Camp Carmangay volunteer and Calgary City Police Officer Paul Wagman
gives a handful of volunteers a tour of the ranch, which overlooks the
Little Bow River.
Jeff Cummings, Vulcan Advocate — Neon Rider might be a
syndicated hit amongst the television show’s fans, but Carmangay cowboy
Brian Nimijean says he is no Dr. Michael Terry.
Like Terry, the psychiatrist who runs a ranch for troubled teens on
the TV series, Nimijean hopes he can give troubled youth something positive
in their lives. “If you’re a teen and you’re saying things like ‘I have
no direction’ in my life,’ or ‘my peers are buying me alcohol,’ then
you really need to concentrate on something positive in your life,”
said Nimijean.
In order to achieve that positive influence in a young person’s life,
the Carmangay resident is erecting a unique ranch called, “Camp Carmangay”
on the northeast outskirts of the village. Through corporate donations
and the help from the Calgary City Police Service, Nimijean plans to
build a Barn Dance hall, a bunkhouse, and other features to his ranch
to give teens that do attend his camp a sense of western hospitality
and flavour.
“When they are out here, they develop a passion for something, such
as building a relationship with a horse and that is something that is
very positive,” said Nimijean. “They are constantly breathing in the
fresh air down here and they are being a kid again.”
The camp will try to help teens that live in high crime neighbourhoods
in Calgary like Forest Lawn and Bowness.
The Carmangay cowboy also stresses that his camp is not a boot camp,
nor does it have any religious affiliation - it’s just a place where
Nimijean and the Calgary City Police service have mapped out to help
teens that could be heading through a downward spiral.
Camp Carmangay sits on an edge of a coulee that overlooks the pristine
beauty of the Little Bow River, and it is there where Nimijean has erected
three teepees on its shores.
“All of this should give a kid an opportunity to touch base with a good
feeling,” said Nimijean. “This is a positive environment and this might
make a teen assess themselves.”
There is no cost to attend the camp but school organizations and the
Calgary City Police department try to identify what teenagers need a
helping hand in their lives by sending them to Camp Carmangay. “If they
can try to establish a relationship with a horse here, they might feel
the urge to go riding or something else, other than breaking windows,”
said Calgary City Police officer Paul Wagman who also volunteers at
the facility.
“There has been a lot of work that has taken place to get this job done,
and it has been 20 years in the making.”
Even though the Camp has already hosted a variety of teenagers already,
Nimijean hopes to officially open his doors June 15 and they expect
to have over 100 kids. The Carmangay resident also plans to host a Caribbean
festival during the August long weekend to for the kids.