Keep Camp Caro Quiet And Secluded

Thu., Sept. 7, 2000

Joseph F. Urlacher Special To T

The Valley couplet will inevitably bring changes to many Valley businesses and properties, along Sprague Avenue and especially along the newly built leg of the couplet that will carry eastbound traffic.

One property that is of particular concern to me is Camp Caro.

This beautiful county park in the Dishman Hills is located on Sargent Road, just behind Appleway Toyota.

Many Valley residents don’t realize that such a secluded and beautiful spot exists so close to one of the Valley’s busiest business districts.

Spokane County Parks and Recreation allows use of the Camp Caro property and building for all types of group activities.

The lodge-style building offers a kitchen with stove, refrigerator and sink and a fireplace all in one large open room. It contains enough folding chairs and tables to seat 40 or 50 people.

There is a deck and railing on three sides of the lodge and bathroom facilities just across a breezeway. Camp Caro also has all of the usual attributes of a park, such as swings and teeter-totters, that are available for everyone.

As work on the new one-way couplet road has progressed, changes have been made literally up to the border of the park.

The road-building machinery first dug out a two-story high portion of the hill leading up to Camp Caro, creating a man-made cliff. Afterward, many of the boulders encountered while clearing land for the road were dumped there. If the present condition is permanent, then the boulders will be a natural lure to adventure seekers. This would create a possible safety hazard because of the proximity of Camp Caro to the busy street just below.

Over the years, my family has enjoyed several activities at Camp Caro that have provided a welcome wilderness escape from city life.

When my daughter, Tiara, was in the fifth grade, she and her classmates in the Central Valley School District’s SPACE program went to Camp Caro for an orienteering exercise that offered practical experience in using a compass.

The park also has been home to a retreat for my daughter’s religious youth group.

My wife, Marsha, teaches music at Greenacres Elementary, which has a year-end celebration each June at Camp Caro for the whole student body. More than 400 students enjoy the facilities during a day of activities ranging from singing and eating inside the lodge to three-legged races on the spacious field outside.

And there is one more reason that Camp Caro is endeared to my heart.

Each summer at Camp Caro, Dr. Timothy Icenogle, the inaugurator of the heart transplant program at Spokane’s Sacred Heart Medical Cenyter, fields a softball team made up entirely of heart transplant recipients.

I had a heart transplant in April of 1998 and for the past two years have had the great pleasure of participating in this event.

I doubt that I will be chosen to pitch again this year - not after giving up 21 runs during past appearances on the mound.

But I am healed from the tumble I took while running to first base after hitting a ground ball during last year’s game.

Fortunately, Dr. Icenogle was there to inform me that my heart was still ticking even after taking this licking.

So I plan to be back at Camp Caro this Sunday for the annual heart transplant picnic and softball game.

It is my hope that changes in the Valley streets will not change the seclusion and quietude of Camp Caro - a place that is dear to both of my hearts.

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