The Norman Transcript

We've said for years that the J.D. McCarty Center for children with developmental disabilities is one thing that the state of Oklahoma does right.

The center on east Robinson in Norman now has another feather in its camp. After years of planning and fundraising, the long-awaited Camp Claphans groundbreaking took place Thursday afternoon.

The center's commissioners joined staff and Claphan family members in turning shovels of red dirt above the site of the camp. It will be the state's first camp built to serve children with special needs.

When it opens in the summer of 2010, the camp will include a swimming pool, ropes course, crafts, archery, horseback riding, fishing, boating, tree house and a camp fire site. The mess hall and cabins will allow the kids to have the total camp experience.

It's named for Sammy Jack Claphan, a mountain of a man whose heart was the biggest part of his 285-pound frame. After University of Oklahoma and professional football, he worked as a special education teacher in Oklahoma. He died unexpectedly in 2005 at age 45.

There are a few fundraising hurdles left for Phase 2 of the project. But we're confident Oklahomans will come through when asked. They always have.

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