will build a new high school. "Our hallways are definitely crowded, but I don't think we should build another high school -- just an addition," she said. "I don't want to see kids who grew up together split up."    "We're not even 4A yet," Kyle Drost said. "It'd rather see it get bigger and us move up in sports." Tigard youth count hits 10,531      In Tigard, the youth percentage rose from 24 to 26, and grew from 7,140 kids in 1990 to 10,531 in 2000.      "My mom and dad will look out the car window and say, 'That used to be a field,' " said Ryan Crowley, 16, of Tigard. "I really can't imagine that. There's just more stuff to do, more places to hang out. But it is getting pretty crowded. There's a lot of traffic."      There was so much traffic in the Tigard School District that Crowley chose Beaverton School District.      "Tigard High was too packed, so I chose Southridge High School in the Beaverton School District," he said. "It's a lot better."      Julien Davidson and Ashley Sledz, both 14, also seem mixed about the growth issue.      "I go to Fowler Middle School," Sledz said. "We have more than 1,000 people in our school, and it's a middle school. That's crazy."      It's 940 students, according to the district, but she's close.      "But there are more guys, Julien, jeez!" she said, laughing. "The schools are really populated, and there's lots of traffic." Tigard teens grow to 6,437      In Tualatin, the percentage of youth in the general population actually shrank by a percentage point to 28 percent, but the number of teens still grew from 4,414 to 6,437 in 2000. And children there say the growth hasn't really improved things at the youth level.      "A teen center would be a big deal," said Rachel Marsh-Rydon, a member of the mayor's Youth Council. "We really feel like there aren't a lot of options for teens, and if there aren't, they might turn to alcohol or drugs."      Katie Fidler also is in on the project and has spent much of her time interviewing students to find out what they would like in their community.      "We didn't feel like we had a voice, but that has changed with the youth council," she said. "The skate park is a great thing, and it's for youth, but it's not for all youth. As it grows, we want to make sure kids are included in the city planning."