THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 10, 1994 TAG: 9408090163
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Around Town
SOURCE: Linda McNatt
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Beneath the canopy of the tent at the Southern Isle of Wight Community Center near Carrsville, sweat rolled down Joe Stutts' face and down the faces, backs and necks of the children milling around him.
It was one of those hot, muggy, sticky days last week, when there was barely a breeze stirring.
The weather and the facilities, or the lack of facilities, put a damper on the otherwise festive occasion.
Stutts, public relations director for Union Camp Corp. and an all-around nice guy, was there to accept a couple of tokens of appreciation from the children who participated in the county Recreational Facilities Authority's summer program in the southern end.
The mammoth paper company, said parks and rec's George Kindred, has been helping fund the program in the community for the last several years.
Union Camp paid for the canopy where the children, seeking shelter from the summer sun, held many of their activities.
The company also paid for the ``Newspapers in Education'' program that was part of the summer fun at the southern center as well as in rec programs in Windsor and Smithfield.
The little ceremony hosted by the kids was held to thank Stutts and his company for their part in making summer more enjoyable.
But despite the jovial spirits of Stutts, the children and the staff who worked with the program, the conversation kept turning in a different direction.
``One of the greatest things needed here is an expansion,'' Otelia Rainey said, wiping sweat from her brow.
Rainey has a finger in most everything that goes on in the southern end of this county. And if there's a need, she always recognizes it.
This summer, she said, has been an especially hard one to work with. Hot days piled on top of hot days meant that the Union Camp-provided tent was often the youngsters' only retreat.
``The children make too much noise for the senior citizens, if they play inside in the air conditioning,'' said Rainey, a 20-year veteran of the parks and rec board. ``And we can't put the seniors out. So the children come out here. I don't know what we would have done without this tent.''
What it boils down to, she said, is that a larger community center is needed in southern Isle of Wight. And the people who live in the rest of the county, she believes, just don't realize how bad off her people are.
``We just need to get bigger here,'' Stutts agreed, removing his jacket. ``We need a bigger facility out here. We have great needs in this end of the county. Right now, we have this facility, the Carrsville school and a firehouse. There's not much else.''
There is the community spirit. Maybe that's why the children, in spite of the weather, were in such a joyful mood.
Near the top of the tent, the 100-plus children who participated in the program this year, from 6 to 16, had stretched a banner declaring: ``Thank you, Union Camp.''
For Stutts, the older youngsters had hand-stitched a beautiful needlepoint pillow. The seniors helped them by sewing on the back cover of the pillow. And all of the children had worked on a huge, colorful card that said, ``Union Camp - We love you, and we thank you.''
``Union Camp is definitely community oriented,'' Rainey said. ``We're very fortunate to have them in this county.''
``Well, golly,'' Stutts said, grinning broadly as he accepted the gift for his company. ``This is kind of special. It doesn't happen that often.''
Stutts assured the children that the pillow and card would be displayed at Camp's central office, in the new employee information center.
It was Union Camp, Rainey told me, that donated the land for the southern center about 20 years ago - almost 16 acres. But that and supporting summer recreation programs are only part of the many good deeds the company lavishes on its home county, she said.
Camp is always supportive of education, she said. And most of the land it owns is open to the public, for hunting or other forms of recreation. Nice company, good to have around, Rainey said.
About Stutts, she said, ``He's one of the few people, besides my husband, I'll fight over. He's so nice, such a caring attitude. And his company is the same way.''
County officials apparently have some idea that the southern community center does, indeed, need improvements. In the county's five-year capital improvements plan, money has been set aside in 1995-96 for that purpose.
For the kids in the summer, it can't come soon enough.
Kindred said he would love to see a gymnasium for the children. Rainey said she'd just like to see the children have a place to play in the summer out of the hot sun.
I say - cool - only two more summers to sweat. Change is gonna come. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by LINDA McNATT
Joe Stutts accepts gifts and thanks from Phillipa Smith, a
supervisor for the summer program; Tenachia Lankford and Rhonda
Hicks.
by CNB