Youths protest camp's closing
Many buildings need repairs and are unsafe for summer vacation, group director says.
Youths protest camp's closing
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7
By Tim Henley
Published: March 22, 2007
Youths and parents hoping to keep their camp open this summer held a silent protest this week during the Camp Fire USA Heart of Oklahoma Council meeting.
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‘I was speechless'
Vicki Panza, 17, has attended Camp Cimarron for the past eight years.
She said the camp helped her learn about nature, develop personal skills and learn how to function in a group atmosphere.
"When I found out it was closing, I was speechless,” said Panza, a senior at Edmond Memorial High School. "It's been in our lives forever. It's been there for 70 years, and we never thought that it would close.”
Panza said she planned to be a counselor at the camp this year.
Camp Cimarron, located on the banks of the Cimarron River outside Coyle on State Highway 33, has been run by the Camp Fire USA council for decades.
Morris said the organization doesn't have the money to keep the camp open this summer. She also cited safety concerns as a reason for the closure.Budget shortfall cited
The council sent a letter in February to notify its membership about the decision to close the camp. The letter cited a budget shortfall as the reason.
That letter was received just days after some children turned in the money they raised selling candy for the organization.
Regina Kerr has a son and daughter who attended the camp in previous years. She said she said was frustrated about the manner in which the council handled the issue.
"They voted to close the camp, and we didn't know anything about it,” said Kerr. "They gave us no warning. This was out of the blue.”
Kerr said children stood outside in winter weather conditions selling candy for the camp in January.
"They told them if they sold candy, they would open the camp,” said Kerr. "They're saying they teach leadership to these kids, but they're not even setting an example.”
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The Heart of Oklahoma Council and Camp Cimarron are not the same. If they were the same then why is the HOC not closed while Camp Cimarron is? The reason we do not know what it costs to run a year round resident camp is because the HOC keeps fudging the numbers.
Stan you should come to the Camp Fire HOC annual meeting (sorry they postponed the meeting indefinitely because some of the board members know they will be voted of the council.) Yes the council needs to be saved, to do that many of the board members that got us into this situation need to be removed from the board. Edna Stinnett needs to be removed from the board. Phyllis Morris is no longer the Interim Executive Director. Let's hope Kim Kamp Leslie can make the changes nessary to save HOC, however one of her first acts as Executive Director was to send a letter to the CC Riders telling them they needed to raise $71,844.33 to save the horses (this was an attempt at extortion in my opinion.) The CC Riders program does not cost $71,844.33 per year. This was their attempt to get the CC Riders to raise extra money for the council to cover other expenses not related to the CC Riders program.
Question for you Stan when you fall on hard times do you borrow $200,000 on the family house, blame your children for not selling enough candy, try to extort $71,844.33 from them, and threaten that if they do not raise the money in 14 days you will sell or close everything they love?
It's funny because some of the quotes in this column are not the full truth from the parties involved. And for some to refuse to sell candy with prior knowledge of problems is completely hypocritcal. (I could point you in the direction of some contradictions in events.) Maybe more questions should have been asked at this meeting before writing the article. Things like "How involved have you been recently in other programs?" or "Did you personally sell candy this year to go to camp?". Just some thoughts to ponder....
My question is why hasn't someone tried to use the media to raise the funds? Instead, it brings a very negative light on a youth association that is brought together in the name of service and the betterment of the community. The Heart of Oklahoma Council and Camp Cimarron are the same. Some have given up on the Council and all the other programs associated with it and only expect the few choice programs they participate in to remain during a time of need. There are many programs offered to youth in Camp Fire. Camps are only a very small part of a wonderful, diversified whole but it seems that is completly overlooked. Again, maybe some more question should have been asked. Just remember, that heaven forbid this ever happens, if there is no Camp Fire Heart of Oklahoma Council, there will be no Camp Cimarron. I highly doubt that anyone could raise enough money to keep the camp open for some of these kids to attend until they graduate. I would love for someone to prove me wrong, but I know for a fact that none of these people know how much it really costs for year round up keep of a resident camp.
And as a final thought:
When you fall on hard times, do you cancel your cable before you stop feeding your family? Sit and think about that.
The way the majority of the board threated the Friends of Cimarron was disgusting. Their are some very good members of the board to bad they are not in the majority.