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A representative from Camp Blanton appeared before the Harlan County Fiscal Court during a recent meeting to request the court’s assistance with constructing a new cabin.

Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley called on Camp Blanton’s Casey Hendrickson to update the magistrates on the former Boy Scout camp.

“Thanks for having me,” Hendrickson said. “If you’re not familiar with Camp Blanton, we’re an old Boy Scout camp. It was run like that until the late 80s when a group of locals took it over to keep it alive.”

According to Hendrickson, Camp Blanton contains many enjoyable opportunities for the public, such as hiking trails, rental facilities and other outdoor recreational activities.

“Lately our expenses have gone through the roof,” Hendrickson said. “Things are looking up; we just hired a new caretaker who’s been doing a great job. We are starting to be booked through November and December, which is something that has not happened before.”

Hendrickson mentioned that increased interest has created a need for a new cabin at the camp.

“We were given a generous donation to start that cabin,” Hendrickson said. “However, at the same time, it will take a lot more to build a cabin than what we were given. So, we’ve come to the court to ask for a little bit of help in funding that cabin so that more people can experience what we do.”

Hendrickson pointed out Camp Blanton provides ample opportunities for area youth.

“We do try to include the local community, especially the youth,” Hendrickson said. “We used to have a youth camp for two weeks every summer before the pandemic. Starting this coming year, we’re going to break that up into different events…everything from archery to hiking. So, we are here to ask the magistrates for help.”

Magistrate Robert Leo Miller mentioned his early experiences at Camp Blanton.

“I spent a lot of my youth at Camp Blanton,” Miller said. “I know what it means to the community. I think we need to invest in what we have, so you have my support.”

Mosley asked Hendrickson what sort of support the court was being asked to provide.

“A commitment through each magistrate to help with this cabin,” Hendrickson responded. “We were thinking around $8,000 per magistrate if they are willing.”

Mosley explained the request would apply to the magistrates’ district project money, which has already been allocated.

“You can mull that over,” Mosley told the magistrates. “If you have some individual questions for Casey (Hendrickson) regarding Camp Blanton and what the cabin will be utilized for, you can reach out to him directly. You can notify (the judge-executive’s office) of your intent, and we can let them know how much is committed.”

Mosley asked for an estimated timeline for the cabin construction project.

“We’d like to get started in the spring,” Hendrickson said. “We do have a newer cabin, it took us quite a few years to build and with another donation we were able to finish it out…that new cabin gets rented a lot, there’s been a lot of excitement around it and that’s what led us to want to build another one in the same vein.”