'Pagans' probably not members of 4-H

Through A Glass Darkly, by John Myers, Internet Photojournalist
(Note: This is not an April Fool column. The "Pagans" are real and serious as a heart attack.)
There's more to the story I wrote last week about the group called "Pagans in the Carolinas and Virginia" holding a festival called Carolina Spirit Quest scheduled for April 11-13, 2003 at Millstone 4-H Camp near Ellerbe in Richmond County.
But I've been unable to write another story for the Richmond Daily Journal news pages so far, mainly due to the overwhelming response from our readers who are opposed to having the event here.
So I'm using this editorial column to say what I haven't been able to say in a news story. Local folks have nothing to do with allowing the "Pagans" to use Camp Millstone.
But after all the public outcry and a public statement of opposition from the Richmond County Board of Commissioners, local officials with the 4-H camp have hunkered down and don't want to be quoted on anything about the pagans.

Don't blame county officials for pagans' festival

The Richmond County Extension Service office had little to say about my request for information last week when I called, referring my questions to the Raleigh 4-H official who is in charge of Camp Millstone, Dr. Thearon McKinney, state 4-H program director at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
McKinney didn't have a whole lot to say about the issue either. He did confirm the group has used Camp Millstone each spring for the past three years prior to this year's festival.
His reply to my questions included, "We found this group had used the facilities in the past and had adhered to the contract. There was no problem with their use of the facility in the past and there was no reason to change that this year."
And since that initial story, the mess has hit the fan here in Richmond County.
The Daily Journal ran an editorial the following day after my story, condemning in very strong language the "Pagans" using Camp Millstone and asking our readers to contact the state 4-H office and express their views on the matter.

Tell the state officials what you think about pagans

In case you want to express your view, here's that address again.
Dr. Thearon McKinney, NC Cooperative Extension Service, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, NC State University, Box 7606, Raleigh, NC 27695-7606, Phone 919-515-2801, Fax 919-515-7812.
I urge all our readers who are opposed to the "Pagans" using Camp Millstone to call, write, fax and otherwise communicate with the state office as early and often as possible.
But I also urge our readers not to blame the Richmond County Cooperative Extension staff or the Camp Millstone staff for this problem. They didn't do it. Several of them have told me so, but due to the fall-out from my initial story, they're not commenting publicly.
I've also been told -- off the record -- that state 4-H officials contacted their lawyers about the "Pagans" use of Camp Millstone and were told they couldn't refuse their request just because of who they are. But because of the uproar, nobody will say that on the record.
It apparently is not illegal to be a pagan, a witch or a devil worshipper, if that is indeed what these folks holding "Carolina Spirit Quest" really are.

If it waddles like a duck...

The group's Website, www.carolinaspiritquest.org, does call the members pagans and has several references to Wicca, the popular term for those who practice witchcraft. It does not say they are devil worshippers, but if it waddles like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... the odds are it is probably a duck. It's definitely pagans practicing Wicca.
The local lady who alerted me to the story did say they are devil worshippers, and from my past experiences with practitioners of witchcraft, I don't think that's going too far at all.
I am personally opposed to pagans and Wicca practitioners using our 4-H camp to practice whatever it is they do, and I am heartened that many of our readers feel that way.
But again, don't blame the local 4-H folks. They have nothing to do with this group using Camp Millstone. And if there's nothing the folks in Raleigh can legally do about it, maybe it's time our state legislators took a look at changing the law regarding usage of 4-H camps.
I'm sure the pagans have their rights, too, but I'm feeling sort of like NIMBY about them exercising their rights. They can do their thing if they want to, but "Not In My Back Yard!"

(Note: Next year's Carolina Spirit Quest is not returning to Millstone 4-H Camp. It is scheduled for April 16-18, 2004 at William B. Umstead State Park, Raleigh, NC)