HONOR PUBLISHING COMPANY'S
Scouting-E-Zine
A Chronicle of American Scouting
Volume 07, Issue No. 1- August, 2005
Copyright (c) 1999-2005
Honor Publishing Company; all rights reserved.
Circulation: 7,567 Adult Scouters - advertising opportunities

2005 Boy Scout
National Jamboree

It's History Now!

The 2005 Boy Scout National Jamboree is over. Even though the deaths of four Boy Scout leaders from Alaska, and other deaths due to heart attacks on the opening day of the 2005 National Scout Jamboree cast a pall over the quadrennial event, the Jamboree was still a wonderful experience for the estimated 40,000 Scouts and adult leaders who attended the 2005 Jamboree.

"It'll be just one of the memories they will have," said Patricia Bush, Scoutmaster of jamboree Troop 710 from Washington state, whose campsite was next to the accident scene. Reminders of the loss were evident throughout the 10-day event at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County.

Scouts collected patches, a valuable currency here, for three Alaska Scouts who lost their fathers in the accident. Boys stopped along the jamboree's conservation trail to help carve a limestone tribute to the leaders, featuring the Alaska's state flower, the forget-me-not.
A memorial of flowers was placed at the site where the accident occurred. Subcamps held memorial services. Kendell Call, a 15-year-old Scout, was awarded Scouting's highest heroism honor for helping his father, Jay L. Call, from the tent.

And President Bush extended his and First Lady Laura Bush's condolences on behalf of the nation during a visit to the jamboree Sunday night.

"The men you lost were models of good citizenship. Leaders who stepped forward to serve a good and selfless cause," the president said during the closing arena show. "As Scout leaders, they devoted themselves to helping young men to develop the character and skills they need to realize their dreams. You Scouts honor them by living up to the ideals of Scouting they served," he said.

The four Alaska Scout leaders who died were identified as Ronald H. Bitzer, 59, Mike Lacroix, 42, and Michael J. Shibe, 49, all of Anchorage, and Scott Edward Powell, 57, of Perrysville, Ohio, who had recently moved from Alaska. Shibe's twin 14-year-old sons and a son of Lacroix witnessed the accident.

Two contractors for a tent company were also injured, one seriously, and a youth Scout suffered minor injuries. Jay Call was released from the hospital the day after the accident and returned to the jamboree.

The Army is investigating, and neither the Army nor Boy Scouts of America has released a detailed account of the accident.

++++++++++++

"America is not like a blanket - one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size. America is more like a quilt - many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread"
- | -
Jesse Jackson - speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention

-----------------------------------------------
SCOUTING IN THE NEWS:
-----------------------------------------------
Boy Scout and Leader Killed By Lightning
The Associated Press - Published: August 1, 2005

SEQUOIA NATL. PARK—A 13-year-old Boy Scout from St. Helena in Napa County, just north of San Francisco, CA. and his Scout leader are dead after getting hit by lightning during a hike through Sequoia National Park.

The St. Helena Scouts were hiking along the John Muir Trail, at more than 10,000 feet, when they were caught in a sudden lightning storm, a common summer occurrence in the area, said Alexandra Picavet, a park spokeswoman.

The group of seven teens and five adults was more than halfway through a planned a nine-day hike across the Sierra Nevada range and were about four miles west of Mt. Whitney, their destination.

Lightning had been flashing for most of the day Thursday, but the weather grew intense about 4 p.m., as the group entered a meadow, Picavet said.

The Scouts separated into two groups and began erecting tarp shelters about 50 feet apart to wait out the storm. Not long after the campers huddled beneath their shelters, a bolt struck a tarp, instantly killing assistant Scout leader Steve McCullagh, 29.

Ryan was kept alive by fellow Scouts, who administered CPR to him and others for an hour until helicopters arrived, according to relatives and Picavet, who added "its been several years since someone has been killed by lightning in the park." The lightning death was the seventh fatality in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks this year.

Editor's Note:

While the deaths and injuries of these Scouts is certainly a tragedy, and our hearts and prayers do go out to the families and Scouts in this troop, I need to comment on the actions of these Scouts and their leaders in the midst of this chaotic event.

Imagine, if you will, that you are on the last day of a High Adventure hike though some of the roughest terrain in the country. I have personally hiked the John Muir Trail, and while it is some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, it is also treacherous switchbacks, high altitude (over 10,000 feet) hiking, and strenuous climbing. . Now imagine that you get caught in a sudden lightning storm while crossing a meadow. What would YOU do?

What They Did Right!

These Scouts, and their leaders did everything right. First, these guys had to train long and hard to be able to even get as far as they did, training that ultimately paid off in what happened. When the storm had become dangerous, they sought out the lowest part of the meadow, then separated into two groups about 50 feet apart. Then they protected themselves from the elements by putting a tarp over them without any metal poles. This is what they were supposed to do, this is what not only Scouting, but the military, and the National Lightning Safety Council teaches you to do. The only other thing they could have done was to possibly break up into more, smaller groups. We don't know all of the circumstances, so it's hard to criticize them on this.

No one can predict when and where lightning will strike. The best you can possible prepare for is to follow the training you've been given, but sometimes, as in this case, accidents still occur.

But now, look what else happened. Two people have been struck by lightning in your group, one is apparently dead. Others have been injured. What do you do?

These Scouts, and their leaders sprang into action, staying calm, and again using the training and resources they learned in Scouting. They chose two Scouts who could read a map, and run and get help at the nearest ranger station. Then they attended to the injured and determined that two of them needed CPR. Now if you have had CPR training, you know that performing this for even 10-15 minutes is very strenuous in itself. These guys did it for over an hour, and saved a Scouts life in the process. They kept the other alive until he could be air lifted to a hospital. Please remember, the storm did not end when the lightning hit, so all of this was happening while it was still raining, and with lightning still in the area.

In my estimation, all of these Scouts are heroes! They stood fast by the training they learned in Scouting, they did EXACTLY what you would expect them to do, and they did while there was still danger to themselves. They did Scouting Proud, and as a Scout Leader, and a parent, I'm proud to have them in our Scouting program! Good Job young men, and kudos' to the leaders for their training and commitment to these youths.

Dave Tracewell
Editor

++++++++++++
Senate Backs Scouts' Use of Military Bases
By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

2:04 PM PDT, July 26, 2005

WASHINGTON ? The Senate voted Tuesday to allow U.S. military bases to continue to host Boy Scout events, responding to lawsuits and a federal court ruling aimed at severing relationships between the government and the youth group.

The vote came one day after four adult Scout leaders were killed on the opening day of the National Scout Jamboree at the Army's Fort AP Hill in Bowling Green, Va., when a tent pole apparently struck a power line.

In a 98-0 vote, the Senate approved the provision continuing the hosting of Boy Scout events as part of massive bill setting Defense Department policy for next year. After the vote, Senate leaders decided to put off further debate and votes on the overall bill, probably until fall when Congress returns from a month long break.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., a former Boy Scout who sponsored the Senate provision, said it is necessary to push back on a spate of lawsuits to limit Boy Scout activities on government property. The provision adopted Tuesday says Boy Scouts should be treated the same as other national youth organizations.

Frist said it "removes any doubt that federal agencies may welcome Scouts to hold meetings, go camping on federal property or hold scouting events and public forums" on government property.

In 1999, the ACLU of Illinois filed a lawsuit claiming the Pentagon's sponsorship of such Boy Scout activities violates the First Amendment. The ACLU argues that direct government sponsorship of the group amounts to discrimination.

Civil liberties advocates have assailed the Boy Scouts organization because it bans openly gay leaders and compels members to swear an oath of duty to God.

On June 22, U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning ruled in the ACLU's favor, saying the Pentagon can't spend millions of dollars to sponsor Boy Scout events. She said in an earlier ruling that the government spent between $6 million and $8 million to host the Jamboree on a military base in 1997 and 2001.

The House in November overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution that recognized the Boy Scouts organization for its public service efforts and condemned legal efforts to limit government ties to the organization that has 3.2 million members.

++++++++++++
Bush urges Scouts to retain principles
By Joseph Curl
The Washington Times
Published August 1, 2005

WASHINGTON -- President Bush yesterday told more than 30,000 Boy Scouts of America gathered at their annual jamboree not to waver from their moral conviction or their duty to God and country, telling the boys that "there is right and there is wrong, and we can know the difference."

Just days after tragedy struck the Virginia gathering -- four Boy Scout leaders died last Monday when a metal pole they were hoisting to pitch a tent touched a power line -- the president used his visit to buck up the boys.

"The men you lost were models of good citizenship, leaders who stepped forward to serve a good and selfless cause," the president said at Fort A.P. Hill, about 60 miles south of Washington. "As Scout leaders, they devoted themselves to helping young men develop the character and skills they need to realize their dreams. These men will always be remembered for their leadership and kindness. And you Scouts honor them by living up to the ideals of the Scouting they served."

The president urged the boys to stay true to their convictions, despite cynicism they will face in the future.

"Always remember where you come from and what you believe. At times, you may come across people who say that moral truth is relative, or call a religious faith a comforting illusion," he said. "But remember, lives of purpose are constructed on the conviction there is right and there is wrong, and we can know the difference."

In a half-hour speech that put into language for youngsters what he has said for two years to their parents, Mr. Bush took aim at critics of his war on terrorism and his decision to invade Iraq.

"In the years ahead, you will find that indifferent or cynical people accomplish little that makes them proud. You'll find that confronting injustice and evil requires a vision of goodness and truth. You'll find that many in your community, especially those younger than you, look to you as an example of conduct and leadership. For your sake, and for the sake of our country, I hope you'll always strive to be men of conviction and character," he said.

"Your generation is growing up in an historic time, a time when freedom is on the march, and America is proud to lead the armies of liberation. I believe we're laying the foundations of peace for decades to come."

Mr. Bush's visit twice was rescheduled. A planned stop Wednesday was canceled because of severe thunderstorms. The visit was rescheduled for Thursday, but then was postponed until yesterday at the request of the Boy Scouts.

The president thanked the boys -- who greeted him with chants of "USA, USA" -- for their perseverance. Eagle Scout Daniel Valela of Troop 1707 from Dallas introduced the president by saying: "I guess being a Scout really pays off."

Mr. Bush said that "the first person I see in the morning is a Scout" -- Andrew H. Card Jr., his chief of staff -- and said Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld were also Scouts. He said that he himself was once a Scout -- and even had a famous leader.

"When I was a Cub Scout, my mother was our den mother. It's about the time her hair turned white," the president said.

++++++++++++
Scouts at the 2005 Jamboree
The stories they could tell

BY KIRAN KRISHNAMURTHY
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Aug 2, 2005

BOWLING GREEN -- Boy Scouts relished meeting peers from around the nation, testing their outdoor skills and seeing President Bush at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree. They also endured trying times when four Scout leaders from Alaska were killed in an electrical accident on the opening afternoon of the 10-day event. Scouts also weathered three days of searing heat that felled dozens of boys.

The 32,000 Scouts who populated this temporary tent city of 40,000 will leave Fort A.P. Hill tomorrow with many a story to tell their parents and Scouts back home.

"The average Boy Scout here will take home a lifetime of memories," said Gregg Shields, a Boy Scouts of America national spokesman, who thanked volunteers, staff and the military for their work during the jamboree.

Throughout the quadrennial event, Scouts from the 50 states, U.S. territories and about 25 nations including Russia, Japan, Guatemala and Sweden have had the opportunity to experience outdoor activities such as archery, fishing, BMX bicycling and a global-positioning scavenger hunt.

Energetic and ebullient, sunburned and muddied, there's little doubt a Scout could tackle everything the jamboree had to offer during its seventh run at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County.

"There's so much to do," said Kevin Sparks, a 14-year-old Scout from LaVista, Neb. "I've just enjoyed going around meeting people. You can't imagine anything like this."

Scouts traded patches. They made new friends. They endeavored to practice Scouting's core values, including reverence. On Sunday morning, an overflow crowd attended a Buddhist worship service, most of them for the first time.

And, of course, they camped all the while, cooking their breakfasts, staving off mosquitoes, and buttoning down their tents against rain and lightning.

Soon, those tents will come down and the boys pack up their gear, taking the spirit of this jamboree with them.

++++++++++++
"Be Prepared" has gone high tech.
Kansas City, MO

Some area Boy Scouts are packing GPS devices, satellite telephones and cell phones alongside the compasses, maps, whistles and signal mirrors that they always have carried on high-adventure trips.

"Our kids are doing a lot more adventure-type stuff, and have more opportunities to get out into the wilderness," said Alan Sanders, a district director with the Heart of America Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Kansas City, Missouri. "Technology is helping to make us as safe as you can be."

Mike Dishman of Olathe is among the believers in technology-enhanced outdoor adventures.

"It takes the fear out of walking off into the wilderness," he said. "You can get disoriented really fast."

Dishman, an adviser for the Scouts' Venturing Crew 2315 in Olathe, knows firsthand that feeling of disorientation from a winter outing a few years ago at Nebraska's Indian Cave State Park.

He and his crew hiked several hours on snow-covered ground, and Dishman got disoriented. Lost, in fact. The group relied on traditional equipment to find their way back to where they started.

"But after that, I decided not to go out without GPS again," Dishman said.

GPS products are mapping devices that rely on the satellite-based Global Positioning System for an accurate reading of location.

Scout leaders haven't universally embraced such devices. "The diehard map-and-compass guys and GPS guys have an ongoing debate," Dishman said.

Even a spokesman for Garmin Ltd., an Olathe-based manufacturer of GPS equipment, said the devices cannot replace basic outdoor skills and knowledge. Ted Gartner takes a compass with him on hikes, along with extra batteries for his GPS. "Just because you have GPS doesn't mean you can throw common sense out the window or not practice good woodsmanship," he said.

Gartner prefers to think of the mapping devices as a way to keep from getting into trouble. Users can mark their starting points, then create electronic breadcrumb trails by marking points along their journeys.

For the most part, Scouts use mapping devices to enhance basic orienteering skills. "We still teach the map and compass," Sanders said. "They never fail."

A location-finding course at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation near Osceola, Mo., teaches Scouts how to use GPS devices, Sanders said. They enter coordinates and follow GPS arrows to a set location.

Ian Smith, a member of Dishman's crew, said GPS gives him an extra boost of confidence on backpacking trips. "You don't have to worry about finding north or the number of degrees off," said Smith, 17, of Overland Park.

Other high-tech gear proved a godsend for two Scout troops on recent outings. One group used a satellite telephone to call for help when members got in trouble deep in the Grand Canyon. Another group relied on a cell phone and its GPS tracking system to get help last Monday during a canoe trip from Eudora, Kan., to Camp Naish near Bonner Springs.

Although it took a Kansas Highway Patrol helicopter to pinpoint the location of the stranded Scouts, Sanders said help arrived more quickly than it might have had the group not had the cell phone.

Packing high-tech equipment is simply a new way to interpret the Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared," said Brick Huffman, director of field service for the Heart of America Boy Scouts.

"We ask our units to run through all scenarios when they plan out their trip," Huffman said. "If something should happen, what is the best way for you to get help? The unit (that went to the Grand Canyon) realized that in the environment where they were going, there would be limited access to cell towers and limited usefulness of a cell phone." "In their case, it paid off very well."

It is important to have a realistic understanding of technology's limitations, said Al Nash, a spokesman for the National Park Service in Washington.

"The GPS is a wonderful device, and a cell phone has amazing capabilities," Nash said. "But you can't put your safety solely in the hands of high-tech devices."

The Park Service always has had to help a certain number of people who overestimate their abilities or are inadequately prepared, Nash said. The numbers haven't gone up with visitors relying on electronic devices, he said.

But some park visitors forget that technology doesn't always work in remote areas, Nash said.

Because GPS devices use triangulation from three satellites to pinpoint positions, they aren't effective in deep canyons. Cell phones use signals from towers that might not be available in remote areas.

And a call for help might not be answered as quickly in the backcountry as it is in the suburbs.

"If it took you two hours to get there," Nash said, "it may take us two hours to get to you with emergency equipment."

++++++++++++

Today's Boy Scouts, Tomorrow's soldiers?

BY KIRAN KRISHNAMURTHY
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Sgt. Nicholas Bowen of Fort Benning, Ga., shows Scout David Childs, 15, of Brownwood, Texas, how to aim an anti-tank weapon in the Army Adventure Area at the jamboree. P. KEVIN MORLEY/TIMES-DISPATCH

BOWLING GREEN -- Jack Hamel and David Vito scaled a 45-foot-tall rope ladder, stepped across wobbly planks high in the air and then raced down a "zip line" cord to the ground at the Army ROTC's Adventure Tower.

Back on terra firma, the two Boy Scouts from Connecticut said they had a newfound respect for the military.

"It sort of gives you a taste of what they go through in training," said Hamel, 12, who is considering joining the Coast Guard.

The Army Adventure Area, with its helicopters, big guns and combat videos, is a popular draw at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree, which concludes tomorrow. Yesterday, boys clambered over an Abrams tank while others checked out an Apache attack helicopter.

Scout and military officials say that a strong bond exists between Scouting and the armed services but that the 10-day jamboree is not a recruiting tool. Not officially, anyway.

"There's a huge relationship," said Jimmy Risczenski, a 15-year-old Scout from Gainesville, Fla. "So many traits are important to Scouts and the military: Be prepared, do good deeds. . . . The jamboree must be a huge recruiting opportunity for them."

There's little doubt the military, stretched thin, is interested in eventually signing up some of these boys -- and girls, who participate in Scouting's co-educational Venture program.

At a Navy booth, brochures containing a postage-paid postcard are available to takers. A free video is available to those who return the postcard, which asks for the sender's name, current year in high school, phone number and the best time of day to call.

Banners, trucks and balloons displaying military toll-free numbers and Web site addresses abound.

"It is and it isn't" recruiting, said Army Lt. Demetrius Clinkscales, adding that the ROTC did not make available brochures.

"It's more a realization thing -- what we have, what we do. What they can achieve, what they can aspire to do," said Clinkscales, who was helping staff the adventure tower and who has been in the Army since 2000.

Renee Fairrer, a Boy Scouts of America national spokeswoman, said recruiting is not allowed here. She compares the military-sponsored activities to some of the careers that Scouts explore while here, such as woodworking, meteorology or architecture.

"The military presence is an opportunity to see those vocations also," she said. "Boys are going to be interested in tanks and ships and all that."

The Scouting-military relationship can be traced back to the organization's founding by Lord Baden-Powell in England in 1907.

Baden-Powell had returned from Africa as a military hero to discover that English boys were reading the manual on stalking and survival in the wilderness that he had written for soldiers. He rewrote the manual as a nonmilitary nature-skill book and called it "Scouting for Boys."

Today, Scouts are organized into troops and patrols. Their khaki and olive uniforms are adorned with badges and patches they earn by achieving higher rank. Scouts say their organization teaches teamwork, discipline and sacrifice, traits prized in the military. They also say camping and survival skills they learn could also help prepare them for a military career.

T.J. Paulus, 14, of Doylestown, Pa., has talked with military police and other Army personnel at the jamboree, and he said he plans to enter the Air Force or the Marine Corps when he turns 18. He describes himself as "very patriotic" and has been walking around the jamboree with flags in his shaggy hair, hair he is willing to sacrifice when he joins the service.

"I've wanted to enlist for a while so Scouting has been a good activity for me; I feel like I can use those skills later," he said. "I'm used to wearing a uniform and living with discipline."

++++++++++++
Boy Scouts accepting recycling donations
Vacaville, California

Vacaville Boy Scout Troop No. 488 will accept donations at its recycling center from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Vacaville Corporation Yard, 1001 Allison Drive near the Ulatis Community Center.

Scouts accept donations of aluminum cans, aluminum food containers and foil, steel cans, newspapers, corrugated cardboard, glass bottles, No. 1 PET plastic bottles and No. 2 HDPE plastic milk bottles and large water containers.

Newspapers should be bagged or tied with string, bottles should have tops removed and be separated by color, corrugated cardboard should be flattened. All food and beverage containers must be clean.

The troop has operated the recycling center for more than 25 years. Donations are used to fund summer camp and other scouting activities.
++++++++++++
2 Scouts from area chosen to meet
President George W. Bush at National Jamboree
Washington County - Post-Gazette -Pennsylvania

Two Boy Scouts from Washington County got more excitement than they expected during the recent National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, near Fredericksburg, Va.

Jimmy Craig, 16, of Prosperity, and Alex Lee, 13, of Washington, joined about 80 other Scouts who were picked by their Scoutmasters to meet President Bush after he addressed the Jamboree.

Craig said meeting Bush last Sunday evening was "an amazing experience." Lee said, "It was cool being on the same stage as the president." Craig, a Life Scout from Troop 1017, is a student at McGuffey High School near Claysville. Lee has attained the rank of Star Scout in Troop 1022 and attends Trinity Middle School in North Franklin.

More than 300 local Boy Scouts and adult leaders, the largest-ever group of Scouts from the Greater Pittsburgh Council, attended the 2005 Jamboree, which ended Wednesday.

Bush offered words of sympathy and comfort to the 43,000 at the arena show after the deaths of four adult leaders in an electrical accident at the start of the Jamboree. Bush, who had been a Cub Scout, told the crowd that key members of his administration were Boy Scouts, including Chief of Staff Andrew Card, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"I think my Scoutmaster, Larry Brown, chose me to meet President Bush because of my interest in politics," Craig said. "We were waiting, then all of a sudden the Army band starting playing 'Hail to the Chief' and the president came on stage. After the speech, he greeted us. It was just amazing, and it meant a lot to me."

"I'm not sure how I got picked," Lee said. "It just shocked me, but it was a great experience."

++++++++++++
Boy Scout Camp Yawgoog will reopen Sunday
Rhode Island

HOPKINTON, R.I. (AP) -- Boy Scout Camp Yawgoog will reopen Sunday -- after being closed for two weeks after at least 125 people came down with Norovirus.

Norovirus is also known as stomach flu. The camp says it's been closed down long enough to make sure none of its employees are infected and still contagious. Its dining hall, showers and latrines have been sanitized twice with bleach, and surfaces in every building and tent platform were also scrubbed with bleach. It's also been inspected by the Health Department.

++++++++++++
Quick thinking and Scout training helped save shark-attack victimBY ETAN HOROWITZ-The Orlando Sentinel

ORANGE CITY, Fla. - (KRT) - Sixteen-year-old Stephen Spake was playing video games in a Florida vacation house when he heard shouts about a shark attack nearby. Stephen grabbed as many towels as he could and ran toward the beach.

Lying there was another 16-year-old boy who was tall and skinny, just like him. A shark had attacked the boy and nearly severed his leg.

"I had no clue how severe it was; I just thought the towels would help treat the shock if necessary," Stephen said of the attack that took place in late June. "The minute (my dad) said there had been a shark attack, I decided to go and help."

Stephen's quick thinking, along with the efforts of his parents and several other beachgoers, is credited with saving Craig Hutto's life. Doctors amputated Craig's right leg, but he was recently released from a hospital in Tennessee and is home recovering with his family.

Though others might have shied away when confronted with a shark attack, members of this family knew they needed to help. Stephen has been a Scout since he was 5 years old and said the first-aid training he received helped him stay calm. His father, Robert, is an emergency medical technician, and his mother, Eileen, is a certified lifeguard.

That morning, Eileen Spake was on the beach with her sister and niece when she heard a piercing scream and thought someone was joking around, maybe imitating a scene from the movie "Jaws," which she had watched the night before.

"But then I looked in the direction of the screams and saw hands go up in the air and then the water turn bright red," Stephen said.

With the help of her husband and son and several other people, Eileen Spake, 52, lifted Craig onto the shore.

While his wife and son took turns applying pressure to the boy's wound, Robert Spake, 54, focused on calming his parents. He instructed Craig's father to retrieve his son's identification, because Spake knew the hospital would need it.

As an EMT, Robert Spake has dealt with serious injuries before. But the shark attack was the most horrific thing his wife and his son had encountered, and he said he was impressed by their actions.

Stephen Spake said he learned those skills during 11 years as a Scout. He spent most of this summer working as a counselor at Camp La-No-Che, a Boy Scout camp in Paisley, Fla. He's on the verge of becoming an Eagle Scout, a prestigious honor that among other things requires students to have completed first-aid training.

"It gets to a point where you stop thinking and just start reacting and do what needs to be done," Stephen Spake said at the camp. "If it wasn't for my Boy Scout training, I would have been a fish out of water. I would have probably been someone who ran away or who gathered in a circle and watched instead of trying to help him out."

Other counselors and Boy Scout officials said they teach that mind-set to all of their members. Every Scout takes an oath that he will do his best to "help other people at all times."

Stephen also learned first aid at home. When he was about 8, he and a friend wanted to use a bow saw, so Robert Spake said, "Let me show you the right way to do it." When Robert cut his finger to the bone, Stephen grabbed the first-aid kit. But instead of calling 911, Robert turned the accident into a learning experience, as if he were teaching his son the alphabet.

"I said, `OK, what are you going to do?'" Robert Spake said. "So I let him do it all: He cleaned it out real good, and I pulled the skin apart and said, `See the blood that's oozing? Well, that's because it's a vein. And see the blood that's spurting? That's an artery.' We have always tried to expose him to stuff like that."

As an only child, Stephen was close to his parents before the attack. And though the high school junior said that the victim's age and resemblance did not faze him, his parents were quick to point out the similarities.

"I can remember hugging Stephen and saying, `It could have been you,'" Robert Spake said

Venturing:

Venturing is the fastest growing program in the BSA. Check out the official Venturing website at:

http://www.scouting.org/venturing/

++++++++++++

We count on our readers to provide much of the National News we provide here at the Scouting-E-Zine. Without your "Eyes & Ears", it is difficult to discover what is going on in our home towns and councils. If you have a worthy news item to share, please e-mail us here at info@honorpub.com .

NOT A SUBSCRIBER TO
THIS E-ZINE YET?

Subscribe me!

HEY! There's NEW STUFF at

www.ScoutingBooks.com
Dozens of NEW books to choose from!

Scout Shorts

By Dr. Charles Goodwin

Just A Minute

A Collection of
Scoutmaster Minutes

By Dave Tracewell

++++++++++++

BSA

Link to the BSA'S

Scouting News

Girl Scouts
of The USA

Link to GSUSA Scouting News

WOSM

Link to The WOSM World Scouting News

Camp Fire Boys & Girls

Link to
Camp Fire
Boys & Girls News

DO YOU HAVE A GREAT STORY TO TELL?

What's going on in your Troop, Pack, or District? Do you have a humorous story about your Scouts and a pesky skunk? How about the time your Scoutmaster got lost and the Scouts saved the day. Tell us your story. We want to share your Scouting stories with all of our readers and bring a little fun and excitement to this E-Zine.

++++++++++++

TEXAS Treasury
of
Dutch Oven Cooking

Compiled by the Lone Star Dutch Oven Society

++++++++++++

SCOUT SKITS

PLUS CHECK OUT THE OTHER

8 TITLES FROM

TOM MERCALDO

SUPERIOR CAMPFIRES SCOUTMASTER MINUTES
SCOUTMASTER MINUTES II SCOUT JOKES