troop 12 news 2005

1/3/05 - First meeting of the new Year. 14 scouts and 6 leaders attended the first meeting. Mr. Pitanello began to work on plant topics and Mr. Maniskas began to work on the personnel finances merit badge. We also discussed the ski trip and the upcoming merit badge College.

1/7/05 - 3 scouts and 4 leaders attended and served the dinner at the pack 12 Blue and Gold dinner.

1/10/05 - Second meeting of new year - Mr. Pitanello continued to work on plant topics and Mr. Maniskas continued to work on the personnel finances merit badge. We also worked on lashing.

1/24/05 - Mr. Pitanello continued to work on plant topics and Mr. Maniskas continued to work on the personnel finances merit badge.

1/31/05 - scouts met at church to plan for ski trip and upcoming merit badge college

2/2/05 - 7 scouts and 3 leaders attended the Cabell County School Board meeting.

2/5/05 - 13 scouts worked on 24 merit badges. 2 adults took basic leader training (class room).

2/5-6/05 - 12 scouts & 4 siblings & 6 adults camped at the AFC retreat prior to the ski trip. The scouts enjoyed throwing snowballs and the game room at the retreat. Foosball and Ping pong were popular as was the old style video arcade game. On 2/6/05 we traveled to Snowshoe mountain resort where we picked up a net of 3 more siblings and one more adult. All total 26 skied. The conditions were excellent. Fresh snow and machine made snow were packed into a surface that was easy to turn on. It was in the 30-40's and the snow never got slushy. It was blue sky for most of the day. it was so clear that Spruce Knob and the mountains past the Virginia state line were visible. Robby and Josh had spectacular wipe outs. All enjoyed the skiing. Many honed their skills in lessons. There were essentially no lift lines. A great day! We even made it home within 20 min of predicted!

2/7/05 - 12 scouts and 7 leaders met. We planned the Boy Scout Sunday event for church on 2/13/05 at First Presbyterian Church. Then the boys worked out a menu plan for the cold weather cabin camp.

2/10/05 - 1 scout and 5 leaders attended the annual district awards ceremony/dinner at the Highlawn United Methodist Church. Troop 12 was commended, and then was recognized and thanked by the district for its service to the council. Specifically the troop was commended for: (a) Service to the council at the Aquatics camp. At the camp, the troop's adult leadership: cooked, did pre meal preparation and post meal clean up, and participated in merit badge teaching. (b) The troop was also commended by the council for its cooking of the pig for the annual pig roast that provides lunch for the council kick off. I would like to point out that no other troop was commended in this fashion. Troop 12 was singled out for recognition for its service to the council. I am told that one of our troop's leaders was awarded the district's "scouter of the year" award for 2004.

2/13/05 - 22 scouts and 17 adults as well as many family members attended church at First Presbyterian Church where scout troop 12 was honored during the service. We presented our troop's 3 eagle scouts with their eagle scout certificates and the eagles were saluted by the church congregation. It was a very nice ceremony. After church the troop joined the congregation for a reception in the fellowship hall. We took a troop photo at this gathering. 2004 eagle day pictures

2/13/05 - about 2 hours later, the 3 eagles and their families joined 2 other scouts and leaders at the council awards and eagle scout ceremony. Our scouts joined 30 others from our district and 13 from the other two districts of our council in receiving their eagle scout awards. As the eagles were called forward, a power point show projected both a picture of the scout as well as a picture of their eagle project. It was very impressive to see what these young men have done collectively for our community. After the ceremony our own Eagle - Nate was interviewed by WSAZ TV - this interview was shown on the 6 PM news! The choice of which eagle to interview was made by the classic "rock, scissors, paper" method. Thanks to Tom Brooks for arranging the TV coverage! 2004 eagle day pictures

2/16/05 - 3 first class scouts and on Star scout took a 30 min board of review with former scoutmaster, now committee member Mr. Bill Mankins, and fellow committee members Lt. Bill Keck and Mr. Robert Hamilton. All passed. We nave 3 three new Star and one new Life scout. Robby, JR, Ryan and Justin deserve a round of congratulations on their accomplishment. The troop wants to thank the members of the upper rank advancement committee for holding this board of review. Hopefully they will meet again soon as there are 2 more first class scouts and one more Star scout who need boards of review. At the same time, 8 other leaders met to work on troop advancements, the cold weather camp and other troop buisness.

2/25/05 - 11 scouts and 8 leaders drove down to Camp Cherokee On Friday night. We got off only 90 minutes late. We had only 3 changes of trailer towing vehicles. We blew only one fuse (15 amp). We had to transfer fire wood from one truck to another - and all of this was prior to leaving the church lot.

We had a pizza party for 19 at Pizza Hut in Louisa - where did those 9 pizzas go? This was followed by the arrival at camp. For a while we were puzzled by the lack of electricity. We searched for a master on off switch. This was located by ASM Stephen and Michael Maniskas (both eagle scouts). They worked to get inside the metal fuse box. As a result of their hard work - there was light! We unloaded the troop gear, the scouts gear and the wood. The brave ones set up tents in the yard out behind the house. Mr. Springer set up a gas heater. The Boys made a fire in the fire place. I set up a heater in the latrine. One of our ASM/eagle scouts and a life scout worked to remodel one of the windows out back. As a result the ventilation to the kitchen was much improved. Until they covered the window with plastic. Hmm. The eagle ASMs left to study for exams ( we thank them for fetching and bringing wood for us on the weekend before mid term exams! ).

At about 10:30 we were all in bed and the lights were out. We arose, got the fire restarted in the fire place and set the younger scouts to preparing turkey bacon (which is pretty good if you've never had it) and eggs using the electric range and the gas grill. This was supplemented by granola bars and pop tarts left over from the ski trip. The scoutmasters were saddened to learn that the percolator did not make the trip to camp with us. Snurf.

After breakfast and clean up the troop assembled by the flag pole for the flag raising ceremony (just like at summer camp). At this time we dedicated the campout to Dan Preston - a new member of our scout family - who is to deploy to Iraq in the near future. The ceremony completed, we broke up into 3 teams for map reading and orienteering. The scouts had to use a "topo" map and a compass to find the pond on the property and then return to the cabin by a different route. After this we met back at the cabin and rested. Then at CM Springer's suggestion we set out sandwich "fixens" and the boys and leaders made 2 sandwiches for the hike. We packed bottled water, grabbed out topo maps and compasses and then set out on a 4 mile hike-exploration-topo map exercise-nature hike. We spotted at least 15 signs of animal life (not including the dogs who followed us), spotted shag bark hickory and stag horn sumac, and skipped rocks to boot. It was a nice hike. We stopped early on for first lunch at the top of a mountain. Later in the hike we stopped lake side at a cliff face for second lunch. We walked on a sand spit. We slid and climbed down a steep hill. We enjoyed nature. Several of us found great entertainment by creating echoes by yelling across the lake.

This was followed by testing our flying skills using a "RC" model of the first air plane - the Wright Flyer. Its flight properties were similar to the original. This endured 3 flights before its first major wing damage. Being scouts this was fixed with duct tape. There were more flights. This required more duct tape. Ryan and the boys then decided to launch the flyer from a tree top to gain altitude more quickly. The first trial of this method was stopped by a collision with another, adjacent tree - more duct tape was needed. Several more flights were made from the tree until there was catastrophic wing failure. hmm.

A challenge went out from ASM Lavalley to those who while hot from the hike demanded to go for a swim. The troop drove down to the lake (a concession to my sore hip) and 7 scouts and 2 leaders took the plunge. The lake was far colder then the scouts had reckoned. It kind of took you breath away. Josh had the scout record with 4 swims and ASM Lavalley set the adult record with 3. To count, a swim required full body immersion. I think that all were glad when this event was over - but we all had great fun and many laughs! It was also a time when many received a lot of positive encouragement.

We returned to camp and changed into dry clothes. Then the scouts set about building fires. This required much fire preparation and wood splitting to make thin wood strips to burn to coals faster. The scouts took turns at the wood splitting and fire tending. This activity was supervised by CM Springer. About this time we broke activity to lower the flag.

The adults and scouts then began food preparation. CM Smith made chili - hot and mild. The boys made silver turtles. Then some of the boys had chili too. Burgers were made. MMM-mmm. After dinner the scouts headed out to "capture the flag" - the adults stayed in to clean up. Mr. Springer made brownies in the Dutch oven and provided the scout masters with a tasty treat. SM Blake set about burning cookies. By this time the boys were back and scout Joel made a batch of cookies that were less - hmm - burnt - actually they turned out pretty good.

By this time we were all exhausted and people began to turn in at about 8:30. By 9:30 all were in bed. What a day!

By the time that I arose, the fire had been rekindled and food preparation was under way. We made pancakes and sausage and Bacon. Again the younger scouts did the cooking. Once all all were fed we sent the scouts into the main room of the cabin. There, in front of a roaring fire, EMT Dan Preston taught first aid. Our goal was to work on second class requirements. I don't know if the boys realized how lucky they were to learn from a man who does this day in and day out! I know that I am grateful to him for doing this. I do know that the boys were very attentive and quiet. While he taught, the rest of us adults cleaned dishes and pans.

After class, we had the boys pack up their gear. Many "lost" items were found during this process. the we loaded the trailer under Dan's supervision. The boys assisted Mr. Smith in sweeping out the cabin. Dan also assisted by removing large glass fragments from the kitchen - could this have been related to the window remodeling done earlier? Hmm. The fire was put out. Once the cabin judged to be clean as practicable by modern methods, we went outside. The boys were rounded up from the front yard and various trees. We then held a brief devotional service by the flag pole as this was Sunday. This finished we turned off the master power to the cabin and loaded into the vehicles. We had brief stops to lock the camp gate and for gas. Then we proceeded home to the church.

All in all this was a great camp out and I for one am sore and exhausted. So, what did you do this weekend?

3/5/05 - Troop 12 went to the Miami of Ohio/MU Basket ball game. 12 scouts and 6 leaders and one family member went to see the game. Mr. brooks prediction of "who ever gets to 50 first will win" was correct. MU stayed in the 2/3 zone. Miami could not shoot from the outside and the insider was denied. MU out rebounded them. Good defensive game. With 4100 in attendance (about), it was nice to be there for a win.

3/7/05 - 14 scouts were trained or received review training in the second class first aid requirements from EMT Dan Preston. We were very fortunate to be trained in First Aid by a real pro! Currently Dan is bouncing back and forth between Fort Bragg and Fort Dix as he prepares to go to Iraq in the service of his nation. I know that he remains in all of our thoughts and prayers as he begins his 19 month tour of duty. One scout also had a scout master conference.

3/14/05 - 19 scouts arrived at the church for a competition meeting. Scouts divided up into two patrols. They were given 1x1x8's in 2' and 8' lengths, manila rope cut in sections, and rope to whip with. The whipping line had to be fused before it could be used to whip the manila rope. The manila rope had to have its ends whipped before it could be used to lash the ladders together. It took the whole meeting and we nearly got the ladders built!

3/21/05 - 16 scouts arrived at the church. When the meeting began, SPL Ryan led them on a tour of the features of our campsite at the upcoming jamboree. They saw the clean up station (sweepedy sweep sweep), the fire station, the flags, the first aid area, etc. Ryan and I talked about the upcoming competitions and what skills we would need to have. Then the scouts divided into two patrols and raced to lash together the ladders with the ropes that they made last week. One patrol won for speed, the other for quality. In scouts, we are all winners. We talked about what you would want to do if you were making a ladder that you would actually have to use.

3/28/05 - in spite of spring break, 12 scouts met in the basement to compete in the lashing together of sedan chairs. Each team was given a metal folding chair, (4) 4" long 1" wooden dowels, and 12 lashing ropes. They has to use round lashing to join the poles and then use square lashing to tie the poles to the chairs. Then they had to place a scout on the chair and carry him down the hall to the other end and back. What excitement.

4/4/05 - 15 scouts and 7 leaders gathered to prepare the troop gear for the camp out and to work on the patrol flags and to make a new troop flag. Thanks to Robert Mays, Carmen Livingston and anyone else who sent supplies. The flags look great!

4/8-10/05 - 9 scouts, 6 leaders, and 6 WEBELOS of pack 43 attended the council's regional Jamboree! What a great time! Ok, we left about 1.5 hours after we intended. And it took nearly as long to go through registration. And it took about 30 minutes for them to get us a camp site. And we had to set up camp in the dark - but the weather was fair and the helpful scouts from the next camp provided us with light and the tents and the scoutmaster pavilion went up without a hitch - well maybe a taught line hitch or two. The Major made sure that we did it by the book.

The night was clear and the Jamboree day was a beautiful, sunny, blue sky kind of day. Fortified by a breakfast of Founders Freedom toast and bacon, the scouts headed out to the 4 areas: Enactors ( settlers, soldiers and Indians at the fort), Merit badge midway, COPE/patrol challenge, and aquatics/heritage trail. They saw the steam boat museum. They hiked the heritage trail. They completed the tire pole, balance pole, ring pass and other challenges in the COPE area. They canoed. They competed in the skills of the scout, Of these, my favorite was the fire making competition in which they scored 74 out of 75 points. I have never before seen a fire made without accelerants literally explode. In 3 seconds there was a roaring flame. Say what you will, but our scouts can make a fire.

We lunched on sandwiches. I got some exercise courtesy of Jeff L. After lunch we watched 3 of our scoutmasters - who are veterans - march the service flags into the dance ring to start off the OA show. Way to go Scoutmasters. We got to salute Don Tye, Rick McComas, and Jeff Lavalley for their service to our country. After this the scouts headed out to visit the areas that they'd missed after lunch. While Francisca Libel (official hero of the Jamboree) and I prepared the spaghetti dinner (spaghetti like you never tasted), the scouts drifted back to camp - most passing through the trading post on the way. After dinner we put on out class A uniforms and joined a procession of 1300 on a mile walk through Point pleasant to the riverfront amphitheater. We saw quite a show - arrow shooting, Chief Logan, even the mayor of PP, not to mention two video extravaganzas made by our own council! In the chill of the night we walked back to camp and most of the scouts just dropped into their tents never to be seen again. Shortly after lights out at 11PM the camp was dark, still and quiet. Everyone was exhausted.

Having feasted on scrambled eggs, bacon, more bacon and pancakes, we broke camp. Arriving early we stopped at the river to work on orienteering skills required for first class. Then we went to the church to unload the gear. Levi Livingston earned the hero of the parking lot for his role in helping to schlep the troop gear back downstairs. This has to be about the best event ever put on in the history of our council My thanks to all of those who made this such a big success!

How did we fare? Overall Troop Score including: Gate, camp site inspection and patrol challenge (average of 2 patrols) - second place. Patrol challenge scores: Falcon patrol (WEBELOS) - second place, Elite Mongoose Patrol (scouts) - First place. Not too shabby. As you will recall this is our second "first place patrol challenge" in the past three years. Way to go guys! Link to pictures from the Jamboree 2005

4-11-05 11 scouts and 8 leaders met at the church. Mr. Pitaniello showed us samples of oak, Hickory, and iron wood and talked about the properties of each. he talked a little about woods like oak that burn slow and long and produce good coals. He noted that Oak has radial lines on their cut surface. Birch does too, both burn well. Both are heavy woods. Sycamore also has radial lines on the cut face but is a light wood that burns quickly with much ash - this is to be avoided. After this we set up the tents to dry, cleaned the cooking gear from the last camp out, and made plans for the cross over ceremony tomorrow at in the cafeteria at Our lady of Fatima School on Norway.

4-12-05 6 scouts and 3 leaders went to the crossover at Our lady of Fatima catholic Church where they welcomed 7 new scouts into the troop from pack 43. The future is here.

4-18-05 We discussed the upcoming camping trip and prepared for boards of review. First class first aid requirements were worked on. We discussed safety afloat principles. New scouts were instructed to learn about being "scouts" by reading the scout book.

4/25/05 The scouts met. Six underwent boards of review. many more had their books reviewed. The new scouts worked to achieve scout rank with the assistance of the older scouts not having BOR. A big thanks to all those who helped with this process. We had 20 Scouts. Our 2 new leaders and the older scouts took our newest scouts aside to prepare then for scout rank. 6 leaders participated in a total of 6 Boards of review. 4 scouts advanced. new scout 2005 pictures from an induction ceremony.

5/2/02 17 scouts and 9 leaders met at the church. 4 scouts took and passed boards of review. The new scouts were tested on their knowledge of scout requirements. We played the move the radioactive water game. We finalized plans for the climbing trip.

5/7-8/05 - Climbing trip to Torrent Falls Resort. Wow. This was way more challenging both mentally and physically then I had expected. 29 people - 11 adults and 18 scouts went on the trip. We feasted at the Pizza Hut in Louisa, KY thanks to Rick McComas. From there we headed to Prestonsburg to buy a coffee percolator. Then we headed south and west to Torrent Falls - we got in after dark - 10 ish. Then we set up out tents and after a brief bit of exploring - settled down for the night. We arose early to coffee, milk, OJ and dry cold breakfast food.

By 8:30 AM Saturday 5 scouts were already geared up and working on the climbing merit badge. They learned knots and how to use their gear before heading off to repel and climb.

Our large group got geared up: climbing harness, helmet, water bottle, sun screen - this took a while. the we learned how to use the locking carabineers before heading off to the practice rock to test our ability to use the safety carabineers and the rest line. The our group split in two. Many of the younger scouts went with lead climber Michelle (a climbing instructor buddy of mine) to attack route one. I went with a smaller group to try route 2. I don't know when the new scouts on route 1 realized that they were no longer in a cub pack. Was it during the 75' oblique vertical climb up the cliff face? Was it entering the crevice? Was it when they had to exit the crevice and transition from a crawl into an erect position below the crevice on a cliff face over 80' tall? Was it when they had to climb around the rock pillar 100' up with no rebar to hold onto? many faced challenges that they never dreamed of. But with assistance from the adults and lead climber Michelle every scout completed the route. No mean feat. Several faced and conquered or at least managed fear. William C. earned respect for his clam demeanor and his ability to help his fellow scouts through the difficult areas. You have to be paralyzed with fear 100' off the ground and clinging to a cliff face to truly appreciate how special this scout is.

Over on route 2 - two of our older scouts faced their fear and learned the self confidence that comes from overcoming difficulty. Rout 2 starts out only 10-12' off the ground but transitions to over 75'. it starts with a 90 and a 270 degree corner - on the later you must move down as you go around. At the 90 degree corner the foot holds are blind so it is nice to have someone in front to guide you. this is just to get started. There is a crevice. There are transitions in and out of the crevice. The latter at 75-80' up. This involves a long stretch to make the first iron foot hold. I was amazed at how far away it was. It finished with a traverse along a cliff face transitioning onto a narrow ledge. Hmm.

We broke for lunch to feed the boys in the MB program. We watched other climbers through the telescope and looked at the sun with the H-alpha scope.

After Lunch Some groups went to 3, others to 2, My group went to 1. It is a long steep vertical climb - like a ladder that goes - way - way up. This was a challenge. But we did not face the wind that had plagued those who climbed this first. We faced fear to make it through this.

I got down from 1 and was met by a group going to 3. Against my better judgment, I went along with them. This was not too hard. There was a long climb up the cliff face. Then and oblique climb to a crevice. A long crevice crawl to an exit onto the cliff face over 100' up involving foot holds that you cant see. I was talked through this part by William C. (who is the scout and who is the scout master?) - thanks. Here the face is tilted back 5-10 degrees from the vertical. My leags and arms were shaking. 100' up and literally shaking with fear -I had to use my safety line to attach to the rebar. I moved it from bar to bar as we moved along. I was never so happy as to leave that face. Then we climbed down to a crevice that ran behind the waterfall. this narrowed and then widened. We exited the rout down a 30' rope ladder.

It was then that I saw Justin lead climbing with ASM Anderson on route 4. Route 4 is labeled hard. It requires more upper body strength. Both of them had to use their rest lines to let their arms recover as they ascended about 200' up the cliff - I could not watch.

I went back to camp - done for the day. Other more hardy leaders such as Jeff L and Robert Mays took the boys back up rout 3. Michelle and Jeff L took a group up route 1. Justin and Mike took 3 scouts who had finished their merit badge class on a climb up route 4. Justin likes this stuff.

At 4 PM the zip line opened - $15 for 1 ride and $20 for 2. Several scouts and leaders zoomed across the canyon on the zip line. Hugging the earth, I watched from the canyon floor.

We broke camp and finished the day eating at the bar-b-que place at TF. Great ribs, BBQ, Mushroom burgers and dogs. After a day of hard physical and mental challenge the food tasted even better. All were exhilarated. What a day. What an event. many thanks to Rick, Art, and all of the others who helped to make this trip a success.

5/9/05 - we met at the church and discussed the summer trip and summer camp. The younger scouts worked on tenderfoot PE requirements. We relived the climbing trip. We made plans for the next few meetings.

The Patrol Leaders Council: the PLC consists of the Senior & Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, the 3 Patrol Leaders, the Troop Guide & the Troop Scribe. So our current members are:

5/18/05 - the Maniskas clan put 5 leaders and 7 scouts through the BSA swim test. thanks for you support of the troop and our summer trip.

5/20/05 - at least 1 scout attended the relay for life to raise funds for cancer patients.

5/23/05 - We help out court of honor to honor our scouts. Scouts who recently advanced in rank were awarded their new badges of rank. Merit badges earned since the end of the merit badge college were awarded. Many of these were earned in the troop. Ryan was chosen as scout of the year. Francisca and Mark were honored for their roles as adult leaders. Quality unit awards were distributed. Stories were told.

6/6/05 - scouts met at church and planned which merit badges to take at summer camp.

6/26-7/2/05 - 15-17 scouts overnight camped, 3-5 adults overnight camped, and 3 day camped. yes the troop was in summer camp at Arrowhead for a week - 20 scouts in all. Our First years all took 2-3 merit badges. Many swam. Many passed the swimmers test - several improving over the week. One earned his life guard status. We had our traditions - second supper - dessert. And of course: flag raising, flag lowering and flying underwear from the camp site's flag staff. The adults enjoyed the comforts of the Scout Master Pavilion, a good shower, morning coffee, and fellowship. We were all amazed by the glowing wood - bioluminescent fungus - Fox Fire. Much wood was split. The axe yard was cleaned out. Wood was hauled in from the woods. Surprisingly major poison ivy incidents fell from 3 to zero from week 2 of camp to our week. Scoutmaster Pitaneillo set up an orienteering/botany course and set up a Poison Ivy identification tour. I had the older scouts take the younger ones on this tour. Our troop assisted in teaching Astronomy and in cleaning and doing maintainence work on our council's sail boats. Our leaders attended merit badge classes and the first year program. Scouters Cornell and Mays made sure that our first year scouts got to where they needed to be and in general ran the camp and cooked for us too. Thanks to Francisca, Kurt, Robert, Rick W, John, Mark, Greg, Ron, Leandra, and Rick Mc for making this years camp a success. Congratulations to our new OA inductees. We survived: heat, humidity, rain, thunder, glowing wood, sweat, the pool, the lake, the poison ivy, the dark, the dust and the puddles. All in all not a bad week. We accomplished much. it was nice to be home at Arrowhead for the summer.

7/5/05 - the scouts met at the church to clean the gear from summer camp and to ready the troop gear for the upcoming summer trip. We had an organizational meeting to get ready for the trip.

7/8/05 - leaders met at the church on Friday to load the troop gear into the trailer prior to the trip to allow us to get away early on 7/9.

7/9/05 - 15 brave souls - 7 leaders and 8 scouts headed North on a great adventure. Little did they know what would face them on the treks that came to be known as "the dances with leaches van camp" and "rocky and bearwinkle (aka the rock hopper trip)". ... We became close ... well first off there were 15 adult size people in a 15 passenger van. We were close. But that did not stop us from talking, reading, sleeping, playing games, and staring out the window. With only one vehicle, the group never separated. We stopped about every 2 hours and as per agreement everyone changed seats. This allowed the group to mix and mingle.

We pulled troop 62's trailer which they loaned to us. Thus we had plausible deniability. And a dry place for the gear - the van was full. We visited Niagara Falls, NY. We went to the aquarium and then viewed the falls from down stream. Ok, we got lost, we took several wrong turn s ... but Dr. Roa had purchased a GPS unit which we named Sue which guided us back to our planned destinations in spite of our best efforts to get lost. Sue was a life saver.

Back in the van - campground registration closes at 8PM! We stopped at 4 mile park which is about 15 minutes North of Niagara Falls, NY. A great camp with a view of a great lake - weather was fair and you could see for mils out onto the lake. You could see Canadian cities on the other side. We cooked dinner (burgers - 2 per man) - you never ate so good. Then we made camp and later piled into the van for a trip to the falls. Parking on Goat island we viewed the falls from several locations before returning to the park to sleep in our tents. The falls - especially bridal veil falls are magic at night.

7/18/05 - 11 scouts met at the church to air out the tents and clean the troop gear used on the summer trip to New York. We voted and decides to do orienteering next week and sailing the week after.

7/25/05 - I was working so CM Springer stepped in to set up an orienteering course in Ritter Park. After a working up an appetite hiking around Ritter Park and brushing up on their land navigation skills, the scouts returned to the starting point for a pizza party.

8/1/05 - 10 scouts headed out to Beach Fork Lake to Sail and kayak. We used the council's 3 SNARK sail boats and set out in them on their maiden voyage. There was only a little wind but we were able to sail a little. Other scouts rowed the kayaks. There was much splashing and jumping in the water. Chef Wilson treated us to brats and dogs from the grill. We had a chance to sail too. All in all a nice night.

8/8/05 - 13 scouts and 9 leaders and several guests (including a guest scout) met at the lake side for another weekend of sailing practice, water rescue practice, canoeing, kayaking, and just plain frolicking in the water. Several rounds of "king of the kayak" were observed. Chef Wilson added grilled corn on the cob to the menu and Donita Green added watermelon. We enjoyed Beth Johnson's cookies! A real feast! Rick Wilson helped out by bringing and storing the boats. Not a bad evening.

8/12/05 - 3 scouts and 3 leaders under took the OA ordeal, we were watched over by Woody Lewis on OA brotherhood member from troop 12. All survived the trials of the ordeal and were inducted into the OA as brotherhood members. Congratulations.

8/15/05 - This week 12 scouts and 7 leaders and several guests met at the lake for another week of boating - with the SNARK sail boats, Kayaks and canoes. Chef Robert Mays treated us to burgers and grilled corn. Again we had cookies and watermelon. Mmm. Mmm. Sadly we noticed that it is already getting darker earlier, heralding the end of summer.

8/22/05 - 14 scouts and 6 leaders met at the church to ready the troops gear for aquatics camp

8/26/05 - 13 scouts took MB, 2 scouts from another troop taking MB camped with us, 3 scouts came to camp and to teach the sailing MB. 5 leaders came to watch camp, teach the sailing MB and to help feed the entire camp. Arriving after the rain we - through a team effort - got camp set up in record time! Two groups set up tents while a third put up the scout master pavilion. By the time the rain returned - and it rained several inches Friday night - camp was made and all gear was safely stowed in the tents. We discussed plans for the next day and then set off to teach part I of the sailing MB. We enjoyed the cracker barrel and made it back to camp before the rain resumed. The scouts talked 'til at least midnight.

We arose early the next day to rain. The scouts walked up hill to breakfast in the rain and ate in the rain. Several were prepared ... others were not. The scouts went off to MB class, Kurt Anderson stayed at the cabin cooking, the remaining adults rotated between watching camp and teaching the sailing MB. We hauled the last of the boats to the water. We rigged and launched the big white sail boat and then the three Snarks. We divided up the scouts between the 5 boats and headed out to sail with the assistance of scouts Justin, Ryan and Joel who came along as assistant MB instructors. The first class enjoyed some of the best wind and sailing that I've ever had on a lake around here. The second class enjoyed swimming more then sailing but got a taste of the latter.

Kurt Anderson ensured that we ate well for dinner - thenit was time to resume class.

Sunday we struggled to make it to church. Then breakfast. Then off to the last MB classes of camp. The sailing MB class did knots and then headed out to try to sail - we went out in spite of the lack of wind only to have the tiller on the big white boat break. Back at the ramp Ryan was able to get the center board up (which stuck the previous day after a "grounding" incident). The rope on the winch of the white boats trailer broke, but the entire MB class put their backs into it and we pushed the boat onto its trailer.

meanwhile ... back at camp the other scoutmasters and scouts were tearing down camp. We met at the ramp to haul the boats out of the water and went back to camp. After that it was lunch, check out and a quick trip back to the church - whew!

8/29/05 - 11 scouts and 7 leaders met to dry the troops gear and to take the tents to Victor's dry cleaners to set them up to dry. Where were you???

9/1/05 - 4 scouts and several leaders worked parking cars before the MU game for our annual united Way Fund Raiser. We were aided by an eagle scout home for 2 weeks from service with the Infantry in Iraq.

9/10/05 - we were back at it to park cars for the next MU game. The game vs. Kansas State drew a record crowd and (by staying well into the first quarter) we filled the lot. Great effort guys.

9/11/05 - one scout earned service hours by working at the Hilltop Festival at the HMA.

9/19/05 - 4 scouts met at the church for tent repair and stove practice. (where were u?)

9/26/05 - the scouts met - the patrol leader council worked on creating new patrols - the other scouts cleaned the new cookware and corrected the hand outs - we "threw" a pack (unpacked and examined the contents of) belonging to a scout who has not back packed with us before and gave him some pointers. We talked about the upcoming fall camp and hike. Eagle Scout Nate May returns as an adult leader. We receive the news that Logan Wills and Chris Milanese have made eagle scout. We plan a paintball trip.

10/3/05 - the scouts met at the church and: pulled food for the camping trip, pulled stoves and fuel, cooking tools and other supplies to be used on the trip had to be pulled to. New cookware was washed. And it all had to be packed up for the trip. Two scouts brought their packs for inspection - we wanted to makes sure that each scout brought what they needed but not anything that they did not need.

10/7-9/05 - illness and bad weather thinned the ranks from 13 to 7. Mark and I as well as our newest Assistant Scout master - Eagle Scout Nate May took four scouts (Max, Josh, Daniel and Eric) on a hike into the heart of the Wilderness along the Cranberry River. But, this was no mere field trip along the board walk at Cranberry Glades - no - this was a trek in full pack into the heart of the wilderness along steep and rugged terrain in wet weather. This was not a trip for the weak or the faint of heart. But, we saw sites of beauty glimpsed by only a few. Cascades and waterfalls is rain swollen creeks and runoffs. Moss covered rocks glistening with dew. Orange salamanders were encountered in the damp places. Can you find it on this page? (a red spotted newt). Even a blue crayfish out for a stroll in the mud and damp.

We gathered at the church, sorted and packed gear, removed unneeded food and settled into a pizza eating frenzy before packing the van. Mark Springer drove us along the windy roads in the dark of night along my "short cut". On these curvy road we discovered that one of our scouts gets car sick. Fortunately they were prepared and had plastic bags. Later that night we discovered that he had Dramamine in his pack.

Setting up the tents in a light drizzle was made easier by working as a team - rapidly assembling one tent at a time. We settled in for the night. It rained. It rained all night. A steady rain. But we were dry as our tents were in good shape.

In the AM we set up the "pop up" shade fly to protect us from the rain and water dripping off of the trees after the rain. We set up the 3 "pocket rocket" isobutane stoves and started cooking eggs, hash browns, and biscuits in the backpacker oven and the back pack cookware. this allowed us to become familiar with making dehydrated chow before we hit the trail. Breakfast eaten and the dishes washed, we broke camp and loaded into the church van.

We arrived at the Summit lake in the Cranberry wilderness, put on our packs and hit the trail. I gave Eagle Scout Nate May the map, topo map and compass (ok he had his own compass). About 1/2 a mile down the trail, Nate speaks up: "I think that we are on the wrong trail." Having labored along under full pack - this startling announcement was greeted with dismay. A brief review of the map revealed that he was right. We reversed direction and headed back up the muddy track back to the van.

Once more we loaded up into the van and set off. Shortly we arrived at the correct parking lot. We redon out packs and set off - down the Pocahontas trail. We passed 3 water falls, a cave like rock where we stopped for a rest. (We'd hike 30 min and rest for 10 min.) We marveled at orange spotted salamanders (well they are actually newts). We heard the water rushing in the river below. On we trudged - weighed down by our heavy packs. We learned about spruce and fir and hemlock. We gazed upon the changing leaves and the water soaked moss and rocks. We saw commanding views down the slope of the ridge on which we trudged. On the way we snacked on granola, cookies, and power bars.

About 2.3 miles out Nate says: "I think that we are on the wrong trail." A quick check of the compass, topo map and Mr. Springer's pedometer revealed that he was correct. Needless to say this was somewhat disturbing. However it had an unexpected effect. We reversed course and trudged back up the trail (we'd descended 200' over the 2.3 miles) even faster then we had on the descent! No one complained. Fatalism had stepped in. We put our minds into our stride and ignored the straps on our shoulders - we hiked out faster then we'd hiked in - stopping at the shelter rock (an overhang) for lunch enjoying pilot biscuits with peanut butter and jelly, fruit leather, granola, and power bars.

We hiked down a spur off the Pocahontas trail only to discover that it was not the proper trail either - at this point we were a little dismayed. We decided that we would keep on the trail as it was heading west and should intersect the Fisherman's trail - about 200 yards after the point where we had made that decision the trails intersected and we at long last had found the "blue trail" after only 5.5 miles of hiking in full pack.

We began the descent down a slippery trail crossing mud, tree roots, stream beds both dry and running with water. We went over moss and algae covered rocks which had been made slippery by the recent rain. Down we went. Through the forest. Passing moss covered trees and rocks. Passing waterfalls and raging rain swollen streams. Down. We stopped to replenish out water from a clear running stream with Nate's Filter pump.

You cannot imagine the joy, elation and relief when we reached the bottom and saw the cranberry river. We shed packs and hopped out onto rocks. We watched the river flow through its cataracts. Trees whose leaves were starting to turn shook slowly in the wind. All was peaceful - but not quiet - for the rain swollen river spoke with a constant roar.

A camp site was chosen along the river bank across a small stream from the trail head. Tents were pitched and the scouts set to building a fire - no mean task as we had just experienced a long period of constant rain. All the wood was sodden. We noticed a lack of tinder. The standing wood was collected. Twigs were shaved. maps were sacrificed as tinder - but we had a fire - one that Max tended for hours.

We dined on our freeze dried dinners with water from Nate's pump which lasted just long enough to provide for the soup and entrees. After that we had to boil water for dessert and cleaning. We ate well. Dishes and pots were washed. Food was collected and placed into a bear bag that was hung over the river only after considerable effort - we'd wished that we'd attended to this task while it was still light. The fire dieing - the rain beginning to fall - we retreated to our tents and collapsed into the sleep of the weary.

The scoutmasters arose early and savored the quiet and the green light of the Purkingee effect. later on after the scouts had awakened, Scoutmaster Springer fished the Cranberry river while the scouts cooked our breakfast - including a batch of biscuits from the back pack oven. Camp was broken. Packs were packed. A brief service was help and prayers were said. We reflected on our trip and what we had accomplished.

This done we set out on our hike up the hill. We enjoyed the views of the trees and the forest - of waterfalls and cascades - of streams running with less vigor then on the previous day. We stopped for pictures. We hiked. Daniel aroused the ire of some yellow jackets as he trod upon their nest and they greeted him with stings about his ankles. He heeded out advice to "RUN". The bugs out distanced we had a chance to stop and practice first aid. This done, we resumed our hike up the hill, up the rocks, over and around fallen trees - in full pack - going up hill. As we saw the sky line our spirits rose. Exiting the trail we turned back to glimpse the trail head that had eluded us the previous day.

Packs were broken down and stowed in the van. Bottles of water were handed out. Dramamine was doled out and we set off for home.

10/10/05 - 11 scouts rallied at Ritter Park to work on compass navigation. They were given a course to follow set out by Mr. Maniskas - with bags on their heads they ended up all over the field - it was a sight. We reviewed compass navigation and ran two more courses without bags and did much better. Then it was time for compass navigation in the dark with a bag on your head - this was better then out first effort. Rain called a halt to the festivities and the meeting ended about 7:30PM.

1015/05 - the scouts and leaders of troop 12 met at the ACF lot - we parked cars and raised over $2000 for the United Way. Not a bad day.

10/17/05 - the scouts met at the church.14 scouts and 6 leaders met. BOR, parking, paintball and thanksgiving in the woods were discussed.

10/22/05 - 14 scouts and 8 leaders went to Scary Creek paintball for an afternoon of paintball - 5 upgraded their markers. About the same number brought their own. We played as 2 teams with a few others mixed in. We played on the house field. While we didn't shut the place down, I believe that we fired over 6000 paintballs. We came home exhausted, and a little late. I think that all had a good day.

11/08/05 - braving the dark of night, scouts and leaders of troop 12 parked cars on a weeknight - to raise money for the United Way.

11/10/05 - About 10 scouts and 4 leaders went to night court. We saw misdemeanor trials. We saw traffic trials. We saw an arraignment (some attempted ones anyway). We saw an arrest. For those able to stay to the end, we got to talk to the judge and ask her questions. We got to talk to the bailiff - a police sergeant. After the Judge asked him, he took us on a tour of the in processing area, the finger printing and photo area, the holding cells, the alcohol intoxication testing room and machine. We saw a list of commonly abused pills, and the chart the the police use to identify them.

I actually got to hear a a little old lady tell the judge that (when doing 82 in a 65 zone) she was driving from church to visit her sick Aunt who is in a nursing home on Sunday. I don't know how the judge is able to keep a straight face. I'm sure that this car is only used on Sundays and for the sole purpose of visiting said sick Aunt - in the nursing home.

We got to see a young man and his family come to realize that, although the city was going to dismiss his case (but reserving the option to reinstate the charges if he got in trouble again - for 1 year), the record of his arrest was not going to go away, nor were his finger prints going to leave the State Police and FBI files. I think that we may need to review this one with the scouts who went - and those who did not. Everyone should understand that.

We got to talk to the judge and the police officer about what would happen now to the some people involved with some of the cases that we saw. That was instructive. Consequences. Hmmm.

In traffic court we saw what happens when you run up $120 in parking tickets. The "boot" man comes for you. We saw the results of speeding tickets. We saw who has to go to driving school and who does not. Fine.

We learned that you can't drive without a license. Funny how some people don't understand that. The judge was firm on this point. Very firm.

11/12/05 - Popcorn pick up - Mr. Maniskas and Mr. Springer picked up the popcorn on 11/11/05. One scout and 5-6 leaders met and picked up the popcorn. It was a lot of work. I want to see more scouts there next year to help with the lifting of boxes.

11/12/05 - Leaders and scouts met at the rifle range from 1-3PM. The Maniskas clan had been out earlier to mow and start the clean up. The ranger had previously cut up the tree. We carted away limbs and made some kindling from branches. Scouts carried logs. Mr. Gain sawed these into pieces that would be better for splitting and to burn as firewood. Mr. Pitanello supervised the repair of the target area that had been damaged by the tree fall. We mowed grass. The hacked down brush. We carted it away. We Split a lot of logs. We stacked the wood in the truck. The range looks good. Perfect for next week. After clean up we took the wood to "Rriverbend", stacked it, and left it there for next week. Service to troop - service to council.

11/14/05 - BOR - last meeting prior to BOR - menu planning, gear readying. Me panicking.

11/19/05 - We met to park for one last MU home game. Cool, on the verge of cold. Turn out of fans was disappointing. But we did what we could. After this Kurt and Rob Anderson, Jeff and Ryan Lavalley, John Cornel and William and I met to pack up the troop gear into Jeff's truck, John's van and my van. John went to get his kids. Jeff and Kurt went to Kurt's to get a table (Hmmm, did we pack any?). I drove to camp to drop of the stuff. I lit a lantern to guide them into camp in the dark - and hung it on the hook in the shelter. Then I left form my trip, but I did leave the light on.

11/20/05 - THIW - Thanksgiving in the woods - this was run by Kurt Anderson (chief chef) and Eric Maniskas (rifle program director) with a supporting cast of some of the finest people in town. This is Kurt's email to brief me:

Thanksgiving in the woods - 2005 was another troop 12 success story. Despite my inability to get a plan together any earlier we able to pull it off, but not without a lot of support from the many leaders and scouts that helped through out Saturday & Sunday.

We met at the Church at 5:00 PM and got everything sorted and parked up. A special thanks to Jeff Lavalley, Ryan & yourself for helping get supplies to camp and help with the set-up.

We had 4 adult leaders, 7 scouts and 3 siblings that spent the night Saturday. A traditional dutch oven peach cobler was served with the aid of cook-in-training Jacob Masters. Temperatures got a tad frigid, but 3 of the scouts found warmth sleeping by the fire under the stars.

Rise & Shine came at 7:00 AM. Our 2 visiting scouts cooked up the bacon & honorary scout Kara cooked up the french toast for breakfast. While this was going on SPL Anderson organized the pit digging with several boys support and ASM Mays was making multiple trips to Kroger/Walmart to pick up last minute items we forgot.

Pit fire was started at 9:15 AM and from that point on it was organized mayhem in the SMP as we prepared the various foods for dinner. The first turkeys went in the pit at 10:15.

We had a good morning turnout of scouts for the rifle shoot. While waiting for ASM Maniskas to prepare the range with Mr Keck, the boys engaged in football & other traditional scout sporting events. A quick lunch of sandwiches, chips and apples and they were ready for the range. Thank you Mr. Keck for taking time to support our troop (You too, uncle Eric).

While the boys were at the range, the remaining leaders prepared the feast. The deep fryer was ready to go at 12:00. The hams & yams went in the pit at 12:30. While the pit cooked, ASM Anderson deep fried 2 turkeys (peanut oil free!). The gang peeled 3 - 10# bags of potatoes that went in our "witches cauldron" and ended up going on the big fire to get it to boil up. Cranberry sauce, green beans and corn were readied. Future troop chef and ASM Cornell prepared a fine giblet gravy that was the talk of the camp. We opened the pit at 2:30 and started setting up for dinner. The last deep fried bird was done at 3:00. The serving table was set up and the birds and hams were carved. We were able to start serving at a little after 3:30.

The meal was topped off by a warm cider mix, thanks to Spencers sister. Dinner was capped with a dutch oven fresh apple cobbler and a birthday cake for Arturo (Happy 17th!)

Believe it or not, the final attendence (after several recounts and one challenge) was 69. A new Troop 12 Thanksgiving in the Woods record. I'll send you the list of Scouts & attendees at a later date as I have misplaced my list.

We had a lot of clean up help and were able to break camp before dark. Special thanks to Mark Springer, for without his truck we would still be hauling parts back from camp.

11/21/05 - I was away, the scouts met and cleaned and stowed gear used at the TGIW (see above)

11/28/05 - We planned for the cross over for mike Mayes Jr. on 11/29. This included a test build of the bridge and a hardware check ... yes we all remember the dreaded bridge collapse of ... when was that anyway? We discussed the ski trip, merit badge college, the winter campout and a possible climbing trip.

12/5/05 - Mr. Blake read his manifesto describing troop reorganization and then we held elections. This was reported by newly elected troop historian JR Figler: "We discussed what to wear and bring for Winter Campouts. We also held elections, with Spencer Smith being the new SPL, Rob Anderson as our new ASPL, Christian Roa as the Chaplain, as well as several others for Patrol Leader, Scribe, Quartermaster, and Historian."

12/12/05 - Court of Honor (as reported by troop historian JR Figler): "We started out tonight's Court of Honor with the entrance of the Color Guard and the Pledge of Allegiance. Dr. Blake called up the newly elected offices, like Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Chaplain Aide, etc. They recited an oath to fulfill their duties as that officer and received a handbook about their office. Next, he called up the Scouts that have advanced in rank for Tenderfoot, 1st Class, Star, and Life, and they went to sign the Rank Advancements Book as they received their badges. Adult Leaders were then given newly designed, "limited-edition" Tri-State Area patches. Then new and old Merit Badges were handed out, as well as badges from Merit Badge College, Summer Camp, and Aquatics Camp. Dr. Blake also talked about miscellaneous events, such as rock climbing, ski trip, upcoming Merit Badge College, popcorn sales (our troop earned $1200), cookie distribution to Ronald McDonald House and Hospitality Home, and the Klondike (winter camporee). Then the Chaplain Aide closed the meeting with the Scout Prayer, and the Color Guard retrieved the Colors."

Historian: JR Figler Scribe: Justin B Troop Guides: Eric S, Ryan L, JR Figler, Arturo R

12/19/05 - meeting as reported by troop historian JR: "12/19/05 Tonight, several scouts brought homemade cookies to take to the
Hospitality House and the Ronald McDonald House. Marian Manning, a parishioner of Our Lady of Fatima, gave us a tour of the Ronald McDonald House, and thanked us for the cookies and visit from Troop 12." Yes, troop 12 made its annual trip to bring sweets and cookies to the occupants of the Ronald McDonald house and the hospitality House - trying to bring some cheer to the families of those ill and in the hospital. As you know, troop 12 eagle scout Maniskas built the play ground that stood behind the old Ronald McDonald house. And eagle scout Nate May produced the DVD that they show to patients when they check into the Ronald McDonald house. Our troop continues its support of these institutions which serve our community so well.

This over troop 12 shut down for the year 2005. Wishing you and yours Merry Christmas, happy new year and a wonderful holiday season.

links to past years	2007 events
2005 events	2006 events
2003 events	2004 events