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Boy Scouts take on winter challenges
Special to the Vindicator
Photo
Boy Scouts from Troop 46 in Boardman head for the finish line in sled races. Saturday’s derby featured competition in outdoor activities testing Boy Scouts’ skills.
Special to the Vindicator
Photo
Boy Scouts, from left, Matthew Osiniak and Kyriakos Theophanous of Troop 46 in Boardman work the two-man saw Saturday afternoon during the Klondike Derby at Camp Stambaugh.
By Sean Barron
CANFIELD
An enjoyment of outdoor activities, along with a little friendly family rivalry, were the biggest reasons Justin Oaks decided Scouting was for him.
“My brother and dad were Eagle Scouts, and I always wanted to try to catch up with those two,” Justin, 13, said as he took a break Saturday during the three-day Boy Scout Klondike Derby 2011 competition at Camp Stambaugh, 3712 Leffingwell Road.
The Hubbard boy was one of an estimated 183 local and regional Boy Scouts age 11 to 18 who took part in the gathering, sponsored by the Whispering Pines District of the Greater Western Reserve Council Boy Scouts of America.
Hosting this year’s competition was Boy Scout Troop 22 of Youngstown.
The annual outdoor winter event gave the Scouts an opportunity to test their skills in winter situations and enhance their teamwork and problem-solving abilities, noted Tracy J. Rusk Jr., Whispering Pines’ district chairman.
Events they participated in included a cross-cut saw competition, a tomahawk throw, first aid, signaling, a pancake toss and use of a global-positioning-system device and compass.
This year’s theme, “Scouting 101,” was to allow the boys to review basic Scouting principles and fundamentals, Rusk explained.
Twenty-seven patrols of between four and eight Scouts earned points for ability, teamwork and spirit.
They also used their points to bid on Scout gear and other items during an auction at the camp.
Justin said his main goal is to become an Eagle Scout this year.
His service project will be to put together public-service announcements touting the importance of early detection for prostate cancer, something Justin took on because his father, David, has recovered from the disease, he noted.
Thirteen-year-old Max James listed camping, hiking and soccer as his favorite activities, as well as the tomahawk toss as his favorite Klondike event.
Max, who’s been in Scouting about four years, also hopes his achievements for 2011 will include receiving an Eagle Scout ranking.
His project will be to make repairs such as new shingles and benches to a chapel at Camp Chickagami near Parkman, he said.
“I went camping there one time, and the chapel needed work,” Max added.
The tomahawk throw also was popular with 12-year-old Jonathan Feigert, whose older brother got him interested in Scouting.
“I stuck with it because I had fun,” Jonathan said, explaining that he hopes to add being an Eagle Scout to his accomplishments.
All three boys are members of Troop 100 of Hubbard.
The nearly 200 Scouts broke into groups and earned points as they rotated from station to station. At one point, members of New Middletown-based Troop 49 performed a simulated water rescue in subfreezing weather as part of the first-aid event.
One of the boys played the victim while the others were asked to work together to rescue him, in part by protecting him from hypothermia.
Other tasks they were asked to perform included calling 911, tossing the victim a rope, immobilizing and placing a splint on his broken leg, conducting a head-to-toe check for other injuries and transporting him to a warm shelter.
Burt Baird, a committee member of Struthers-based Troop 101, prefaced the simulation by stressing the importance of learning first aid.
Baird, who’s also a 20-year firefighter, told his young audience of several troop patrols about a co-worker’s recent 150-foot fall from an embankment while doing maintenance work.
The man survived but suffered major injuries and had to be airlifted to a hospital, Baird explained, adding that first aid was essential until help arrived.
On a lighter note, members of Troop 55 of Youngstown collaborated to make the ideal pancake to toss.
Beforehand, they racked up points for using materials such as dried lint, cedar and pinewood shavings and newspaper to start their fire.
Once the flames got going, the boys sprayed a small pan with cooking oil, then added the pancake mix and watched the points add up for the creative way they started the fire.