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Archive for Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Incarcerated boys hope their garden will yield ribbons

By Mike Belt

August 3, 2005

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Art and gardening are their favorite specialties, and at least three boys incarcerated in juvenile detention are anxious to see how well their 4-H Club projects stand up to scrutiny at this year's Douglas County 4-H Fair.

One of those boys, a 16-year-old Alaska native who moved to the Lawrence area, entered an exhibit that portrays his interest in cars and art.

"It's a Ford power car; an old-school Mustang; a Shelby GT," the teen said, as he described one of his art pieces. "It's lime green and it's a low-rider."

He also drew the car with colored pencils so that it displays a symbol representing his family's Omaha Indian tribal ancestry.

"It's based on what I've been told about the tribe and family history," he said.

Photo Gallery

The Midway rides at the Douglas County Fair get into full swing for the first time Tuesday night. Some members of the DYS Walnut Creek 4-H Club entered projects for judging at the fair even though they'll be unable to attend.

Douglas County Fair 08-02-05

Thumbnails · Gallery

The three youths interviewed Tuesday by the Journal-World are among 20 boys who are incarcerated at the juvenile detention center by Douglas County Youth Services. Currently there are no girls incarcerated at the center. The Journal-World agreed not to publish the boys' names or specific background information.

A variety of projects

The 16-year-old's art is one of at least 70 exhibits prepared by youths in the DYS system. More than 30 youths generally are involved in the DYS Walnut Creek 4-H Club, a club that has been in existence for almost eight years.

"I think they did really well with their visual arts," said Sue Schmidt, who works with the club as program assistant at the Kansas State University Extension Service office in Douglas County.

By the end of the week after all exhibits have been judged, Schmidt will take the ribbons the youths have earned at the fair and present them to the winners. Any cash prizes earned will go to DYS to help pay for art and other supplies the youths will work with during the year.

DYS has two groups of 4-Hers; those who are incarcerated in the juvenile detention center, and those who are involved in the day school and who are allowed to return home at the end of the school day. There are currently about 20 youths in the day school. Those in the day school have been ordered there by the court. The school provides services for at-risk offenders who require more intensive supervision.

Douglas County Fair - 2005

Those who are incarcerated have either been convicted of juvenile crimes or are waiting for their cases to be resolved in court. Although most are from Douglas County, the center services 13 northeast area counties.

The age range of those served by DYS is 10 to 18.

Tending gardens

The club's Walnut Creek name has no particular meaning other than it gives the DYS group a name. A man-made drainage creek runs behind the DYS center at 330 Industrial Lane but it doesn't have a name, Schmidt and others at the center said.

The DYS groups also tend two gardens, and many of their 4-H exhibits involve fruit and vegetable items such as carrots, zucchini, peppers and melons. The food also is used in meals prepared at the center.

One 17-year-old Lawrence area youth who is incarcerated welcomes working in the garden.

"It's not really hard work, but it's not easy," he said. "They tell us what they want us to do."

But the garden work is worth it because they get to eat the results, the boys interviewed by the Journal-World said. The variety of peppers grown in the garden make for some "awesome" salsa, the boy said.

Although he didn't enter an exhibit in this year's fair, the boy said he had in the past. He described one of his art projects as an etching of a tiger through white paper onto a black paper.

The youths also work on art projects that make use of recycled items and many are entered in the fair. Among them are what they call marble games. In one, the marble rolls through a maze of cardboard and bottles and then gets launched like a basketball onto a basketball court.

Year-round work

Schmidt works with the 4-H group once a week and sometimes twice a week as the fair nears.

"There are a lot of things we try to do year-round," Schmidt said.

The youths learn about different countries and their cultures, and sometimes that learning involves hands-on activities, such as making fondue while studying Switzerland. There also has been some collaboration with Kansas University on certain projects, including visits from foreign exchange students.

In the fall and winter the youths also are involved in cookie decoration contests, and some cookies in the past have been delivered to agencies serving the homeless. The youths also make Christmas cards for family members and for delivery to the Topeka Veterans Administration Hospital and for delivery with meals taken to the homebound elderly in Douglas County.

The youths don't always show a lot of emotion about working on the projects, but that is typical of other youths as well, Schmidt said.

"They really aren't any different from youths on the outside, they just have made some really poor choices," she said.

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  1. megorama (anonymous) says…

    http://www.theiowachannel.com/news/48...

    Why isn't this story in LJWorld???

  2. CoppBob (anonymous) says…

    What an inspiring and uplifting story! Many thanks to Sue Schmidt, the club sponsor, and to Mike Belt for a great job of reporting. From a reader in Ann Arbor MI.

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