The Jefferson County Quorum Court has thrown their support behind the Pine Bluff Kiwanis Club’s efforts to buy the now-vacant Camp Taloha. With no dissent, the county’s legislative body on Aug. 14 approved a resolution asking that the former girl scout camp, which is owned by the Girl Scouts-Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, be sold to the Kiwanis Club, which is proposing a six-month period to arrange financing.
According to the resolution, the club was “instrumental” in establishing the camp in 1953. It was closed by the girl scouts on Sept. 22, 2016. The resolution goes on to say that the Kiwanis Club wants to develop Camp Taloha as a Kiwanis Camp modeled after the Joseph Pfeifer Kiwanis Camp at Little Rock, which, in addition to camping programs, “provides the Comprehensive Alternative Classroom Experience program for the disadvantaged and at-risk youth.”
At the Quorum Court meeting, it was also noted that the nearest campground for Southeast Arkansas is in Little Rock and Camp Taloha would provide a camp site in Jefferson County for girls from throughout Southeast Arkansas. For information about the Kiwanis Club and their efforts to acquire the camp, contact Club Secretary Gary McClure at 870-575-2446 or gary@kiwanispinebluff.org