Livingston, Montana February 2002 Volume 5 Issue 1
January Guest Speaker:
Mr. Jones gave a great multimedia presentation to our Scouts
on January 21st. While the Troop Committee was meeting, he taught
the Scouts about mining, geology and the Stillwater mine. He
spoke about finding ore, making maps of the mine and blasting
and drilling. He brought in a sample of Platinum ore and a drill
bit. The Scouts in attendance really enjoyed the presentation.
February Campout Plans:
We are still doing some research into our February Troop Campout.
Here is what we know so far. We will meet at the Lincoln School
on Saturday, February 23rd at 4 p.m. We won't get to leave any
earlier due to the Webelos bridging ceremony which starts around
3 p.m. We are going to the Bennett Creek Forest Service Cabin.
This requires a bit of a ski trip which can be as long as 5.3
miles but may be shorter. Daniel and Mr. Andrews will be doing
a pre-trip evaluation of this ski journey this Sunday by actually
skiing to the cabin and checking things out for ourselves. All
Scouts will need skies and sleds. We will carry our gear on the
sleds while skiing on the road to the cabin. We will only be
bringing snacks and breakfast so this trip will cost less than
the normal $7 for a single overnight trip. Scouts should eat
dinner before they arrive to leave or bring a sack dinner. More
information will be available to all Scouts after the pre-trip
evaluation on Sunday and the Troop Committee Meeting on Monday.
Patrol Leaders will call all of their patrol members to let them
know the final details on Tuesday, February 19th.
January Campout at Snowbank:
Sledding and more sledding was the theme of this campout.
We arrived at Snowbank and decided to campout right at the base
of the sledding hill rather than in the woods. It was nice and
sunny in the afternoon and we had enough snow for some good runs.
We ate lunch and then hit the slope for more sledding. Then came
dinner and you guessed it, more sledding. By now it was dark
so we illuminated the slope with headlamps. The kids we pretty
sore from hitting all of the jumps and experiencing many crashes.
Mike did manage to meet with Mr. Andrews long enough to finish
his Scout requirements but that was the extent of the productive
Scout work.
Public Speaking Merit Badge Focus:
Our Troop Merit
Badge Focus for the months of February and March is Communications
and Public Speaking. Many Scouts started giving speeches at our
last Troop Meeting. Jerome finished three out of the five requirements
for Public Speaking that evening because he came to the meeting
prepared. Does that sound familiar, Be Prepared!?! Marc gave
his sales presentation and his five minute speech. Billy finished
his sales presentation. Mike and Calin gave their five minute
speeches and Jay did his 500 word unpracticed reading selection.
This is a great opportunity for every Scout in the Troop. Communications
Merit Badge is required for Eagle and none of the Scouts have
Public Speaking which is not a difficult badge to earn. We have
been doing a good job of keeping our service hours and incentive
requirements up to date but many more Scouts need to get involved
in our current activities.