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Green River Boys' Camp... here's another piece that came out shortly after Opening Day. There are even a few pics for this article, clearly a Sunday special:
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Daily News ·
[Bowling Green, Kentucky]Sunday, February 11, 1973It isn't a warehouse for boysBy BETTY HIGGINS — Daily News Area Editor
(Staff Photos by Paul Hightower)MORGANTOWN, Ky. — The doors aren't padlocked. There aren't any bars on the windows. The walls are painted in bright yellow. The furniture appears comfortable.
In fact, the new Green River Boys' camp, officially opened Wednesday, is the opposite of the popular concept of a center for male juvenile offenders. The situation isn't coincidental, however.
The boys camp is structured along lines stressing responsibility, group interaction and interdependency, according to Camp Supt. Michael Yelton. The newest of the State Department of Child Welfare's camps was built to meet these criteria for rehabilitation.
The dormitory-living complex, (below, right) which includes offices and classrooms, can accommodate a maximum of 50 boys. Yelton said the trend toward smaller centers facilitates aiding the boys. The "warehouse" type center, such as Kentucky Village in Lexington which was closed in 1971, is no longer feasible, Yelton commented.
The boys are supervised in classroom, recreational and work pursuits, the superintendent stressed.
At right, a resident helping unload lounge furniture at the camp is silhouetted against a late afternoon sky. Work projects also include kitchen and general maintenance duties, Yelton said.
Staffers also must accompany boys outside the 100 acre camp site, he said. Counseling, too is group-oriented with individual counseling available in some instances.
The group emphasis is carried out in sleeping quarters (below, left) where the idea is not a militarization, Yelton said.
Realistically, there are two detention rooms at the end of the office wing where "boys can have time to think and cool off sometimes," the superintendent explained. Yelton readily admits there probably will be run-aways who might have to spend time in the rooms, but points out in such an open setting, "you always run the risk of kids running off." Boys who leave the camp without authorization are brought back to continue counseling.
There are now nine boys at the camp ranging in age from 13 to 17. Additional residents are expected on a weekly basis as they are referred from diagnostic centers near Louisville and Covington. The boys come from throughout the state and are committed to the department of child welfare by juvenile judges.
Most of the residents at the camp were charged with breaking and entering and auto theft, according to Yelton. He said juveniles with "moderate" problems are handled at the Butler County camp.
The majority of the residents will stay at the camp for three to five months. "We want to keep a child a minimum of time, then get him back out in the community," Yelton said. While a boy is at the camp, a child welfare worker in his hometown is working with the family and keeping in touch with the resident for an effective transition when the boy leaves the camp.
Besides Yelton, who is former superintendent of Barkley Boys Camp in Gilbertsville, staffers include two counselors, Steve Courtney, a graduate of Murray State University, and Phil Bennett, a University of Kentucky graduate. Elmer Westerfield is recreation leader, and Gary Reuff, of Butler County, is secondary teacher at the camp. An elementary teacher will be hired when the camp has more residents.
Part-time chaplain for the boys is Vance Davis, of Louisville. He is at the camp Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The staff also includes seven group life counselors or "cottage parents," two maintenance employes, three cooks and two clerical employes.
An assistant superintendent will be hired later, Yelton said.
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