SMYRNA – Chenango County Sheriff’s Office personnel will be taking a break from their routine work this month and dedicating their time to reaching out to children at their annual summer camp in Smyrna.
The Sheriff’s Camp is free of charge for area kids ages 9 through 12, and has been in operation for 16 years at Camp Thompson in Smyrna.
For five weeks of the summer, Sheriff Ernest Cutting Jr. said it’s a place where kids can have fun surrounded by great role models, in a safe and healthy environment.
“We try to teach civic virtue, community participation and mutual respect through a number of fun outdoor activities with our staff. It’s as much fun for them as it is for the kids really. A lot of us look forward to this every year and it’s one of the most important proactive programs we do,” said Cutting.
As one might imagine, the Sheriff’s Camp has countless structured activities including sports, swimming, boating, education, group functions, and social awareness.
One of the camp’s main goals is to promote a message of respect, caring and honesty along with several other community-oriented qualities. To help educate the campers, the Sheriff’s Office employs several of its officers to perform demonstrations on their wide range of specialties.
Also mixed into the activities are several hours of free time, three meal periods and presentations by emergency personnel.
Sitting on green fields or around campfires, kids will hear demonstrations from local law enforcement, corrections and dispatch officials as they explain the different aspects of their jobs. The presentations include SCUBA diving, fire extinguisher usage, the K-9 unit, bike patrols, fire trucks, a visit from the Life Net of New York EMS helicopter and the day-to-day life of emergency service personnel.
The renowned Officer Phil Safety Program, the Norwich Fire Department, Ross Park Zoomobile and even a magician, are only of few of the many other organizations that participate in the camp.
Many of the presentations from law enforcement focus on offering advice about being safe and making the right choices from a friendly, yet experienced perspective.
“We see it as a character building opportunity. We try to teach the kids how to make proper decisions. There is a lot of peer pressure out there. We want them know they can make their own choices,” said Cutting. “Many people can’t afford to send their kids to camp – for many kids this is the only summer camping experience or vacation they’re going to have.”
Every year around 400 kids spend five weeks of their summer camping, swimming and learning important life lessons, at no cost to their parents.
Each week the camp operates Monday through Thursday with different kids drawn from different school districts each week. The school districts are scheduled as follows: July 5 to 8, Sherburne-Earlville, Unadilla Valley; July 12 to 15, Greene, Afton, Bainbridge-Guilford; July 19 to 22, Norwich and Oxford and July 26 to 29, Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton and Otselic Valley. Each rotation includes around 100 new campers each week.
Applications can be found at the Sheriff’s Office or online at www.chenangosheriff.us.
Cutting said this non-profit program is made possible by a number of private contributions and support from the county’s Board of Supervisors.
“What’s important really is this is a free camp, available to all the kids regardless of their economic standing. Also the program is sponsored by a number of community conscious private donors and local businesses. It wouldn’t be possible without them,” said Cutting. “It’s a great program and it’s a lot of hard work on the part of the staff every year, but when you get up there and see the kids smiling, you really remember what it’s all about.”