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American Morning
Police Investigating Charges Counselors at 4H Camp Arranged Fights
Aired July 09, 2003 - 08:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From the State of Virginia, police are investigating charges that counselors at a 4H camp arranged fights between campers then charged admission and took bets on who would win. The incidents allegedly took place last week at the Smith Mountain Lake Camp in Roanoke, Virginia.
The director of the 4H program there says she is shocked by the allegations now coming out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY GILLES, SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE CAMP: This is an isolated incident in one camping group that came here. They were not employees of the 4H center and so the camp is still safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Ten-year-old camper D.J. Rawls says he suffered a black eye after being involved in a number of fights during the five day camp program.
D.J. is with us live today from Lynchburg, Virginia, along with his mother Poppy.
And good morning to both of you here on AMERICAN MORNING.
POPPY RAWLS, MOTHER OF 4-H CAMPER: Good morning.
D.J. RAWLS, 4-H CAMPER: Good morning.
HEMMER: D.J., I understand you came home with a bit of a black eye. How is it doing now?
D.J. RAWLS: It's doing fine.
HEMMER: Yes. You were at the camp for five days, right?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, sir, I was.
HEMMER: Tell us about the number of times you got into fights with others.
D.J. RAWLS: I got in about five fights I think it was.
HEMMER: Yes, how did you get involved in that? D.J. RAWLS: The first fight, a boy walked up behind me, put me in a headlock. I punched him in the stomach and punched him in the face.
HEMMER: Well, how did you get involved in the first place? The counselors came to you? Or who drafted you for this?
D.J. RAWLS: What did you say?
HEMMER: Yes, who got you involved? Was it the counselors?
D.J. RAWLS: What?
HEMMER: Yes, can you hear me OK?
I'm going to try it one more time.
How did you get involved in these fights? Was it the counselors at the camp or did your friends get involved or what happened?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, it was the counselors at the camp.
HEMMER: OK. Were they taking bets on the fights? Is that true or not?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, sir, it is true.
HEMMER: Were they betting on you or others or?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, at one point they were betting on me to win.
HEMMER: Poppy, how did you hear about this?
POPPY RAWLS: The first time I heard about it was on Saturday when I had a mother come to my door. We had picked up D.J. on Friday and another parent came to my door on Saturday night and said that her son had said some things had gone on at camp. My son was away at that time. He was at a friend's house. And my husband went and picked him up and brought him home and asked him about it. And he told us everything that happened.
HEMMER: Yes, what did he say?
POPPY RAWLS: He said that, yes, he had been involved in fights, that the counselors originally apparently it started between a rivalry with two counties and just escalated from there to the point that the kids were put against each other in fights and they charged admission to the children, a dollar each, to go to these fights. And then they actually took bets between themselves, and I understand also they took bets from the children.
HEMMER: Yes, I'm assuming you've contacted the camp. Is that right? What have they said?
POPPY RAWLS: We did contact the camp, and this is one of the problems with this is we heard about it Saturday. We immediately tried to get in touch with someone. Of course, we couldn't get anybody Saturday or Sunday. When we couldn't get the camp Saturday, we, you know, reported it to the police department.
HEMMER: Yes, and then you've also told us...
POPPY RAWLS: We actually never heard from the camp till Monday. We never heard from the camp until Monday morning.
HEMMER: Yes, I also understand you've talked to a number of parents. What's been their reaction, Poppy?
POPPY RAWLS: Obviously we're shocked. We're upset and we're shocked. We can't believe it's gone on. I think at some point there's a certain level of anger. You know, these are our kids, though, and we -- I think that, you know, the parents are very concerned about it and I don't know what each of them is going to do. I know they've been trying to stand and do, you know, offer a collective front. But I really don't know. I know everyone's very upset.
HEMMER: Yes, is this the first time D.J. was sent to this camp?
POPPY RAWLS: It is the first time. I have never allowed him to go to an overnight camp. When he's gone to camps in the past, it's been a day camp.
HEMMER: Yes, well, are you going to send him back or not?
POPPY RAWLS: No, he will not be going back.
HEMMER: That's what I assumed the answer was.
POPPY RAWLS: And my concern here at this point...
HEMMER: Go ahead.
POPPY RAWLS: My concern here at this point is that changes need to be made in the 4H policy. We are upset now that we know they are volunteers. We know the counselors involved, although the age range is in question, there wasn't, obviously, enough supervision and it's easy for the camp to say they weren't our employees.
However, when I dropped my child off, I expect that they're going to be taken care of. And some employee needs to have some better handle on, you know, supervising the people that are supervising our children.
HEMMER: A point well taken.
Thanks for talking, Poppy Rawls.
D.J., you be good this summer, OK?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Enjoy the rest of your time off away from school. Thanks for talking.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Arranged Fights>
Aired July 9, 2003 - 08:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From the State of Virginia, police are investigating charges that counselors at a 4H camp arranged fights between campers then charged admission and took bets on who would win. The incidents allegedly took place last week at the Smith Mountain Lake Camp in Roanoke, Virginia.
The director of the 4H program there says she is shocked by the allegations now coming out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY GILLES, SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE CAMP: This is an isolated incident in one camping group that came here. They were not employees of the 4H center and so the camp is still safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Ten-year-old camper D.J. Rawls says he suffered a black eye after being involved in a number of fights during the five day camp program.
D.J. is with us live today from Lynchburg, Virginia, along with his mother Poppy.
And good morning to both of you here on AMERICAN MORNING.
POPPY RAWLS, MOTHER OF 4-H CAMPER: Good morning.
D.J. RAWLS, 4-H CAMPER: Good morning.
HEMMER: D.J., I understand you came home with a bit of a black eye. How is it doing now?
D.J. RAWLS: It's doing fine.
HEMMER: Yes. You were at the camp for five days, right?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, sir, I was.
HEMMER: Tell us about the number of times you got into fights with others.
D.J. RAWLS: I got in about five fights I think it was.
HEMMER: Yes, how did you get involved in that? D.J. RAWLS: The first fight, a boy walked up behind me, put me in a headlock. I punched him in the stomach and punched him in the face.
HEMMER: Well, how did you get involved in the first place? The counselors came to you? Or who drafted you for this?
D.J. RAWLS: What did you say?
HEMMER: Yes, who got you involved? Was it the counselors?
D.J. RAWLS: What?
HEMMER: Yes, can you hear me OK?
I'm going to try it one more time.
How did you get involved in these fights? Was it the counselors at the camp or did your friends get involved or what happened?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, it was the counselors at the camp.
HEMMER: OK. Were they taking bets on the fights? Is that true or not?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, sir, it is true.
HEMMER: Were they betting on you or others or?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, at one point they were betting on me to win.
HEMMER: Poppy, how did you hear about this?
POPPY RAWLS: The first time I heard about it was on Saturday when I had a mother come to my door. We had picked up D.J. on Friday and another parent came to my door on Saturday night and said that her son had said some things had gone on at camp. My son was away at that time. He was at a friend's house. And my husband went and picked him up and brought him home and asked him about it. And he told us everything that happened.
HEMMER: Yes, what did he say?
POPPY RAWLS: He said that, yes, he had been involved in fights, that the counselors originally apparently it started between a rivalry with two counties and just escalated from there to the point that the kids were put against each other in fights and they charged admission to the children, a dollar each, to go to these fights. And then they actually took bets between themselves, and I understand also they took bets from the children.
HEMMER: Yes, I'm assuming you've contacted the camp. Is that right? What have they said?
POPPY RAWLS: We did contact the camp, and this is one of the problems with this is we heard about it Saturday. We immediately tried to get in touch with someone. Of course, we couldn't get anybody Saturday or Sunday. When we couldn't get the camp Saturday, we, you know, reported it to the police department.
HEMMER: Yes, and then you've also told us...
POPPY RAWLS: We actually never heard from the camp till Monday. We never heard from the camp until Monday morning.
HEMMER: Yes, I also understand you've talked to a number of parents. What's been their reaction, Poppy?
POPPY RAWLS: Obviously we're shocked. We're upset and we're shocked. We can't believe it's gone on. I think at some point there's a certain level of anger. You know, these are our kids, though, and we -- I think that, you know, the parents are very concerned about it and I don't know what each of them is going to do. I know they've been trying to stand and do, you know, offer a collective front. But I really don't know. I know everyone's very upset.
HEMMER: Yes, is this the first time D.J. was sent to this camp?
POPPY RAWLS: It is the first time. I have never allowed him to go to an overnight camp. When he's gone to camps in the past, it's been a day camp.
HEMMER: Yes, well, are you going to send him back or not?
POPPY RAWLS: No, he will not be going back.
HEMMER: That's what I assumed the answer was.
POPPY RAWLS: And my concern here at this point...
HEMMER: Go ahead.
POPPY RAWLS: My concern here at this point is that changes need to be made in the 4H policy. We are upset now that we know they are volunteers. We know the counselors involved, although the age range is in question, there wasn't, obviously, enough supervision and it's easy for the camp to say they weren't our employees.
However, when I dropped my child off, I expect that they're going to be taken care of. And some employee needs to have some better handle on, you know, supervising the people that are supervising our children.
HEMMER: A point well taken.
Thanks for talking, Poppy Rawls.
D.J., you be good this summer, OK?
D.J. RAWLS: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Enjoy the rest of your time off away from school. Thanks for talking.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Arranged Fights>
