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Camp Rainbow Gold Hopes to Solve Needs with ‘Forever Home’
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Monday, December 4, 2017
 

STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Elizabeth Lizberg grimaced as she watched a young camper named Hannah try to make her way across the grounds at Cathedral Pines.

The young camper has to use a wheelchair because of her cancer. But the wheelchair doesn’t negotiate the gravel paths at Cathedral Pines where Camp Rainbow Gold currently holds its camps. Nor can it access the cabins, which have no wheelchair ramps of the dining hall.

“If we’re able to build a new camp, we will build a dining room that’s accessible to everyone with round tables so those with wheelchairs can be part of the group,” said Lizberg.

Right now the counselors have a break room on the second floor of the dining hall. But that, of course, wouldn’t be accessible to a counselor in a wheelchair. And, if Hannah needs to go to the bathroom at night, it means that three counselors have to get up to help her out of the cabin to a restroom.”

Camp Rainbow Gold is looking for a forever home. And organizers and supporters think they found the perfect property several miles past Triumph in East Fork where a supporter donated property. They rolled out the design for a retreat center with rustic rural board-and-batten siding last winter.

But about 75 homeowners in East Fork who call themselves the Concerned Citizens of the Wood River Valley have countered that a camp would increase traffic and be detrimental to property values.

The P&Z denied the camp’s application to build an operate a retreat 4-3 in April, even after the camp scaled back some of its proposals to mitigate homeowners' concerns. And Camp Rainbow Gold will appeal the decision at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, at the old County Courthouse, 206 First Avenue S., in Hailey.

Asked what kinds of needs a new camp would address, Lizberg pointed first to porta-potties stationed around the camp.

They’re hardly appropriate for children battling cancer who may feel nauseous, especially if they have to get up in the middle of the night, she said.

A trailer staffed by pulmonologist Dr. Brian Goltry offers a place to isolate campers who show up with lice or some other issue that needs addressing. Unlike the older one, this newer one has an accessible bathroom for campers who become sick.

But a permanent Med Shack would serve a medical coordinator, oncologist, nurses and social worker who would be able to administer chemotherapy and other medication regimens.

The Reflection Center that has been proposed for the East Fork camp could be used by up to 200 campers and volunteers on a rainy day. And the entire center would be accessible, which the Cathedral Pines chapel is not.

Cabins would be built to accommodate families during family camp. And they would not be placed in an avalanche zone, as one is at Cathedral Pines.

The new camp could sport a splash pad where children could run cool off, as well as a low ropes course, a climbing wall and a team-building wall where campers could assist fellow campers getting up and over.

“We raised money for a climbing wall here but we weren’t able to build it. And we’ve had trouble with the camp maintaining what is here,” said Lizberg.

A permanent camp would offer the chance to have a washer and dryer, plus storage so camp organizers would not have to continually transport, unpack and pack costumes, musical instruments, sound system and art supplies.

And it would offer easier access to St. Luke’s Wood River than Camp Perkins near Stanley, which is used for family camp despite being an hour away from the hospital.

“It’s a terrible feeling knowing you have to drive for an hour when you have a camper come down with  something,” said Lizberg. “Plus, we have to run labs to the hospital daily. Here, it’s just 14 miles.

A permanent home would allow Camp Rainbow Gold to accommodate more campers. At least 30 campers had to be turned away this past summer. And there’s not enough room for all those who want to attend sibling and family camps, said Lizberg.

“We love it here but it’s such a challenge,” she said, scanning the camp operated by a Baptist group.

Jaime Rivetts, a Wood River Valley resident who has volunteered at Camp Rainbow Gold for 16 years, said the East Fork location would offer the same benefits of nature that the current camp does.

“I was offended when I heard someone say, ‘Why not have the camp in Shoshone,’ ” she said. "There’s a reason Allen and Company wants to come here. There’s a reason kids want to come here.”

“Our forever home can’t come soon enough,”said Vicki Funaiole, who met her husband at Camp Rainbow Gold years ago. “I can’t count how many times I’ve said, ‘If I win the lottery…’ Obviously none of us have won the lottery.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Blaine County Commissioners voted 2-1 to uphold the decision of their Planning and Zoning Commissioners.Lizberg said her board will talk about the next step once they've had an opportunity to review the written decision.

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