Fly fishing program created to provide mentors for local youth

There should be more programs out there like this to help our troubled youths. Fishing is good the for soul.


Fly fishing program created to provide mentors for local youth

By Jason Scott, Sentinel Reporter, February 19, 2010
Last updated: Friday, February 19, 2010 8:06 AM EST
No comments posted.
Hoping to provide positive community mentors for some of our local youth, Cumberland County Juvenile Probation has started a fly fishing program.
Working in cooperation with Cumberland Valley Trout Unlimited, the department plans to hold its first annual Cumberland County Streets to Streams event in late June on the Yellow Breeches Creek at Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse in Boiling Springs, according to Justin Pitman.

“Bringing those members together with our youth is really our ultimate goal,” said Pitman, a juvenile probation officer and coordinator of the program. “We want to teach them something ... to learn a new skill or trade and understand the importance of our trout waters.”
For the first year, a total of 10 kids will be selected to participate. Those selections will come from referrals made by various county agencies, including juvenile probation, children and youth services, the drug and alcohol commission and victim services, as well as the Diakon Wilderness Center.

“We’re looking for kids from the community that may have been identified as having a need for a mentor,” Pitman said. “It doesn’t have to be kids in trouble. We’re giving them another outlet for stress relief and putting them with positive mentors in the community.”

Donations
A $1,200 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency was received to help fund the program. The department is relying strongly on donations for the rest, Pitman said.

The county commissioners accepted a donation for the department Thursday from New York-based Albright Fishing Products, which included fly rods.

Waders and wading boots were also made available at a discount through the company.

In addition, Yellow Breeches Outfitters in Boiling Springs is providing supplies at a reduced cost, according to Pitman.

“I certainly hope it works out. I think it’s an excellent way to approach kids and get them involved in something constructive,” said Jim Hutcheson, a board member and past president of CVTU.

The organization will provide both on- and off-stream instruction over the two-day event, he said, which is tentatively scheduled for June 29 and 30.

“If you give these kids something to do other than just hanging out or playing video games, maybe one or two might just decide this is something they might like to do,” Hutcheson said about fly fishing.

Unlike football and other sports, fly fishing is something you can do for the rest of your life, he explained.

CVTU is involved in a number of annual community events, including Reel Recovery, which uses fly fishing retreats to help men in their recovery process from life-threatening cancer.

“We’re having 10 kids the first year,” Pitman said, anticipating this will become an annual program. “I am hoping to expand on that as the years go on.”