Group that runs camps for kids with cancer to find new site

KETCHUM – A nonprofit organization that runs camps for children with cancer says it will look for a new home after months of wrangling over a proposed site in central Idaho.

The Idaho Mountain Express reported Friday that Camp Rainbow Gold has decided not to seek reconsideration after Blaine County commissioners denied its appeal of a zoning permit in December.

The group had sought to build a retreat on 260 acres on a rural plot of land near the tony ski resort town of Ketchum.

Camp spokeswomen Whitney Slade said Wednesday that the board determined there wasn’t a viable path forward on that property. She says the group will continue to run programs this summer on short-term leases at Cathedral Pines, north of Ketchum, while it looks for a new site.

Commissioners Larry Schoen and Angenie McCleary who voted to deny the camp’s appeal say their decision was based on land-use issues and not a vote against the camp.