Grant City Legion to Sponsor Cub Scouts

The Grant City American Legion met for its regular monthly meeting Thursday, September 5^th.

The American Legion is back doing veteran funerals by family requests. Andrew Pickering and Joe Marshall are coordinators for all veteran funerals. 

The Legion is also sponsoring Cub Scout Pack 62. The Baptist Church dropped sponsorship of the Scouts because the national organization is now accepting gay scouts. At the request of the pack, the American Legion unanimously agreed to sponsor them. The Legion had sponsored Pack 62 as early as 1919 for many years. 

The scouts will now meet at the Scout Cabin north of the Baptist Church that the Legion built for them several years ago. The Scouts will rebuild the inside of the Cabin at a future date as an activity.

Worth County Cub Scouts Hold Annual Christmas Party

Cub Scouts held their annual Christmas Party Monday, Dec. 17.  We started the evening with the Bear Leader, Tyler Hann awarding Jackson Smith with his Bobcat Badge and parent pin.  Next, was Tiger Leader, Rick Frese, who awarded Kolton Smith, Jacob Kanak, Landon Moser and Ethan Frese their Bobcat Badges and parent pins. The parent pin is pinned on the parent by the scout.  It takes both the parent and the leader working together to help the scouts to achieve their goals.  The Scouts received their Derby Cars kits and their little Christmas stockings. But the highlight of the evening was the Pie in the Face.  Since the scouts achieved their selling goal as a  pack each den got to throw a whipped cream pie in their leaders' face and they all got to throw one in our Cubmasters face. We finished the evening with refreshments brought by the parents.

--Glenda Craven

Cub Scouts Hold Annual Wienie Roast

Cub Scouts held their annual wienie roast Sunday Oct.28 at the scout campground.  The evening began with Vern Mitchell and Tammy  Sullivan  with the Sheridan Worth County Ambulance.  They showed the boys equipment that they use in an emergency situation and a couple of the boys participated in a couple of demonstrations. Vern and Tammy explained how they need to remain calm so they can help them if they were to ever get hurt and then they got a tour of the ambulance.  To finish the night Two Boy Scout boys, Trenton Gabriel and Wyatt Frese lead a Flag Retiring Ceremony with the Cub Scouts assisting.  The boys learned how to properly retire our American Flag.  The Cub Scouts would like to thank everyone who purchased popcorn or gave monetary donations. It was greatly appreciated and this helps the boys go to camps and pay for their badges that they earn throughout the year.  We have a great community supporting our troop and we thank you.

Building the Future Today Theme of Worth County Blue & Gold

Cub Scouts Blue & Gold Banquet was Sat. May 5 with the theme of “Building the Future Today.” The scouts built all kind of things with Lego’s  for center pieces on the tables.  Rick Frese opened the evening with leading the Pledge of Allegiance and welcomed everyone.
Trenton Gabriel, a 2nd yr  Weblo, lead a prayer before we started the meal.    After the meal our guest speaker, Ryan Owens, a local firefighter presented us with how he dresses for a fire.  He allowed the scouts to try on the helmet, face mask and the air tanks he wears.  Ryan gave the scouts tips on what to do if their house is on fire and finished his presentation with showing the fire truck.
Next was Awards presented to the scouts.  Tiger and Bears leader, Jane Gabriel presented Wyatt Craven, a Tiger Cub, with a Bobcat and a Tiger Badge.  Wyatt was also earned Leave No Trace Award, Outdoor Activity Award; Belt loops earned were Collecting, Citizenship and Roller skating.   Bear cubs Matthew Mincy and Lane Kemery earned their Bobcat Badges. 
Dave Thomas, Cub master presented awards to Weblos Ethan Thomas who earned a Sportsmanship and Citizenship pin.  Avery Gabriel earned a Citizenship pin and Daniel Craven also earned his Weblo Badge, Citizenship, Roller skating, Handyman, Traveler, Fitness, and  Naturalist pins.  He also earned Belts Loops in Collecting and Wildlife Conservation.
Dave Thomas also handed out a patch to all members a Blue & Gold 2012 Banquet patch to commemorate the evening
Rick Frese, Weblo leader, presented Wyatt Frese and Trenton Gabriel, 2nd yr Weblos, with their Outdoorsman, Readyman and Handyman pins.  The boys also earned their Compass Points and Badge, Leave No Trace Award and Arrow of Light Award.
The evening finished up with Martin Maudlin, our commissioner, presenting the “Arrow of Light” Ceremony with the help of Scout Master Rick Frese and Assistant Brad Gabriel.  The ceremony  consisted of Wyatt Frese and Trenton Gabriel presenting an arrow to their parents.  These 2 boys are advancing and they have crossed the bridge into Boy Scouts known as Troop 62 of Grant City.

Cub Scouts Recognized at Troop 62 Blue and Gold Banquet

Worth County Cub Scout Pack 62 held their annual Blue and Gold Banquet Saturday night and recognized many different scouts for their accomplishments. Scoutmaster Rick Frese said that there were 14 scouts to start with, dropping down to 12. These scouts accomplished a lot of different things with more than half earning their badges while the rest of them were really close to completing their requirements. They had a Space Derby in fall and their annual Pinewood Derby in spring, at which they performed well. Frese said that they were planning on a couple of camping trips this summer. Troop 62 meets every Monday night from 6-7 at the Fairgrounds Building.

Frese said that they were redoing the Scout Cabin, which had a leaky roof and which needs work done on the interior. He said that when the work was complete, hopefully, this summer, they would move back into the Scout Cabin.

There were various different crafts on display from the scouts; some of them were used to decorate the tables at the banquet.

Assistant Scoutmaster Dave Thomas gave a posthumous award to Kevin Austin for his contributions to the scouts. His widow, Charity Austin, received the award.

Maureen Gallagher, a biologist for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, talked to the scouts about her job. She helps restore land back to its natural state. She gave the scouts real animal skins to play with and told them about each one of them. There was a muskrat, a raccoon, a mink, a beaver, a skunk, an otter, a short-tailed weasel, a fox, and a coyote. She said she was blessed to be able to do so many different things with wildlife. She has banded ducks and raised trumpeter swans, an endangered species, and turned them back into the wild. She has hunted bear, deer, coyotes, and foxes. She said that she had encountered wolverines as well and that they were not very friendly. Asked about what the best way to get rid of skunk odor was after being sprayed, she said that in her experience, V-8 works better than tomato juice.

Matt Becker of the Otoe District, which includes Worth and four other counties, talked about Friends of Scouting, which supports scouting activities in the area. Friends of Scouting does such things as leader training, camps, insurance, postage, and staffing. 20% of their budget relies on donations from people. Their goal is to raise $34,000 from the district this year.

Scouts were then recognized for their participation in the Pinewood Derby. Tiger Cubs who participated were Lincoln Moore, Brent Harris, and James Gladstone. Participating as a Wolf Scout was Reid Gabriel. Participating as Bear Scouts were Gabe Latham, Lucky Gladstone, Anthony Baxley, Avery Gabriel, Ethan Thomas, and Daniel Craven. Participating as Webelos were Trent Gabriel and Wyatt Frese. Winning in the Tiger/Wolf division was Brent Harris. Winning in the Bear Division was Gabe Latham. Winning in the Webelos Division was Wyatt Frese. First overall was Gabe Latham as well as the best design. Ethan Thomas took second at the district derby, while Latham took best design at the district derby.

Jane Gabriel presented awards for Tiger and Cub Scouts. Getting their Bobcat Badges were James Gladstone, Lincoln Moore, and Brent Harris. Dave Thomas presented Lucky Gladstone with his Bobcat Badge. Reid Gabriel got his Wolf Badge. All of the parents got pins from the scouts for their efforts in helping.

Receiving intermediate Bear Scout Badges were Lucky Gladstone, Avery Gabriel, and Anthony Baxley. Getting Bear Badges were Gabe Latham, Daniel Craven, and Ethan Thomas. After getting their Bear Badges, scouts can do electives; for every ten electives completed, they get arrowheads. Daniel Cravel got a gold and a silver arrowhead for completing 20 different electives while Ethan Thomas got a gold arrowhead for completing 10.

Two scouts got their Webelos badges. Trent Gabriel and Wyatt Frese got their Webelos badges and also got awards for three different achievements for their "Arrow of Light" badge, which is next on the list. They each received achievements in art, fitness, and citizenship.

Former scoutmaster Dan Jackson was recognized for his work for the program for many years. The banquet concluded with the Scout circle and the Cub Scout Pledge.