Mike Miller: A figure once lauded citywide, now under arrest
SAN BERNARDINO - Michael Miller, a soft-spoken Parks and Recreation manager, finds himself at ground zero of Mayor Pat Morris' Operation Phoenix crime-reduction plan.
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That was the opening sentence of a story written by my colleague Michel Nolan in Feb. 2007. The rest of the story, a Q & A with Miller, can be read by clicking below.
Miller, a run-of-the-mill parks administrator who ascended to new status and public acclaim within Operation Phoenix, came across as a modest, shy and noble guy. Even Wendy McCammack rousingly complimented his dogged work last year, showing how bipartisan the support for this man was.
But now he's under arrest, accused of molesting a child on July 1 at the very Sierra Way center he all but helped build. The end of the story is not here, but this is certainly a startling turn of events.
By Michel Nolan
It's a position he enjoys, he says.
"I'm right there in the thick of it, and I love it," says Miller, of the Phoenix Community Center, a gathering place that offers after-school and youth programs to an at-risk neighborhood northeast of downtown.
Operation Phoenix - the first phase of which was launched in a 20-block area of the city in June - is designed to end the cycle of poverty and violence that plagues the city.
Miller, 47, who has a seven-year history with San Bernardino's Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, says the community center's program should provide young people with a variety of activities - with sports as the groundwork.
"We're trying to get kids out there - to experience things they haven't before," he says.
"The center is helping build up the area. People are saying they already feel safer walking down their streets."
From his perspective at the center of Operation Phoenix, Miller offers these insights:
Question: What progress has been made since the Phoenix Community Center opened last July?
Answer: There's more recognition. More people know about us now, know where we're located and what programs we offer. From that aspect, there's been huge progress.
Q: Could you tell us about some of the programs you offer?
A: We have a good list of activities for kids. During our hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, people bring their kids to us. We have open recreation, homework programs for kids after school, daily arts and crafts, a computer lab where kids play educational computer games, outdoor activities, including a portable basketball court.
Next door to us, we have a grass field and play soccer, Frisbee, flag football, just about any outdoor sport you can play provided the weather is decent.
We have fine arts, painting, sculpture. We're trying to offer kids an opportunity to broaden their minds, see what else is out there. Different types of dance classes, an aerobics class for women only, a news club where kids put out a newsletter once a month.
Kids go to different places in the community and do interviews. Last month, they interviewed the mayor, and he made them extremely comfortable. Also we have a great homework program in the afternoons - either one-on-one or as a group.
Q: Are some programs working better than others?
A: Yes, the teen club works well. Teens enjoy the variety of topics we offer. The one I wish were going better is the aerobics class. Not as many people are attending as I would hope. This is a community center, and not all programs are for kids - it's for the parents also. We also have an English-as-a-second-
language class that just started in January. I'm hoping those attendance numbers get bigger also. ESL is offered from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Q: What are your goals for 2007?
A: Just to educate the kids more - take them to different areas within and outside our city and let them know what's going on. Get the kids out there and take them to plays and other things they may never have a chance to experience and let them have the experience. It may be that one of those adventures might spark something in a child that they'll pursue later on.
Q: Would you say all these activities offer kids an alternative to spending their time in less constructive ways?
A: A lot of the kids right now need to be pushed a little bit. They may say "no, no, no I don't want to do it," because they just want to hang around their friends at the center. They've got to play like they don't want to do it - I guess it's a cool thing. The kids enjoy all the different programs we make them do. It's not a choice.
We had a talent show last month and I closed the whole center down and made everybody watch it. They were moaning and groaning because they wanted to play some basketball or finish their game on the computer but we had to watch the talent show because these kids were putting on the show for us and had been practicing for a month. Everybody really enjoyed it. We even had some parents come out.
Q: What kind of community support are you looking for to make the center a phenomenal success?
A: In the short time it's been operating, it's been extremely successful, but more support from the parents would be great, more support from the community itself would be good. A lot of outside agencies are supporting the program - not just the center but Operation Phoenix itself. There was a survey done a couple of weeks ago and I heard that people in the 20-block area are starting to feel safer walking down their street - at any time, day or night - and the streets they live on are cleaner and brighter.
Q: The center could serve as a prototype for other targeted areas as well, couldn't it?
A: Absolutely. It's just a matter of time, I hope, till we see different centers in other areas of the city that need this type of program. We have community centers already, but there are still quite a few areas that don't have anything for the kids. MORE INFORMATION