Kids of Community tackles high cliffs of Fall Creek Falls

By DUANE SHERRILL Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Wesley Thomas shows nerves of steel as he rappels down to his waiting buddies from a high bluff at Fall Creek Falls during a recent outing with Kids of the Community.

From the streets to the wilderness, Kids of the Community answered the call of the wild recently, giving five of its members a taste of the outdoors.

“I think it really gives them an appreciation for nature and teaches them a lot of things like communication and survival skills,” said McMinnville policeman Mark Mara, who helped lead the weekend exhibition as a volunteer with Kids of the Community. “It gets them out of their normal environment and gives them a taste of something really different.”

Different included rappelling off high cliffs and rock climbing. Mara, fellow volunteer Daniel Clayton, and the five youths, ages 9-17 who went on the weekend adventure, were assisted by the Falls Creek Falls State Park staff who also furnished the climbing equipment. Food for the trip was donated by Bi-Lo.

“A few of them got kind of worried when they got to the edge, but they did it,” Mara said of the bluff rappelling. “Along with all that, they learned to cook.”

The camping and rappelling trip was one of several activities sponsored by Kids of the Community. The organization was formed a few years ago by juvenile authorities and volunteers to help curb the rising juvenile crime rate. The program targets at-risk children and juvenile offenders and provides supervised activities. While several factors may have had an impact on the crime rate along with Kids of the Community, the juvenile arrest rate has dropped by more than half over the past two years.