KTIV NewsChannel 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and SportsYouth center under fire has new plan
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Associated Press - July 13, 2009 9:05 AM ET
TEA, S.D. (AP) - Organizers of a youth center that has opened in Tea have come up with a plan to try to address the worries of some in the community about who is running the facility.
Director Ryan Sheperd says Joe Panaia Jr., the 42-year-old pastor of Bridging the Gap Ministries and a registered sex offender, won't be around the center during operating hours.
Some residents of the southeast South Dakota town have publicly said they're worried about Panaia's involvement in the youth center, and that they don't think a registered sex offender should be around children.
Panaia has said he has found God since being convicted of crimes including indecent exposure and has turned his life around. Sheperd says he supports Panaia, as do others in the community.
Information from: KDLT-TV, http://www.kdlt.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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