To Camp, No To Drugs Idaho Youth Summit Seeks To Counter Peer Pressure

Tears welled up in Katie Dotts’ eyes as she listened to a man talk about having a third of his tongue and half of his right jaw cut out, and losing all of his lower teeth.

Inspirational speaker Richard Bender, who chewed tobacco for more than 10 years, was left with a distorted and scarred face after three surgeries to try to get rid of cancer that developed while he chewed.

Bender spoke to a captive audience of junior high school students Thursday. His message hit hard, particularly for an emotion-filled Dotts.

“It really touched home,” said Dotts, a 15-year-old Coeur d’Alene High School student. “I have a friend who’s been chewing for the past year and a half, and my grandfather chews a lot.”

Dotts was one of 500 kids from Idaho and Washington who packed up camping gear and headed for the Idaho Youth Summit III south of Coeur d’Alene - a weeklong summer camp for junior and high school students that started Wednesday.

The kids are a cross-section of top-notch scholars, athletes and gang member, said Amy Bartoo, camp director and director of Idaho Drug Free Youth, which sponsored the event.

“Their tough exteriors melt away as they sing these goofy camp songs,” Bartoo said.

The event is aimed at empowering youths to avoid peer pressure, and to say, “No” to drugs, alcohol, tobacco and gangs.

Dotts quit smoking a year ago after getting encouragement and support from her camp counselor at last year’s conference.

An intense agenda of guest speakers, workshops and seminars was peppered with recreational activities including skits, dances, a team-building ropes course and swimming.

Some of the kids endured 15-hour or longer road trips to get to the conference.

Bernabe Ortiz, 14, was one of 21 youths from Glenns Ferry who took in more than 12 hours of Idaho by bus.

But Ortiz, who attended the camp last year, says traveling 600 miles was worth it.

Ortiz said the camp is a chance for him to escape daily battles with peer pressure. He often gets asked to sell marijuana, but says he’s too busy playing sports to mess with drugs.

Todd Nelson, who chaperoned the Glenns Ferry group, said he’s impressed with what the conference offers kids.

Nelson said all racial barriers were broken down with camp activities, and the general attitudes of acceptance among the participants. He was happy to watch his kids intermingle with the rest of the youths.

“In Anglo society, there’s a lot of prejudice,” Nelson said. “(Here) they’re finding out that Anglos will reach out to Mexicans and care about Mexicans.”

Camp volunteers said they had a difficult time getting African American students from Southern Idaho to attend because of the neo-Nazi activity they had heard about in North Idaho. But staff members convinced parents their kids would be safe.

There seemed to be no signs of racial division at the summit.

Most of the kids raced around in uninhibited enthusiasm, but others, like Lupe Rodriguez, were more subdued.

The 13-year-old from Napa wasn’t too happy about the idea of going off to camp.

“It’s the first time I’ve been out anywhere,” Rodriguez said, as she put the finishing touches on a pennant, one of several art projects the kids created.

Rodriguez’s school counselor signed up the unwilling Rodriguez.

“I thought we had to sleep out in the grass,” she said. “I thought none of my friends were going to be here.”

After two days at the camp, Rodriguez met about a dozen new friends.

Camp advisers say the joy of volunteering for the event comes from seeing changes in the kids, including attitudes, perceptions, and even habits.

“They call it ‘The magic,”’ said Bruce Wall, youth staff coordinator. “There’s a total turn around, especially for people who are loners. They feel more wanted.”

The conference is getting more popular each year, organizers say. Since its inception three years ago, the number of participants has grown from 97 to 500. Organizers say they had to turn away 73 applicants this year.

To accommodate all the students, high schoolers stayed at Camp Lutherhaven on the north shore of Mica Bay while the junior high school kids were ferried across the bay to Camp Sweyolakan.

Students paid $125 each to attend, but about half received scholarships from their schools or other organizations.

The event, which ends Saturday with a cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene, will leave a lasting impression on most of the youths, like Lisa Hull.

For Hull, the youth summit was a pat-on-back for the positive things kids do.

“Teens don’t get rewarded for being good,” said Hull, a 15-year-old Reardan, Wash., student.

But students in drug free programs receive discounts at places like McDonald’s and TCBY if they stay off drugs.

Hull said the most important thing she’s done in the past two days is taking responsibility for her actions.

“We have the power to do anything we want to,” Hull said. “It’s our choice. That’s basically what they’ve drilled into us.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo