Best year yet for Mini Mounties camp

This year was the best one to date for Barrhead’s Mini Mounties camp, which took place at Barrhead Composite High School July 9 and 10.

Twenty-five youngsters hit the ground running during the two-day camp, which offered a schedule packed full of educational and, of course, fun activities.

Darin Flemmer, an organizer of the camp, said he thinks the camp’s success is due to the partnerships involved in running it.

Every year our partners are doing something a little bit more, a little bit extra, just to do something special for the kids,” he said. “Everybody seems committed to improving the program.”

This year the camp had huge contributions from various departments of the RCMP, including the canine unit.

Cst. D.J. Lyon shared about his time training puppies to determine if they would make suitable police dogs. The Mini Mounties were even able to see Lyon’s current puppy in training, who graced the group with a visit.

Though the kids weren’t allowed to pet the small German Shepherd because it could interfere with the forming bond between dog and trainer, the youngsters still got a demonstration of some puppy action.

Kids also heard from Fish and Wildlife officer Derek Brendzan, who shared all about what he does for his job. Youngsters even got to see two large skulls of poached animals.

Flemmer said a number of members from Barrhead’s RCMP detachment also dropped in throughout the two days just to lend a hand with different activities.

The presentations weren’t just limited to BCHS. This year the kids took a short field trip to the Barrhead Fire Department, where they had the opportunity to witness a fire demonstration and see what an arson investigation looks like.

The Mini Mounties arrived on scene just behind a speeding fire truck, and saw a shed up in flames. The campers watched as the firefighters put out the flames.

“The fire department, they did an excellent job this year teaching the kids about arson investigation and giving some information on what they do,” said Flemmer.

The shed was donated for demonstration purposes by Mark Vriend, and was hauled to and from the department by Pakrat Towing.

There was no one activity the kids favoured, said Flemmer. Each one had an area they expressed interest in, or found something they realized they were eager to learn more about.

The Mini Mounties went from session to session without complaint. In fact, the enthusiasm never wavered.

“These kids were asking a lot of really well thought out questions, and I think that shows a lot of interest. They were so well behaved, and just willing to participate,” said Flemmer. “You could see that across the board in just about every activity, every presentation we did with them.”

Flemmer added he thinks the key is the kids were there because they wanted to be, not because it was a requirement.

“It’s not something they have to go to because it’s part of a curriculum,” he said. “

Flemmer, an addictions counsellor with Alberta Health Services, gave a presentation on drugs and alcohol. He also teamed up with Dave Mckenzie, another camp organizer and regional traffic safety officer, to do what they called a scavenger hunt.

As the kids sat quietly listening to Flemmer and Mckenzie begin to discuss the process of collecting evidence, the presentation was interrupted by a criminal running through the gym.

Despite Flemmer’s valiant efforts to stop the thief from getting away, he escaped. It was then up to the Mini Mounties to identify everything they could remember about the criminal, from what he was wearing, to his physical appearance.

“Some of them were a little bit startled. A lot of them had a blank look on their face, not knowing what just happened,” laughed Flemmer. “Then they had to go out into the yard and collect evidence. They really enjoyed that.”

The entire second half of day two had the Mini Mounties putting their skills to the test during a full crime scene investigation.

Afterwards, Staff sgt. Bob Dodds and Cst. Russell Hoffman, who donned his Red Serge for the occasion, presented the Mini Mounties with a badge pin, t-shirt, and goody bag for their accomplishments over the two days at the graduation ceremony.

Flemmer said he and the other organizers are positive going forward, and are more than keen to hold the camp again next year.

“I believe that there is room for even more activities,” said Flemmer. “It’ll be even more interesting next year for the kids.”