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Produced & Maintained by Idaho Mountain Express, Box 1013, Ketchum, ID 83340-1013 
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Copyright © 2002 Express Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 


For the week of August 14 - 20, 2002

Features

Camp Rainbow Gold provides respite for kids


By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

Jordan Arbve, 12, likes "everything mostly" at Camp Rainbow Gold. Of course, he’s an old timer having been a camper since he was 5 years old. For Jordan the camp is a very special place, where he can see friends and be himself. Jordan has leukemia and just those simple pleasures are everything to him. Even his siblings get a little jealous when he leaves his home in Eagle to spend a week in the camp at Cathedral Pines, north of Ketchum.

During the Rainbow Gold Camp talent show, above, Derek Parry, 15, from Idaho Falls plays drums with Hailey resident George Linev, 17, on guitar. Express photo by Willy Cook

The unofficial motto of Camp Rainbow Gold is "Give us a week, we can change your life." The camp is held annually for children who have been diagnosed with cancer.

It began in 1984 as one of the first children’s oncology camps in the United State. It’s run by Idaho’s American Cancer Society chapter in conjunction with Boise’s Mountain States Tumor Institute and managed by Sharon Buckle.

The camp hosted 67 campers last week between the ages of 6 and 17. They were supervised by 60 trained volunteers, including Counselors in Training, many of whom are older kids who were campers. Among the staff are nurses, physicians and art teachers.

Although they may ordinarily travel to Salt Lake City or Spokane for their treatments, about 95 percent of the campers come from Idaho and a few from eastern Oregon, Buckle said. Many of the Idaho residents are patients at Mountain States Tumor Institute.

Belting out a Bryan Adams tune, below, during the talent show is Cassandra McKinney from Nampa. With her is a camp counselor Tim Welch. Express photo by Willy Cook

Because the camp is free of charge to the campers, including transportation to and from Cathedral Pines, the program has to raise $50,000 a year through fund-raisers and donations, Buckle said.

Earlier this year, Hailey’s Red Elephant Saloon spearheaded a Wood River Valley benefit that ended up raising $20,000 for the camp, including a generous matching donation, she said.

The owner of the Red Elephant, Rob Cronin, who is a cancer survivor, took the last week off from his regular day job of running both his restaurants—the other is Zhou 75—to work exclusively with the campers. A camp full-time committee member, Cronin is the special events coordinator, organizes the motorcycle escort ride, and barbecues and helps with other meals daily while the camp is in session.

"When people commit, they do it for the whole week," Buckle said.

Among the activities that are arranged for the kids are an art studio under a tent with a special art therapist on hand, river rafting, dances, theme nights, hiking, fishing and mountain biking.

One day the group went to Penny Lake, west of Ketchum, and set a camp record by catching 73 trout. That evening, at a visitor’s barbecue following the talent show, the fish were grilled and served by Cronin.

Nampa resident Emmalee Wesche, 12, caught eight fish she said proudly.

Her friend Denai Salazar, 13, from Caldwell, said she likes the campfires the best. "It’s awesome. We tell jokes and stories."

Camp counselor Jamie Rivetts, left, sits with 6-year-old camper Nikki Kontaxis, of Ketchum, and Craig Delagardelle, another counselor. Nikki suffers from a brain tumor. His mother said he was “having the time of his life,” while at Camp Rainbow Gold. Express photo by Willy Cook

Many of these kids have been reuniting at the camp annually. It’s a place they can be themselves, and not feel different, fragile or feel shunned by people who don’t understand their situations.

"People here just accept what you’re going through," Erica Snoey said. Though she admitted to still learning some of the medical jargon for others’ particular cancers.

Snoey, 12, is a mountain bike enthusiast. There are several bikes and helmets at the kid’s disposal. Buckles said they were a donation from a woman in Jerome.

"I went on TV and said we needed small bikes. A mother of a previous camper who had passed away, got them all donated. We now have eight smaller mountain bikes."

Among the contributors locally to the week at the camp were South Valley Pizzeria, Albertson’s and Davis Embroidery, who donates all the hats and T-shirts.

Alyssa Bowers, 14, is no longer an Idaho resident but she was allowed to come to the camp again anyway. She has been a camper at Rainbow Gold for 10 years. Looking healthy and happy, she beamed when Buckle told her she could be a Counselor in Training someday.

For Bowers and the other, kids the camp is an ideal family that’s supportive, caring and fun.

 

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The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.