Sunday, January 20, 2008
Some Scouts tied a style of knot used
to rescue someone trapped on steep terrain.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANFIELD — Joe Harvath could have spent part of his Saturday at a basketball game, but he opted instead to test skills he learned as a Boy Scout.
So it was no problem for the 12-year-old Leavittsburg boy and LaBrae Middle School seventh-grader to subject himself to intermittent snow and temperatures in the high 20s with a slight wind chill to build a fire in rather unconventional ways.
“It’s taught me how to get along with people, meet new people, and learn things in life for when I grow up,” said Joe, referring to his yearlong experience as a Boy Scout and his participation in Saturday’s annual 2008 Klondike Winter Event at Camp Stambaugh, 3712 Leffingwell Road.
Joe was one of more than 300 youngsters ages 11 to 17 from 19 Scout troops that make up the Greater Western Reserve Council Arrowhead District who took part in the event, which is more than 40 years old, a few organizers noted.
The district is one of four in Northeast Ohio and covers Trumbull and Portage counties.
Hoping to obtain his Eagle Scout award this year is Garett Freeman, 15, of Cortland, who’s been a Scout for four years.
The intangibles that he’s learning are as important as any physical skill, said Garett, a ninth-grader at Lakeview High School.
“I like the Scouts because of the leadership, and how you get along with others affects your life,” he added.
Garett and Joe are members of Boy Scout Troop 8 of Leavittsburg. The troop’s adult leaders are Theresa Dambik, Lou Bonafacio and Dawna Freeman.
The competition featured eight outdoor tasks the troops and their patrols had to complete within roughly 30 minutes for a score.
The tasks included using their handbooks to identify 10 types of knots, starting a fire with flint and steel, and using a compass to find markers with flags.
It didn’t take long at one point for a line of Scouts to find its way to John McClearn, Jason Paisley and Ben Gump, all of whom were on hand to supervise knot-tying techniques.
The three assistant Scoutmasters for Troop 101 of Warren demonstrated, for example, how to make a bowline knot, which is often used to perform rescues on steep hillsides.
“We make knot tying fun,” McClearn added.
Scores were based to some degree on overall knowledge, but the heaviest emphasis was on “teamwork and Scout spirit,” noted Doug Lyons, the event’s chairman and a committee member with Garrettsville-based Boy Scout Troop 62.
Each group rotated from event to event, with plaques awarded to those who scored the highest in each of the eight tasks.
Before braving the elements to use a makeshift fishing pole to spring a trap, for example, each of 30 patrols built a sled, based largely on their skills and knowledge, to carry their equipment. A flag-raising ceremony kicked off the program.
The winter competition gave the Scouts a chance to use a variety of skills they learned last fall, with an emphasis on cooperation, a positive attitude and having fun, Lyons noted.
The event also gave older Scouts plenty of opportunities to serve as role models and guide their younger counterparts, Lyons said.