Community Corner

Copley-Fairlawn Girl Scouts Protest Camp Closing Plan

How do you feel about the shuttering of all but two Northeast Ohio camps?

Approximately 60 local Girl Scouts, their parents and scout leaders pitched their tents Wednesday and Thursday outside Girl Scout headquarters in Macedonia to protest a plan by the Northeast Ohio Girl Scout Council to permanently close and sell five of seven Northeast Ohio Girl Scout camps. The plan will shut down Camp Crowell/Hilaka in Richfield and four others:  Great Trail Camp (Carroll County), Camp Lejnar (Lake County), Camp Pleasant Valley (Seneca County), and Camp Sugarbush (Trumbull County).

Scouts from the Copley-Fairlawn service unit and other NEO troops are against Girl Scout officials' plan to sell the camps and use the money to regionalize two camps, Ledgewood in Peninsula (Summit County) and Camp Timberlane in Wakeman (Erie County).

Representatives from the Girl Scout Council did not return calls for comment Friday. According to previous news releases, Scouting officials have said they do not need the money from the sale of the camps. The plan is to remodel the two remaining camps to accommodate 40,000 scouts each.

Find out what's happening in Fairlawn-Bathwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Corey Ringle is a delegate and volunteer for the North District of the Girl Scouts Council of Northeast Ohio. She said it's a mistake to close the camps because Girl Scouts often find the existing camps sold out during the camping season. "I am in a different camp every week," Ringle said. "I cannot tell you the amount of people who get closed out, and the calls I take from girls who are crying."

Ringle said the girls spent the night making signs and practicing songs. The scouts held the signs and sang to employees coming to work at the Macedonia headquarters Thursday morning.   "They brought the girls donuts and even gave them tours of the office, but they certainly did not address our concerns," she said.  

Find out what's happening in Fairlawn-Bathwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"They've been patronizing. We got the brushoff," Ringle said. "I don't know how to say that nicely."

Ringle said opponents of the camp closing are putting together a list of amendments that will force the board to put major decisions -- like the sale of property -- to a vote.  They also will hold a special meeting to depose the current board. A date for the meeting has not been set. 

According to the current plan, the camps will close permanently on Dec. 11.

Between now and December, local Girl Scouts are taking their objections to the Internet in You-Tube videos and have mounted a signature drive on Facebook and the Web 

Are you a Girl Scout, or someone concerned by the closings? Tell us whether you support the plan to close the camps in our comments section.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Fairlawn-Bath