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Scouts learn valuable skills at Klondike Derby
By Sean Barron
CANFIELD
During this time of year, cold weather has usually made its presence felt in the Mahoning Valley, to the delight of ice skaters and others brave enough to venture out onto an ice-covered lake or pond.
But temperature fluctuations during the winter can lead to a false sense of security and real danger – especially for those on thin ice who overestimated its strength. The result can be perilous for anyone who falls through, so it’s vital to know how to perform a water rescue.
That’s a potentially life-saving skill Mark Filicky is grateful to have learned.
“It felt kind of scary, especially on the tarp. But I know first aid, so I trusted them to carry me and help give me first aid,” the 16-year-old Boardman High School student explained, referring to having played the victim in a simulated rescue.
Mark, who’s also part of Boardman-based Boy Scout Troop 60, saw his endurance put to the test during his participation in “ice accident,” which focused primarily on applying first aid. It also was one of eight or nine stations that made up Saturday’s 2019 Boy Scout Klondike Derby at Camp Stambaugh, 3712 Leffingwell Road.
Hosting the all-day gathering was the Whispering Pines District of the Great Trail Council, Boy Scouts of America. The event was themed “1919 Back to the Beginning” to recreate a Klondike gold rush dating to that year, which is when Camp Stambaugh was established, organizers said.
The Scouts had to earn “gold nuggets” and test their abilities at events such as fire building and cooking, knot tying, wilderness survival and identifying a variety of trees and other parts of nature.
Mark, who said he may join the Army after high school, added that being a Scout also has equipped him with a set of skills and traits that likely will serve him well if he decides to enlist in the military.
Overseeing the station was Shaun Oles, Scoutmaster with Troop 105 of North Jackson, who tasked the patrols (teams of five to eight Scouts) with knowing the proper steps in performing a water rescue.
They include throwing a rope with the correct type of knot to the person, checking for and treating hypothermia and a possible broken shin or leg and safely placing the victim onto a stretcher, Oles explained. In the event of a broken bone, it’s vital to stabilize the affected area, he noted as fellow Scouts placed a plastic splint under Mark’s leg and a small piece of wood wrapped with a cloth to keep his leg immobile before placing him on a makeshift stretcher.
“We treat it as if it was an actual accident,” Oles said, adding that it’s imperative those suffering from hypothermia have extra clothing placed over them and are taken next to a fire or other source of warmth.
Alexander Anzevino found himself dealing with a bit less drama than Mark, though arguably, the challenges he faced were just as daunting.
“I’m here to learn how to identify trees, leaves, bark, nuts and fruits,” said Alexander, 14, a member of Boardman-based Troop 46 and a Boardman Glenwood Junior High School eighth-grader.
The Scouts’ challenge was to name at least 22 of 64 types of trees and a minimum of three of 10 kinds of bark found in the region, along with several varieties of common “nonwoody” plants such as dandelions, poison ivy and Virginia creeper, an abundant weed with five leaves. They also were tasked with identifying five types of nuts and fruits from trees, noted Eric Grabman, Troop 46’s Scoutmaster, who oversaw the station.
“I have a degree in biology, so it’s easy for me, but for them, a challenge,” he said.
Grabman also differentiated between hardwood and softwood trees, saying they are ones that lose and keep their leaves, respectively. Also, trees are beneficial to people and wildlife because they supply shelter and can be a source of food, medicine and other vital products, he told the Scouts.
The Klondike gathering ended with an auction in which the Scouts used the “gold” they earned to bid on donated outdoor equipment that included pots and pans, an ax and a water jug.