Hartsville Police Boys Youth Academy graduates 12
by JIM FAILE
Twelve cadets graduated from the Hartsville Police Department�s Boys Youth Academy at Lakeview Baptist Church Friday morning.
One by one, as their names were called, each cadet strode forward, stood at attention, snapped a salute and received his certificate and congratulations from instructors.
The four-week day camp for boys ages 11 to 14 teaches personal responsibility, self confidence, respect for one�s self and others, good citizenship and physical training.
During their four weeks cadets visited the Hartsville police and fire departments, the Darlington County prison farm, Sugarloaf Mountain in Chesterfield County, the S.C. Cotton Museum and Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville, Wild Water & Wheels at Myrtle Beach, the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, the Revolutionary War Park in Camden, McLeod Farms and Museum in McBee and the Hartsville Airport where they got to fly on a plane courtesy of the Young Eagles Program.
This year, the award for Best Overall Cadet went to 14-year-old Cody Keith of McBee. Keith said this was his first year of attending the camp.
He said he was apprehensive at first. �Before, I really didn�t trust the police,� the McBee High School student said.
�This taught me to trust them and to feel better about the police,� he said.
Keith said the most fun part of the camp for him was learning good manners and physical training. �It gave me something to look forward to each day,� he said. �Sometimes I wanted to hide under the covers when it came time to get up, but I enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun.�
This year’s cadets included Preston Wilkes, Robbie Hodges, Nicholas Kruegal, Terrence Herbert, Danamen Castro, Chris McDonald, Eddie Martin, Gerardo Castro, George Chapman, Mazik Martin, Cody Keith and Richard Ware.
This is the 13th year the police department has offered the camp to area youths. During that period, more than 440 young people have graduated from the program, said Officer Almus Rose of the Hartsville Police Department. Rose has worked with the camp since its beginning.
Hartsville police officers serve as camp instructors. Instructors for these four weeks were Rose, Officer Kelly Woodham and Cpl. Stan Kelly.
The camp started out in a small building on Bell Avenue the city owned and was held there for several years. Eventually the city sold the building and the camp had to find a new home.
Lakeview Baptist Church now donates the use of its Family Life Center, Rose said. �It�s a lot nicer here where it�s cool rather than the other building,� he said.
The camp is funded by a grant from The Byerly Foundation.
The academy also includes a camp for girls which held graduation ceremonies in July.