As mentioned at the Court of Honor on Tuesday, our June campout is scheduled for a Rafting Trip.

Here are the general details, more specifics later.

Depart – SATURDAY morning June 18
Raft – SUNDAY June 19 (this reduces the overall cost by $13/person)
Return – MONDAY June 20
Cost – between $90-$100/person

1. We are planning to go to Ohiopyle, PA (5 hour drive), adults attending will need to take off work on Monday instead of Friday.
2. The trip we want to take is the lower yough (yok), 5 hours on the water, med-high intensity
3. The lower yough has a minimum age of 12 but have waived the age IF a boy is 70 lbs and 24 inches around the chest
4. There is another rafting option at the same location that is lower intensity and thus the age doesn’t apply

PLEASE, respond to the e-mail sent by Mr. Fitz by Monday May 23 IF:

1. Your son intends to go on the June campout AND
2. He is younger than 12 & doesn’t meet the 70lbs/ 24 inch chest
3. OR You want him going on a less intense rafting trip  (regardless of age)

If we have enough boys to go on the lower intensity trip, we will try to accommodate this trip, otherwise there will not be a rafting trip available to them.

We apologize for this but the Troop needs a quick turnaround on these forms. The Troop needs to be able to give the climbing company a firm headcount on May 4^th so Mr. Fitzgerald needs to know who is going this Tuesday, if your son is unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting to turn in the form, please e-mail Mr. Fitzgerald BEFORE Tuesday so he can put him on the list of attendees.

May 13-15 – We are going to the Red River Gorge area, we will be camping on private property near RRG. The camping property is outstanding and is generously open to us at no charge by a NKY business owner who owns it. Saturday we will be going climbing at Torrent Falls. Check out this website for more information, it is a really fun time and an experience you won’t want to miss. http://torrentfalls.com/viaferrata/torrent-falls-via-ferrata/

We will need BOTH forms returned on Tuesday May 3^rd. Below is a link to the climbing form. Please, Please pay attention to completing this correctly. They are VERY strict with their forms.

• Climbing Waivers:  http://torrentfalls.com/wp-content/uploads/Torrent-Falls-Climbing-Adventure-Waiver.pdf
• Rules/regulations:
  • Youth will need to have a waiver signed by a parent or guardian.
  • Participants of the via ferrata must be 10 years of age or older.
  • Only 1 form per participant.
  • If you make a mistake, please draw one line through the error, and add correction above or below with your initials.
  • Any modifications to our waiver form will not be accepted.
  • Your emergency contact cannot be any one participating.
  • Must go through 30-45 min training course prior to climbing.
• What to bring:
  • Clothing that is comfortable to climb in. Long pants are recommended. Shorts can be worn; however it is easy to scratch knees. If it is going to be cold, dress in layers, you can become hot while climbing. If it is going to rain, bring a rain jacket.
  • Closed-toed shoes – Tennis shoes or hiking boots work best. No flip-flops.
  • Adults – An adult is considered 18 years of age or older. For the Via Ferrata an adult is needed to participate with youth ages 10-14 in a 1:5 ratio of adult to youth. For guided rock climbing, an adult is required to be present for youth ages 14 and under. The adult may not have to participate but may be required wear a harness and helmet to aid the guide with rope set up. An adult doesn’t have to pay if not participating, but will be required to sign a waiver.
  • Water can be taken with you during your climb. You may want to bring a water-bottle holder (such as a Camelbak or fanny-pack).
  • Food is not provided. We recommend a lunch and a few snacks.
  • Camera
  • Sunscreen
  • Bug spray
  • Fingerless Gloves are recommended but not required for the via ferrata only. A fingerless glove such as a weight lifting or cycling glove works well. If full fingered, make sure the glove fits snugly so the finger tips do not get in the way of working our via ferrata clips. Gloves are not provided but can be purchased on site. If rappelling, you will be provided with gloves. For all other activities, gloves are not recommended

RRG Via Ferrata May 2016 – Consent Form

Our April campout is quickly approaching, April 22-24. BOTH of the attached forms AND a copy of a parents driver’s license must be turned no later than Tuesday April 19^th.

We will be camping on-site at the Farm. Our Zipline package (2.5 hours) includes 13 ziplines and 5 high rope challenges.  We will finish with the Extreme-zipline which goes out over the pond.  Total cost per person: $55.

Normal Cost of camping: $5/tent/night, however, they are waiving this cost since we will be doing a service project (bring gloves).

All Adults who plan to attend, please e-mail be directly by Wednesday 4/13. Since this trip is outside of the Council area, we must submit a Travel Plan to Council this week with names of adults attending.

Requirements for anyone who plans on ziplining:

o     1.) Every participant must sign a Waiver (attached). Participants under the age of 18 must have a signed waiver by a parent. If the parent is not present, a photocopy of the parent’s driver’s license must accompany the signed waiver.

o     2.) The zipline canopy tour is designed for use by participants of average mobility and strength, and who are in reasonably good health.

o     3.) The minimum age is 7 years old main canopy course. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult, but must be able to participate independently of the adult.

o     4.) Closed toed shoes are required.

o     5.) Maximum weight for main canopy course is 250 pounds, this is a guideline. Please call if you have any questions.

o     6.) Each participant must be physically able to control the speed of their travel along the zip lines by grasping the cable with leather gloves.

o     7.) Each participant must be able pull themselves along the zip cable a few feet in the event they lose momentum before reaching any given landing platform.

o     8.) There is a 1500 foot unpaved nature trail to the training area at the beginning of your adventure. Each participant must be able to complete this walk.

o     9.) Pregnant women, people with heart, leg, or back problems, or other serious illnesses will not be allowed to participate in the tour.

Anyone who is not actively ziplining is welcome to take advantage of the catch-and-release fishing pond on the property.

Waiver Forms:

Markin Farms Waiver Agreement

Markin Farms Ziplining April 2016 – Consent Form(1)

Hello all,

Attached is the permission form for the March campout. We will be going to Chilo Locks and sleeping in Yurts. The theme is Wild West.

Please have all forms returned no later than the Tuesday March 15^th  Troop meeting.

Consent Forms: BSA_March_Consent

Saturday 1/23 – instead of a campout this weekend, we will be spending part of Saturday at the Cincinnati Museum Center. We will be going to the Lego display (The Art of the Brick), the OmniMax show (Journey to Space) and the Big Bone Lick exhibit. Meet at the church at 11:30, we are shooting to be back at the church around 4:30. Group rate is $11.

In order to get the group rate, we have made a reservation for 28 (youth and adults). Please respond to this e-mail ASAP if you/son plan to attend. Once the 28 slots are filled up, the Museum Center cannot guarantee we can get more tickets as a group. I need responses by 8:00pm today to make sure I have enough seatbelts. The first 24 slots I am reserving for those that had already committed to the campout this weekend.

The permission form is attached to the email sent by Mr. Fitz. Please complete it AND bring with you tomorrow.

Thanks for your patience as we worked through this “issue” with the weather.

For those going camping this weekend.

Mr. Cross (Committee Chair), Mr. Gravlee (Activities Coordinator) and I have been actively monitoring the weather patterns all day and it still appears at this point that Portsmouth, OH (Camp OYO area) is going to get hit with 8-12 inches of snow right around the time that we will be traveling to the camp. This is a weather hazard and something that we are not willing to risk your boys safety. We have looked for alternatives north and west that would have heated accommodations since Saturday night is expected to be 10 degrees. We have had no luck at this late stage in the planning. It is our opinion/feeling that the boys are not prepared to sleep in tents in potentially single to lower teen temperatures.  Therefore we are making the “executive decision” to cancel the campout.

We are still working on an alternative outing for Saturday only (no overnight). I will have more information about this out later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Sorry for this late notice but we were hoping that the weather patterns would change but as of now they have not. Safety comes first.

If you have already purchased the food for the weekend, please let me know individually and we can work out how to deal with the food (saving it, freezing it for the next campout, etc.)

Please stay tuned to your e-mail for more information about Saturday.

Mr. Fitz

As you are likely aware, it appears that the Portsmouth area is going to get hit pretty hard with snow tomorrow. We are currently looking into alternative for this weekend. Thanks for your patience as we work through this. We may end up at Camp Friedlander but we don’t know any logistics at this point.

I hope to get back with you before the food is all purchased just in case.

More to come later today.

Attached is the permission form for the January 22-24 campout at Camp OYO in Portsmouth, OH.  This is a neat scout camp that we used several years ago. For those that went last time, you may remember the ton of snow that we had, the snowball fights, the dog that led us on our hike and the unheated cabin.

GOOD NEWS – we have reserved the fully heated cabin this time. We will be sleeping on bunks. The theme has changed slightly from Junk Yard Wars to BSA Ninja Wars. The troop will be split into several smaller groups (mixing ages and skill sets) to build 6-8 obstacles for a competitive obstacle course using Scout skills and ingenuity. They will also be having a Dutch oven desert cook-off on Saturday night (adults will judge). Looks to be another outstanding campout.

Adults – I know that we will do down at least 3-4 of our “regular camping dads”, which translates into less seatbelts. Adults are always welcome, this may be one that we could use some additional weekend campers. I will know more after next Tuesday but if you are available and looking for some fun, I invite you to join us for the weekend.

FORMS ARE DUE TUESDAY JANUARY 12^th!!

Form Link: ConsentForm-OYO1-22-16.doc

Permission form is due Tuesday 12/15!!!!

Thanks for your patience as we worked to get all the logistics and such figured out for this 3 part event. Attached is the permission form for our Lockin (12/18) and Matthew 25/Bowling (12/19). The boys will get more information at the 12/15 Troop meeting about what to bring and not to bring to the lockin. For those that have gone in the past, nothing has changed (no games rated M or higher, no movies rated above PG13, etc.).

Friday 12/18 – Lockin starts at 8:00pm, we will have a light late night snack, boys should eat dinner before coming

Saturday 12/19 –Matthew 25 at 9:00-11:00, wear comfortable close toed shoes, the warehouse does get chilly, we will provide breakfast

Saturday 12/19 – Bowling from 11:30-1:30, shoes are provided, we will provide lunch, boys will need a few dollars if they want soda (water is free)

Saturday 12/19 – back to the church at 2:00

ADULTS – if you are attending the M25 Volunteer Event, please complete the attached form, include your son on the form, I will claim all the other boys as my own. Completing the form in advance just speeds up the process. Bring this with you on Saturday 12/19.

Parents not attending – this gives you from 8:00pm Friday through 2:00pm Saturday to get all your shopping and wrapping done without your son knowing (ha, ha).

Attachments:

ConsentForm-Matthew25BowlingLock-in12-18-15

M25M Family Volunteer Form