JANUARY 5, 2021 – ISSUE 660

Joe Sefcik, a Scoutmaster from Connecticut Rivers Council and a long-time contributor, sent me this article this morning—I’m passing it on to you not only because of these Scouts’ quick-thinking and bravery but because we need some good news about Scouts every now and again—and so does the general public!

Sincere thanks to original author, Jerry Carino, Community Columnist for the Asbury Park (NJ) Press. The original story below is his, with some technical modifications by me. Ninety percent of the text below is Jerry’s—with my thanks!

How Scouting Prepared Five Teens to Rescue Two Kids from Icy Pond

What led up to the rescue of two small children—sister and brother Olivia and R.J. Heid, ages 8 and 4 respectively—when their sled careened into an icy pond? How were five teenage boys—all freshmen at Middletown High School-North—prepared for precisely such a moment, and how did they know what to do? The simplest answer is: They’re Scouts!

Each winter, members of the Scouts BSA Troop 47 for boys, based in Middletown, compete in an all-day winter Scouting event called a “Klondike Derby.” Troop 47 Scoutmaster Mike Marinelli explains: “There are 12 stations and Scout patrols of six to eight are challenged to problem-solve at each one. Some are simple tasks like tying the correct knots. Others are First Aid-focused. And every year, one station is all about ice/water rescue.”

At this rescue-aimed station, Scouts use ropes, buoyant objects, and “human chains”—several Scouts lined up, locked hand-in-hand, as a lifeline, when no other equipment is available.

On the day eight-year-old Olivia and her brother, half that age, sledded straight into that icy pond, five teenage boys immediately sprung to the rescue.

Two of the five—Kieran Foley and Drew Scalice, both 14, are Scouts in Troop 47—and two of the others had come up through Cub Scouts (Pack 242, at Middletown’s Harmony Elementary School).

“I’m incredibly proud, (but) I’m not surprised,” Scoutmaster Marinelli said. “When you’re involved in Scouts, you have these types of traits.”

On seeing the two little kids hit the water, Kieran Foley took action immediately. “We had training in what to do, how to get the kids out of the water and get them warm, but we never really had anything like this in real life!” he later said. “I just went right in,” Kieran said. “I wasn’t really thinking of what my friends would do. I was just trying to get them out of the water as fast as possible. It was pretty cold, but I didn’t feel the cold because of adrenaline.”

As soon as he took action, Kieran’s friends— Drew Scalice, Ryan Day, Joseph Dietrich, and Tyler Armagan—formed a human chain. “We didn’t think a lot about it,” Drew Scalice said. “In Scouts, (you get) that into your head—you should help people who need help. And they (guide you on) how to work together as a team.”

“Kieran, who was in the water, grabbed the kids and handed them off Tyler,” Drew said. “I was holding Tyler by his one arm—he was halfway in the water and halfway out—then Tyler grabbed the kids and handed them off to our friend Ryan. That’s what they show us (in Scouts)—how to get people out of icy water.”

“Scouting has had a great influence on these boys,” said Nicole Scalice, Drew’s mom. “It’s hands-on! They’re off the technology and they’re actually doing it!”
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Happy New Year, Andy –

Have you heard of any success stories about Scouts BSA troops’ activities in these unprecedented times? When this whole thing first started, the “Zoom” thing was good…for a while. Then, over a prolonged period, that method wore thin and eventually drifted into oblivion. Let’s face it— It’s pretty boring to learn compass, knot-tying, and the rest in an online environment.

This past summer wasn’t too bad because the weather improved and we were able to meet at a local part (and stay Covid-safe) or just go on troop hikes. This helped us stay true to keeping the “outing” in Scouting.

Now we’re back in yet another “new normal,” including winter weather here in Connecticut that’s just sort of miserable cold—We’re stuck in-between nice snow to the North and more temperate conditions to the South. Plus, with second and now third Covid “waves,” our meeting spots of last spring are now off-limits, along with state parks and BSA camps that are shut down.

Our bottom line is that, for the foreseeable future, we’ve got Scouting but no outing.

Our Scouts do have a few good troop meetings planned, and I’m looking for ideas to spark things up a bit—so we can all feel like Scouts again and not just stare at computer screens. Yes, we still use Zoom for Scoutmaster conferences, boards of review, and committee meetings, but nix on this for troop meetings! So thanks for any inspiration you can pass along. (Joe Sefcik, SM, Connecticut Rivers Council)

I hear you loud and clear! Let’s start by remembering that a “troop” isn’t “a group of Scouts divided into patrols.” A Scouts BSA troop is actually two or more patrols that, in addition to their own activities, regularly do things (camping, hiking, service projects, etc.) side-by-side.

So maybe it’s time for the patrols to gather (keeping in mind that a patrol sizes of 8 or fewer are what we’re working with)—with their patrol leaders in charge! They can do this because they’re the right size for meeting outdoors at a couple of picnic tables or indoors while masked and in a large room. (If the patrols’ sizes are around 6, this is pretty easy!)

Besides, this is for the troop’s Senior Patrol Leader to work out. As Scoutmaster, you advise the SPL but you don’t do his or her job! In short, the SPL runs the troop; not the Scoutmaster. Which brings to mind…

What service projects have the patrols tackled lately? I recall you telling me that the patrols used to help out at the pancake breakfasts your sponsor, the church, used to hold. Obviously, that’s gone down the ol’ porcelain fixture. But that’s hardly the end of possibilities. What else might one of more patrols do for their sponsor? How about something for your town, like meal-serving to the food-insecure, or collecting blankets and warm jackets for the homeless and out-of-work. And there are loads of other things you can do, based on the dynamics of your home town!

Sure I could come up with more ideas, but then I’d be doing the Scouts’ job for them. So instead, how about you conference with your Senior Patrol Leader and suggest a brainstorming session for the ones that actually run the troop—the Patrol Leaders Council!
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Hi Andy,

I have a question about one of the requirements for the Emergency Preparedness merit badge.

Requirement 2c says, “Meet with and teach your family how to get or build a kit, make a plan, and be informed for the situations on the chart you created for requirement 2b. Complete a family plan. Then meet with your counselor and report on your family meeting, discuss their responses, and share your family plan.”

Requirement 8b says, “Prepare a personal emergency service pack for a mobilization call. Prepare a family kit (suitcase or waterproof box) for use by your family in case an emergency evacuation is needed. Explain the needs and uses of the contents.”

Each “letter” requirement relates to its main requirement (2 and 8). Everything makes sense, except for the inclusion of “Prepare a family kit (suitcase or waterproof box) for use by your family in case an emergency evacuation is needed” in 8b. Is that a requirement in addition to the “personal emergency service pack for a mobilization call”?

A personal emergency service pack for a mobilization call and a kit for family evacuation are obviously two very different things.

It would appear that the sentence in question would make more sense in requirement 2c. It specifically says, “get or build a kit” for your family for situations that very likely could include an evacuation.

Who would be the correct person at the BSA to send this question to? (John Pinchot, MBC, Circle Ten Council, TX)

Scouts BSA requirements for ranks and merit badges that duplicate one another are extremely rare, if they exist at all! In the cases of these requirements, here’s my take…

2a is for non-evacuation situations. Moreover, it doesn’t actually require building or buying an emergency kit to be kept in the home, so long as the Scout teaches his or her family members what they’ve learned about these.

8b does ask that two different kits be assembled: one is a personal kit in case there’s a troop-wide muster or other mobilization (I had one of these back in the day, when I qualified to be an Emergency Service Explorer); the other is a “family go-bag” in the event of an imminent area evacuation (e.g., area fire, flood, blizzard, hurricane, etc.).

These observations are, of course, “unofficial.” For something with more teeth to it, consult with your district or council advancement chair or merit badge coordinator. If that doesn’t work, you do live just a few miles as the crow flies from the BSA National Office and you may want to visit or just call them up and ask for a good person to talk with.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!
Happy Scouting!
Andy

I personally answer every email message I receive—I have no “writing staff” other than me. So please include your name and council when you write. If you’d rather be anonymous—if published—just let me know and I’ll honor that. Although these columns are copyrighted, you have my okay to quote or reproduce any column or part, so long as it’s attributed: “Ask Andy” by Andy McCommish.

[No. 660 – 1/5/2021 – Copyright © 2021 Andy McCommish]