Friday marked the closing of the second annual Lee County Sheriff’s Rising Stars program, a week-long, law enforcement-themed summer camp for young teenagers. Lt. David Prevatte of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said the camp is designed to “to give kids a positive impact from the criminal justice system and show them all aspects of it.” The children who participated took trips to the North Carolina Highway Patrol Academy, where they watched cadets work on their driving skills, to Polk Youth Center in Butner, where they heard from young inmates about prison life, and to the Lee County Jail, where they ate jail food and took a tour of the facility. The participants were all between 13 and 15 years old and came to the program from the Lee County Boys and Girls Club.“ A lot of the parents heard about it last year, so we had a lot of them come to us this year wanting to be a part of the program,” Prevatte said, adding that he hopes next year’s event will grow to two weeks and to take in kids from other organizations, including the YMCA.William Johnson, is the teen director at the Lee County Boys and Girls Club and said he thinks the program resonates with kids because they see things up close.“It was the most intense, hands-on experience I think I’ve ever seen,” he said. “At Polk (Youth Center) ... they were getting told about prison life by a guy who’d been convicted of second- degree murder. You can read about something all day long, but until you see it up close you won’t really know.”Johnson said that while the overall purpose of the summer camp isn’t to “scare kids straight,” he didn’t mind seeing it at the prison facility.“A couple of these kids think it’s a joke until they see it up close, with an inmate in your face telling you to stay away from gangs and to listen to your parents,” he said. But Johnson also praised the camp for the positive things it teaches kids about law enforcement.“They got a chance to see the law enforcement from another perspective,” he said. “Some of these kids grow up saying ‘poo-poo this’ and ‘poo-poo that.’ But this gives them a chance to see the positive side of what these guys do.”‘ It was the most intense, hands-on experience I think I’ve ever seen.” — William Johnson — YMCA Teen Director
Sheriff Carter's Summer Camp
Friday marked the closing of the second annual Lee County Sheriff’s Rising Stars program, a week-long, law enforcement-themed summer camp for young teenagers. Lt. David Prevatte of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said the camp is designed to “to give kids a positive impact from the criminal justice system and show them all aspects of it.” The children who participated took trips to the North Carolina Highway Patrol Academy, where they watched cadets work on their driving skills, to Polk Youth Center in Butner, where they heard from young inmates about prison life, and to the Lee County Jail, where they ate jail food and took a tour of the facility. The participants were all between 13 and 15 years old and came to the program from the Lee County Boys and Girls Club.“ A lot of the parents heard about it last year, so we had a lot of them come to us this year wanting to be a part of the program,” Prevatte said, adding that he hopes next year’s event will grow to two weeks and to take in kids from other organizations, including the YMCA.William Johnson, is the teen director at the Lee County Boys and Girls Club and said he thinks the program resonates with kids because they see things up close.“It was the most intense, hands-on experience I think I’ve ever seen,” he said. “At Polk (Youth Center) ... they were getting told about prison life by a guy who’d been convicted of second- degree murder. You can read about something all day long, but until you see it up close you won’t really know.”Johnson said that while the overall purpose of the summer camp isn’t to “scare kids straight,” he didn’t mind seeing it at the prison facility.“A couple of these kids think it’s a joke until they see it up close, with an inmate in your face telling you to stay away from gangs and to listen to your parents,” he said. But Johnson also praised the camp for the positive things it teaches kids about law enforcement.“They got a chance to see the law enforcement from another perspective,” he said. “Some of these kids grow up saying ‘poo-poo this’ and ‘poo-poo that.’ But this gives them a chance to see the positive side of what these guys do.”‘ It was the most intense, hands-on experience I think I’ve ever seen.” — William Johnson — YMCA Teen Director
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