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Camp Tanako declared tobacco and smoke free

By JANE DENNIS
Arkansas United Methodist Editor

The Board of Trustees of Camp Tanako, the Arkansas Conference’s outdoor ministries facility near Hot Springs, has declared the camp to be a smoke-free, tobacco-free environment. The policy went into effect Jan. 1.

Tobacco products will not be allowed on the camp grounds, said camp director Terry Everitt.

“This policy fits into the health initiative of the Conference,” Everitt said. “There are so many issues involving second-hand smoke. We want to promote healthy living.”

The camp has long had a no-smoking policy in its buildings, with smoking only permitted outside in designated areas. “But the people who smoke … well, everybody around them knows they smoke,” Everitt said.

There had been complaints about certain areas of the camp being littered with cigarette butts, Everitt said. “It was a nuisance for everybody,” not to mention an expense, he said. “We had to pay people to clean up the cigarette butts.”

Tanako, like many of the United Methodist regional camps in Arkansas, has a program schedule filled primarily with summer camping programs for children and youth. But adults also use the facilities for church retreats, special events and other activities. The new policy will apply to all persons who step foot on the grounds, including visitors, trades people and employees, Everitt said.

“I know some people are not going to like it, but we want to present the best possible role model for our kids,” Everitt said.

Other camp policies

Other United Methodist camps in Arkansas have yet to go tobacco-free to the extent that Tanako has.

“We have a no-smoking policy,” said Ike Mohr, director of Bear Creek, a district camp, near Marianna. “But it’s hard to enforce. We still find butts on the grounds.”

Smoking is not allowed in the buildings at Wayland Spring district camp at Imboden, said director Bob McMillon. “We’re used more for church retreats and that sort of thing, involving adults,” he said. “So ours would be a policy similar to what most local churches have.”

“We do not allow smoking,” said Shoal Creek camp co-director Mardell McClurkin. The district facility near New Blaine is “for children and we don’t want butts all over,” she said.

However, she noted that an exception was made in 2005 when the district camp was used to temporarily house a large number of adults who fled Hurricane Katrina. Smoking was allowed in designated outdoor areas.

For children and youth

While Mount Eagle Christian Center, a conference facility located near Clinton, urges campers and visitors to help maintain a smoke-free environment, smoking is permitted in limited designated areas outside the buildings. Even though Mount Eagle is a year-round retreat center used heavily by adults, smoking “is not a problem here,” said director Lu Harding.

Harding, a staunch environmentalist, applauds the new Tanako smoke- and tobacco-free policy. She would also like the Conference Committee on Outdoor Ministries to address the issue.

“When it comes to our children and youth, we definitely need to make our camps smoke free,” Harding said.

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