Troop 4 - Grapevine, Texas

SCOUTING FOR FOOD SATURDAY by Joanne Hart, Scouting for Food coordinator -- I want to remind everyone that we will be holding our scouting for Food event on Saturday February 19, meeting at CCF at 9:30 am. I need some parents to volunteer to drive the boys to the collection neighborhood and supervise while the boys go door to door. Please send an e-mail to jojhart@hotmail.com if you can drive. I will also have sign up sheets at the court of honor for both boys and parents. Following are the details of how the event will run: We will hold our Troop 4 Scouting for Food event on Saturday, February 19.We plan to meet at CCF at 9:30. Donuts and drinks will be provided. Once everyone has arrived, we will break up into teams, several scouts teamed with an adult driver. Each team will be given a specific area to canvas. All teams will be going to the same general neighborhood, just south of Glade Road. The adult will drive the scouts to their area. The scouts will knock on the doors of all homes in their area, asking if the homeowner would like to contribute to Scouting for Food by donating any non-perishable goods from their pantry. The scouts will provide the homeowner with a Scouting for Food bag and a receipt, and wait while the homeowner gathers any goods they might have on hand to donate. The bags of goods will be collected in the team vehicle. When the scouts have completed their designated area, the team will return to CCF with all their goods. Each team will sort and count their goods, and report their team results to Joanne Hart. The teams with the top count will be recognized by the troop and prizes will be awarded. Every scout who participates will also receive a token of appreciation from the troop. Depending on how many scouts participate, the event should only take a couple hours. If you have any questions please call Mrs. Hart at 817 571-6789 (home) 817 352-0615 (work) 817 308-4858 (cell) E-mail: jojhart@hotmail.com.

NEW SPL -- Ken C. was elected Feb. 7 to serve as Troop 4's senior patrol leader for the next six months. He succeeds SPL Kevin M. Other candidates were Justin B., Michael B., Arden S., and Cameron W. Ken will be announcing his assistant SPL and other appointed troop officers soon. Also, Ken was notified at the Feb. 7 court of honor that his nomination for a National Award of Merit lifesaving award by the National BSA office had been approved. On Aug. 11, 2004 a mini-van overturned on Glade Road and Ken, who happened on the accident, administered first aid by caring for the driver who had been thrown out of the van and had gone into convulsions. He raised the victim's legs to keep him from going into shock. Ken also directed bystanders to aid the victim. The victim, who was not identified, survived.

NEW EAGLE SCOUTS -- Congratulations to Troop 4's newest Eagle Scouts Kevin M. and Joey K. who passed their Eagle Scout boards of review on Jan. 27. Kevin's Project was the preparation of 200 comfort kits for U.S. military personnel transiting through D/FW Airport, while Joe's service project was the construction of podiums for the Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School faculty to use in each classroom. In addition, Troop 4 adult leaders John Flynn, Roger Hallstein, and Tom Anderson served on Eagle boards of review in January.

POPCORN SALES by Nancy Logue -- Troop 4 sold more than $6,887 in popcorn with the troop clearing $2,237.55. In 2003 the troop sold $4,954, netting $1,733.90. Top sellers recognized at the Feb. 7 court of honor were: Jacob B. $779, T.J. N. $337, Matt H. $328, and Jason H. $311.

FEB 7 COH ADVANCEMENTS by ASM John Flynn -- Rank Advancements: Tenderfoot Cameron T., Jason H., and Ryan M.; Second Class Jason H., Abi K., and Ryan M.; First Class Robert L.; Star William B., Nathan S., Joseph S., and Bobby U.; Life Matt H., Jon S., and Jeffery C. Merit Badges: Michael B.--Emergency Preparedness and Personal Management; Justin B.--Dog Care and Radio, Michael C.--Family Life; Gregory G.--Personal Fitness and Music; Jason H.--Radio and Canoeing; Matt H.--Personal Fitness; Joe K.--Personal Fitness; Abi K.--Environmental Science; Robert L.--Fishing; Kevin M.--Personal Fitness, Communications, Radio, Personal Management, and Shotgun Shooting; Ryan M.--Radio and Swimming; Ben S.--Environmental Science, Reptile and Amphibian, Personal Management, and Citizenship in the Community; Drew S.--Reptile and Amphibian; Jon S.--Camping. Special Awards: Ad Altari Dei Catholic Scouting Religious Award: Kevin M., Ken C., Robert L., Joseph S., Tim G., and Michael C. 50 Miler Award -- Dan Berry, Michael B., Kevin M., and Daniel B.

SHOTGUN SHOOTING CAMPOUT by Equipment Coordinator Dan Berry -- A Shotgun shooting camp out was held the weekend of January 14-16. Justin B., Michael B., Caleb B., Kyle C., Kevin M., Ryan M. and Arden S. attended. This group was a great combination of experienced, beginning and first time shotgun shooters. This was after two meetings where the shotgun merit badge class was taught. All the academic topics were covered at the meeting but the shooting portion of the merit badge would be conducted at the camp out. Jared C. camped with us as a Webelo Scout and even though he could not shoot and it got cold at night, had a great time. On Saturday morning, after a discussion on safety, each of the scouts had ample opportunity to break some clays. We began shooting at about 9am and continued until about 4pm with a break for lunch. After lunch, Roger Hallstein got his 12 gauge muzzle loading shotgun out and all the scouts got to shoot it. The adults gave it a try as well. That was a lot of fun and something that not everyone is given the opportunity to do. It is hard to describe how much smoke the black powder shotgun produces but suffice to say that no one that was shooting could tell if they hit their target. The scouts then cleaned the shotguns which is also a requirement of the shotgun shooting merit badge. After shooting, we returned to camp and cooked dinner. This was followed by a camp fire to ward off the cold it reached a low of 22° that night, making each person who attended eligible for the "Polar Bear Award" for camping in sub-freezing weather which was presented at the Feb. 7th Court of Honor.. Sunday morning it was up early to pack up the frost covered tents and return home.

TWIN ARROWS JLT LEADERSHIP -- Scouts wishing to participate in the Twin Arrows Leadership program March 12-17 at Sid Richardson Scout Ranch, should contact Assistant Scoutmaster John Flynn at (817) 481-7908 or johnlflynn@yahoo.com. A scout must be at least first class rank by Jan. 1, 2005, 13 years old by March 1, 2005, and have experience in camping, cooking, and first aid skills. The troop committee previously approved paying $50 of a scout's tuition fee upon completion of the course. Other Twin Arrows leadership camps are set for July 3-8 and 10-15 at SR2 and Dec. 26-31 at Camp Tahauya near Belton.
http://www.longhorncouncil.org/training/twinarrow/default.htm

TROOP 4 BOR's -- Troop 4 boards of review are held the first and third Monday meetings. Scouts are required to fill out a BOR request form available from the troop scribe. Also all scouts are requested to bring their scout handbooks to each meeting so rank advancement requirements can be checked off. Scouts should report merit badge completions and rank advancements as soon as possible to Advancement Chairperson John Flynn in person, e-mail--johnlflynn@yahoo.com or phone (817) 481-7908. It is the scout's responsibility to make sure Mr. Flynn is aware of their rank advancement.

MERIT BADGE COLLEGE -- Merit Badge "blue cards" from January's Lakeview District Merit Badge College should be returned to the troop by the March 3 Lakeview District Roundtable.

2005 SUMMER CAMP -- The next payment of $50.00 per person for summer camp at Camp Alexander in Colorado is due March 1. Scouts should already be involved in physical conditioning since the camp is located at 8,000 ft. altitude. Dates for summer camp are June 26-July 2, 2005.

NEW LAKEVIEW DISTRICT EXECUTIVE -- Christian Parker, a recent graduate of TCU, is the Lakeview District's new DE. His office phone is 817-624-5533 and cell 817-793-0970.

RELIGIOUS AWARDS -- Information on scouting's various religious awards is available at http://www.praypub.org .

http://www.longhorncouncil.org Longhorn Council web page.
http://www.troop4grapevine.com Troop 4 web page