Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 25, 1995 TAG: 9505250034
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The demand for children's summer camps offered by the Blacksburg Parks and Recreation Department has become ... well, a bit demanding.
Each year, the recreation department sets aside a full day to handle opening registration for the camps. It's done on a first-come, first-served basis, starting at 8 a.m. and continuing until 5 p.m.
Each year, parents wanting to enroll their kids in the camps arrive earlier and earlier.
"Last year, we got hit with 400 people before 9 a.m.,'' said Lorraine Plemmons, secretary for the Blacksburg Parks and Recreation Department.
At least that many formed a line at this year's registration, held last Tuesday. The wait for most was well over an hour.
Fortunately for Plemmons, the parents did mind their p's (patience) if not their q's (quickness).
"I didn't have anyone come yell at me this year," she noted.
"We added three staffers to help with registration this time, but it doesn't help much when you have another 100 people show up," Plemmons said. The department had 10 employees working at the camp registration last Tuesday.
"Every year, we talk about [the registration process] afterward and try to figure out better ways to do it. We do listen to people's complaints."
In the past, the staff has discussed the possibility of handling registration by mail.
"Most parents would rather come in and wait to make sure their children are taken care of, rather than risk another method such as a mail-in registration," Plemmons said.
The idea of conducting the registration via the Blacksburg Electronic Village was considered, too.
"But not everyone has a computer," Plemmons noted. "We try to be fair."
"There's no way to please everybody," she added.
The Blacksburg Parks and Recreation Department offered 31 summer camps for ages 4 to 16 this year. Weekly camp fees range from $25 to $80. By 5 p.m. Tuesday, 12 of the camps were full and parents were requesting to be put on waiting lists. Cancellations will open up some spaces in the coming weeks, Plemmons said.
The greatest need for summer camps seems to be for children in the middle school age group, Plemmons said. The need is not exclusive to Blacksburg, either. Organized summer programs in other areas of Montgomery County are lacking.
"Kids are out of school and they need something to do," she said.
Plemmons also said she sympathizes with parents who have to wait in long lines to enroll their children in the camps.
"I hate waiting in line in a grocery store," she admitted. "But what can you do when you have so many people?''
For information on Blacksburg Parks and Recreation Department's summer camps, call 961-1135.
by CNB