Grovetown summer camp has good response

Grovetown's annual summer day camp is headed for a bigger and better location this summer.

//

The Grovetown Against Drugs Summer Day Camp will move from Goodale Park to the new Liberty Park this year.

Grovetown Department of Public Safety Capt. Gary Owens said the 14th annual camp has been extended to two weeks - one week sponsored by the department and a second put on by the city's Recreation Department.

The new facility offers children even more fun, Owens said.

"This facility is beautiful. It is going to be nice to have," Owens said

In addition to outdoor games and sports, the children attending the camp can also enjoy indoor activities such as basketball, dodgeball, kickball, and arts and crafts.

The camp is free and open to children in the Grovetown area. Children can attend one day or all 10 days of the camp, Owens said. The camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-June 15 and June 18-22.

Applications are available at city hall on Old Wrightsboro Road and the public safety office on East Robinson Avenue. Applications can be turned in early or on the day of the camp.

Each day of camp ends with the children playing in the cooling spray of firehoses.

"That is always the most popular part," Owens said. "That and for some reason, ice cream. I don't know why."

For the second year, the camp will go on without its founder, former City Councilwoman Marjorie Adams, who died Feb. 12, 2006, from complications of a stroke.

Adams' strong feelings about Grovetown children and the camp led her to leave funds for the camp's operation in her will.

"Ms. Adams assisted us very well," Owens said. "She's seen to it that it is still going to continue ... Even when she's not here, she's taking care of business for us."

Owens said the camp is a way to keep children occupied with healthful activities during the summer and allows them to meet new friends or play with existing ones. The camp is about more than fun, however.

"We give them a little fun," Owens said. "But we talk to them about drugs and some of the things they need to watch out for. So it also has meaning as well."

Local businesses support the camp through donations. Organizations including Fort Gordon's Youth Challenge Academy, the Air Force wing stationed there and the Columbia County Sheriff's Office Explorer cadets help the public safety officers provide adult supervision.

"The response to it keeps growing and growing," Owens said.

For more information, call city hall at (706) 863-4576 or the public safety office at (706) 863-1212.