Members of Boy Scout Troop 97 of Middletown recently participated in the Boy Scout Klondike Derby and earned the Traffic Safety Merit Badge on a separate occasion.
The Klondike Derby took place at Hidden Valley Scout Reservation. In a Klondike Derby, Scout patrols acting as huskies pull specially designed homemade sleds around a course featuring several stations. At each station, the Scouts encounter a practical problem involving basic Scouting skills that requires teamwork to solve. The teams are awarded gold nuggets based on their level of competency.
The objective of a Klondike Derby, which is usually held in January or February, is to make Scouts use their heads, to put their Scouting skills to work in the field, to demonstrate teamwork and Scout spirit, and to have fun outdoors on winter days.
"Almost two weeks before the derby, the Scouts receive a list of the stations. Scouts work together to find items that may be needed to successfully complete each station and secure it to their sled," said Scoutmaster Bill Lee. "Such items include ropes to tie knots, a first aid kit, and tarps to build a shelter."
Scout Adrian Komanski said that his favorite station was the Dawson City Lumberyard. First Class Scout Isaac Dunkleberger explained that the team building challenge was for each sled team to use a cross-cut saw to cut a log four times. Scout Logan Nissley said that his favorite challenge was making a tripod to hold a pot, building a fire under it, and then boiling water in the pot.
"I liked the Prospector Gold Rush Obstacle Course," said Scout Daniel Orris. "We had to hold a pan of gold nuggets like a waiter and race through the snow around the cones."
Another recent Scouting activity was earning the Traffic Safety Merit Badge. Scouts met on a snowy Saturday morning to fulfill the requirements for this merit badge. Topics included distracted and fatigued driving, safety features of a vehicle and their purpose, and checking tire tread and windshield wiper blades for optimal vehicle safety. The leaders reviewed the significance of different colors and shapes used in road signs as well as the nighttime reflectivity of different materials. In the parking area of the Londonderry Scouting Complex, the Scouts used a distance measuring wheel to walk the braking distance necessary to stop a car traveling 30, 50, and 70 miles per hour on ideal road conditions. Following this time of learning, the Troop went to Slick Willy's Go-Karts in Wyomissing.
A few days later, Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Robert Bemis was a guest speaker for Troop 97. Bemis told the troop of his service in the United States Marine Corps and with Marine One under two presidents. After being discharged from the Marines, he fulfilled his boyhood dream of becoming a Pennsylvania State Police trooper. His presentation to the Scouts included sharing about an accident in which he was injured in 2015, when he stopped to assist a motorist. He shared what traffic safety measures he could have taken that may have resulted in a different outcome. Bemis left the troop with the advice to "stay active" and "keep moving forward."
Bemis and retired AMTRAK Police Detective Chuck Crandall met Lee and Assistant Scoutmaster Ed Barrick during BSA Wood Badge, a leadership training program.
Troop 97 is sponsored by the Londonderry Fire Company. For information about the troop, contact Ted Pauley at tszm@hotmail.com.
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