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Sheriff's camp shapes team players
By JAMIE MALERNEE © St. Petersburg Times, published June 20, 2001
The air clung close, hot and sticky on Tuesday as a group of girls at summer camp stood in a giggling mass. It was a game. They had gathered in a clump, joined hands with mismatched partners, and then tried to untangle into a perfect circle without letting go. Counselors called it "team-building." The girls just called it fun, even if it was a little sweaty. "Don't let go of my hand!" one youngster said with a laugh. "Oh no, I have an itch!" another said, letting out a sigh. "My hands are still crossed," warned one girl when it looked as if the group might fail to untangle themselves. "Ow, ow, ow!" whined another. "My hands are still crossed." And finally, as the children solved the puzzle: "Yeah! We did it!" This exercise was just one of many to be conducted this week and next as part of Harmony in the Streets, a summer camp organized by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office to provide fun and education to local kids at Powell Middle School. The camp is free, paid for by $10,000 in private donations. Most of those who attended had been identified by schools, parents or other agencies as "at-risk" children. "The idea is to build their social skills, have them work together, teach them to respect each other," said senior program leader Nikia Clark. "That way," added site director Teresa Cone, "they learn without knowing they're learning." Most of the learning took the form of games and sports. Basketball was a big hit with both the girls and boys group. The girls also loved the slip n' slide, but the boys skipped the water games, saying they didn't want to get wet. Throughout the week, the campers also will learn about law enforcement. On Tuesday, the crowd of 45 children sat still long enough to listen to a demonstration by the sheriff's SWAT team. The sight of large machine guns, riot gear and other equipment caused many eyes to bulge and jaws to drop. The presenters stressed the importance of cooperation and concentration in law enforcement. "This vest weighs 20 pounds empty, before you add magazines, a radio and other things," said Deputy Mike Beckwith as he helped place a huge vest over the head of 11-year-old Jessica Durham of Brandon. "Imagine sitting in front of a house (on a stand-off) for 13 hours with nothing to eat or drink." As the children oohed and ahhed over the weapons, Deputy Matt Lillibridge gave a cautionary warning. "We have all these big guns, but the main reason we have a SWAT team is so no one gets hurt," he said. The combination of fun and games with light learning earned rave reviews from many of the youths. "They do lots of stuff. If I wasn't here, I'd just be home playing Nintendo," said William Compton, 12, while munching on Oreos and drinking orange Kool-Aid during a snack break. "They teach you respect," added Ryan Holland, 11. "Like not cussing people out. I do that . . . sometimes. But not around the little kids. That's not appropriate." Sheriff's spokeswoman Deanna Dammer said the sheriff hopes to expand the program next year -- which is good news to Rae Nauer, 7. "I thought it was going to be dumb, but it's fun," Rae said.
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