Troop 278 Cabin Log

MAY 2007

Committee met in the Cook’s Cabin on April 19. The NEXT Committee meeting is slated for May 17 at 7:00 PM. All interested parents are invited to join us. Greenbar ( Scout Leaders) meet at the same time in the Log Cabin.

RECENT SCOUTING NEWS and UPDATES:

SWIM MEET! About 60 Scouts enjoyed the swim meet held at MHS and run by Dr. Turell. How many years have you lead this? You rock! Lower attendance was because this meet had to be rescheduled. ( snow on original date) Troop 278 had some swimmers, but no trophies were earned by our troop this time.

March 30-April was the Appalachian Trail District Spring Camporee at Walkersville Watershed. This year’s theme was ”Old Time Scouting” and our troop won BEST CAMP SITE AWARD! Way to go, guys!

Thanks all around! Many thanks to those scouts who helped with the Bike Rodeo—and then switched gears (pun intended) to build the bridge immediately following. Thanks too, to those Scouts who served as Color Guard at Frederick American Little League Opening Day!

Welcome Aboard!

On April18, eight members from Pack 278 bridged to our troop. It became official as these new scouts walked across the newly constructed bridge to receive their genuine Scout neckerchiefs! Welcome to our Scouting family:

Eric Vom Lehn

Alex Stutzman

Matthew Torres

Justin Hohl

Lucas Kobat

Justin Falcinelli

James Casey

Logan Casey

These new scouts may have already decided on the name of their patrol! How does WOXES sound? Which older scout will be their troop guide? Stay tuned….

These Woxes join existing patrols: Golden Eagles, Dragons, and Rebels.

What’s Coming Up?

New Scout Camp- Out will be May 11-13-- held at Camp Baker. In preparation for mowing, Scouts attending this camp- out will spend a little time cleaning up tree limbs at Camp Baker. Won’t those limbs be used for a camp fire? Now THAT is what I call recycling! Orienteering Skills will take place at Middletown Park. Hank Fairchild will be in charge of getting an accurate map, while Dr. Turell will lead the Orienteering part of the adventure. This is Mother’s Day weekend. Scouts with previous school or family commitments MUST let Troop know (on attendance sheet) which meals / activities they CAN be here for. We need a good showing of Scouts COMMITTED TO STAYING THROUGH THE WEEKEND! Be good role models- and help build a sense of “Troop” for our new Scouts and their leaders. We are excited by the level of enthusiasm these new scouts and capable adult leaders bring to our troop!

Citizenship Merit Badge Day will be May 19 at 7:30 AM at LDS Church in Walkersville. Dr. M is the point man. Scouts attending have already registered. Be sure all prerequirements are complete for Community, Nation, and World parts of the badge. Take your Blue Card with you. In the past, pizza has been available to buy for lunch. Kindly respect Latter Day Saints wishes by having no soda in their building or on their grounds.

June 7 Court Of Honor ( NOTE DATE CHANGE FROM LAST NEWSLETTER!) -ALL Scouts and their families are invited to meet at Camp Baker for a picnic dinner followed by the ceremony! Be sure to keep working toward advancement of rank! Hank Fairchild will be the emcee. That means Hank’s in charge of bulletins too. Beth Tice and Nancy Kelley will organize the meal. A “Friend of Scouting” will be coming, so kindly bring your checkbooks for a once- a- year donation. This evening will also be a great opportunity to welcome eight new Scouts AND THEIR FAMILIES to our Troop. Let’s ALL show up with food for the picnic and hearty handshakes! (Now, is that a right handed – or a left handed shake?) The troop will supply fried chicken (Mr. Fairchild checking into a new supplier) Here’s how you can help:

Senior Scouts- ( 3) drinks- sodas, water, lemonade, ice, rolls, butter, all paper products

Golden Eagles- side dishes

Dragons- side dishes

Rebels- side dishes

Woxes- desserts

Be watching for an e mail from Mrs. Tice and Mrs. Kelley. When you get it, RSVP PDQ so we know how many folks are coming!

NEW CLOTHING!

Sweat Shirt/ Fleece Sales- Thanks to Beth Tice who will be ordering additional pull- over sweat shirts for the troop. Check out our current green sweat shirts because these will look just like ’em! (But with no holes! Instead, new sweats will be clean, fresh, and sweet smelling too!) She needs a minimum of twelve to order. They cost $25.00. Order forms were passed out 4/26- or E mail Mrs. Tice at JTiceFam@aol.com to let her know what size/s you want. Additional fliers are in the log cabin. Also available are green front- zip fleeces (no hood) with a fleur de lis encircled by “Braddock Heights Troop 278.” The price of the fleeces is $35.00. All orders are due by May 10!

TOUR PERMITS! John and Rebecca Bergeron, Tour Permit Coordinators need OUR help! They need information from each and every parent! Please fill in the info below and send it with your son, or via e mail to Rebecca.Bergeron@fcps.org by the next troop meeting. That way if / when we drive, all info is at hand. They will keep a data base. None of this info will be shared.

Driver’s name______________________________________________________________

Driver’s address______________________________________________________________________________

Driver’s age____ Driver’s license #_______________________________________________________________

Make, model, & year of vehicle_________________________________________ # of passengers___________ Insurance coverage amts:
Public liability (per person)__________Public liability ( each accident)__________Property damage____________

If we provide Council with above information, Council covers us with insurance.

Summer 2007 Camps….

A Whitewater Rafting Trip is being planned for either June 15-17 OR June 22-24. Plans are in the works to camp at Ohiopyle State Park. Mr. Ramsey is working on details, and will send an email about this shortly.

Somers Camp in Stanhope, New Jersey will run July 8-14. Cost is $280 per scout. Adults are $80. Total fee of $280 is due to Treasurer Mrs. Saccardi NOW! We hear there is a neat swim area. Visit the Somers Camp website at http://www.ppbsa.org/Cam/camwb30.htm for more features. The site currently reserved for our troop is #14—located near the Scoutcraft / Mountain Biking area with a view of the lake. Among other things, this camp is known for its great First Year Camper Program. That is great news for our new Scouts! Dr. Malisczewskyj, Mr. Mann, Mr. Drewry, and Mr. Fairchild will be adult leaders. Dr. M will forward info to Pack 278. Watch future e mails from Dr. M. Interested scouts can sign up in the log cabin. Once boys have signed up, parents will be asked to send a permission slip in – indicating that both the boy AND the parent/s know his name is on the sign –up list!

High Adventure Sailing Camp in the Bahamas! Mr. Kelley and Mr. Tice will be taking interested Scouts, age 14 and older to Sea Base Camp. There is room for one more scout to go! Camping dates are August 1- 8. Initial deposit of $ 275 to ensure a firm commitment is NOW due to Mrs. Saccardi. SO far, those who have signed up include: Tyler, Nathan, Zach B, Russell A, Josh R, and Josh B(?) Do you have your passport? (Hints: Go to CVS for your photo, fill out a passport form- available at post offices, and make an appointment with a local Post Office for processing. Get moving! We hear there is a 9 week turn- around time. Be sure to get a tracking number)

Camp Airy will be held right AT Camp Airy this summer. This is indeed exciting news so that there will be no space issues. Camp Airy will be held the week of August 20-25. “This is a great place to earn lots of Merit Badges.” Skills are well taught, and there is plenty of structure for younger and older scouts. As an added bonus, prior to going, Dr. Malisczewskyj will be updating for each Scout all the merit badges needed on the trail to Eagle rank. Junior Staff is needed. Interested? If so, speak with Mr. Ramsey for contact info.

And now… Looking ahead to camping opportunities for 2008 (You read that right) :

***Ski Trip to Timberline in West Virginia January 26-27, 2008.

***Philmont- Tentative dates for this high adventure camp are August 5-17, 2008. Mr. Ramsey continues calling staff there—in hopes that, if contingency troops drop out, WE can slip into their date slots. In that way, Scouts involved with High School sports can participate in each! He will devise a payment schedule and ask for a deposit soon so that we might get a handle on the number of those wishing to participate. Start saving your pennies now. Cost: $1,500-$1,800?

And speaking of tenting…. Josh Ramsey is our Quartermaster! He has inventoried all gear. The Committee voted that Josh may purchase new tents for the troop. The goal is to eventually have a tent for each scout. The SAME tent will always be issued to the same scout/pair of scouts. By doing so, each scout will be responsible for ALL parts of the tent. No mildew allowed. (and we’ll have your NUMBER --tent number that is!) Depending on cost / need / and Committee approval, Josh may be outfitting chuck boxes too.

TROOP 278 MEETING PLAN:

Date	Opening /Closing	Clean-up	Skill Training/ Demonstration	Inter-Patrol Activity	Patrol Meetings
May 3	Rebels	Dragons	Compass Skills (Dr. Turrell)	Ameba Tag	N/A
May 10	Golden Eagles	Rebels	Black Powder demo (Mr. Rosenthal-Reanactor) : Nominations for SPL and PL’s	New Game (Russell)	Plan Patrol activity
May 17			Greenbar ( Scout leaders) and Committee Meetings (parents) 7:00
May 24	Woxes	Golden Eagles	Safety Afloat- to prepare for rafting trip Elections- Senior Patrol Leader and Patrol Leaders	Russell’s second new game	Uniform inspection. Wear your class A’s. (And spit- shine your shoes? J)
June 7	Hank to Emcee	ALL	June Court Of Honor Picnic 6:30/ Ceremony Who’s the go–to guy for sunshine?
June 24			Greenbar/ Committee Meeting 7:00	Read on…..	More….

Troop 278 Activity Plan:

Date	Time	Outing/Activity	Location
June 15-17 OR June 22-24		White Water Rafting Trip – Ohio Pyle ( Mr. Ramsey in charge)	West Virginia
May 11-13		New Scout Camp-out. Scouts with previous commitments MUST let troop know what meals they will be here for. We need a good showing of Scouts COMMITTED to STAYING through the weekend!	Camp Baker/ Middletown Park
May 19	7:30 am	Citizenship Merit Badge Day	LDS Church, Walkersville
July 8-14		Camp Somers	New Jersey
August 1-8		Sea Base Camp	Bahamas
August 18-24		Camp Airy	Thurmont

Respectfully submitted, Nancy Kelley