Girl Scouts fighting to keep local camp

Camp Walling Woods, located on Lawson Mill Road roughly halfway between McMinnville and Viola, is up for sale.

The group is so concerned it has decided to file a lawsuit in an effort to prevent the sale, and members believe they have legal ground to stand on. Walling Woods was purchased with funds from a bequest from two members of the Walling family, brothers Clarence and Edgar.

According to local Girl Scout leader Carol Pedigo, leaders received notification in January informing them the Girl Scout Council of Cumberland Valley had been evaluating the council?s property over the previous eight months and advised the Board of Directors to close three camps, Camp Walling Woods, Camp LaTonka in Kentucky, and Camp Tannassie at AEDC.

The council recommended Camp Walling Woods and Camp Latonka be put up for sale, while Camp Tannassie, a leased property, would no longer be leased from AEDC.

The local leaders then began contacting Cumberland Valley Council CEO Agenia Clark about the situation, but got conflicting information.

?When one of our leaders had talked to her she told them, ?Well, this has been going on for two years, you should have said something before now,? Pedigo said. ?So I brought the e-mail that I had gotten Jan. 17, 2006, that very clearly said that over the last eight months they had been discussing that.?

In their wills, both Walling brothers designated a bequest to the Boy and/or Girl Scout Council, but both brothers also specified the money be used in Warren County, with Clarence specifying the money be used to purchase land for a permanent camp here.

Clarence?s bequest reads:

?I will and bequeath the remainder of my Cumberland Amusement stock to the Boys and/or Girl Scouts of McMinnville and Warren County, Tennessee, to buy land for a permanent camping ground.?

Edgar?s bequest, which pledged shares of City Bank and Trust Co. stock to various organizations, reads:

?a) 200 Shares to the Cumberland Valley Girl Scouts of Nashville, Tennessee. However, it is herein expressly directed that this bequest shall be used for the exclusive benefit of the Girl Scouts of Warren County, Tennessee.?

Attempts to communicate with Cumberland Valley Council officials have been essentially stonewalled. Conference calls were scheduled at odd times, when most of the volunteer leaders were at their jobs and found it hard to take time out to participate in the calls, particularly since they were prohibited from using cellphones.

?Those of us with jobs were supposed to tell our bosses, ?I need to use the phone to call long distance for an hour to listen to this call.? We?re volunteers. Most of us can?t do that,? said leader Angie Campbell.

In addition, the calls were set up to allow those participating only to listen, not to reply or make comments.

?We were invited to call in to hear more about the decision,? Pedigo said.

One of the concerns about closing this camp is the expense of traveling to camps in metropolitan areas, which may soon be the only type left in the Cumberland Valley Council.

?Gas is going up so high we can?t afford to drive to Nashville to carry these kids to camp,? said leader Tammy Moats, noting that one of the main functions of Camp Walling Wood has always been as a day camp. ?We can?t afford to drive to between Woodbury and Murfreesboro to the closest camp to have a day camp every day.?

Leaders were also surprised to hear that council officials claimed the closures came about because the organization was in the process of consolidating its properties so that expenses could be reduced, while some council financial reports posted on the Charity Navigator Web site actually showed a surplus of funds, $318,875 in 2003 and $203,742 in 2004.

And some might say the Cumberland Valley council is biting the hands that feed them, since one of the organization?s biggest fundraisers of the year is the Girl Scout cookie sale. Oddly enough, a complimentary e-mail was sent to cookie managers touting a record year for participation and sales in 2006.

Leaders say they will have to wait and see how their lawsuit to block the sale of Walling Wood goes, but some say they are so discouraged by the council official?s attitude they are thinking about dropping out of the Girl Scout leader program altogether.

?If they do this, it may be the last year for me,? Pedigo said.