Troop 398 News - March 10

Memorial Service
A memorial service will be held for Bonnie Ervin's mother, Jean Turner, at 2:00PM on Thursday, March 11th at St. Mark's UMC. The service will be held in the chapel adjacent to the church office.

March Camp Out
Our March camp out is scheduled for this weekend March 12 – 14.  We will return to Savage Gulf, but we will be backpacking at the other end of the park. Meet at the Eagle's Nest at 5:00 PM this Friday. We want to leave at 5:30 PM if possible. It's a one and a half hour drive to Savage Gulf, so please grab a sandwich for supper before you come so we won't have to lose time at a restaurant along the way.  All of us will camp on Friday night at the campground at the Savage Ranger Station. On Sat. morning, Philmont participants will hike about 8 miles on portions of the North Rim and Plateau trails and camp at Savage Falls Camp site. Other scouts will hike approximately 2.5 miles to Savage Falls Campsite. After they set up camp, they will side hike to Savage Falls and then out to an overlook on the north rim trail. Plan to bring your own food or buddy up. We'll hike out together on Sunday and return to the Eagles Nest by about 12:30 PM. Savage Falls should be awesome with all the rain & snow we've had! Remember, we have troop backpacks and tents to loan out – first come!
Camp out roster:
Scouts:
Bailey, Andrew                                  Meyer, Josh                                      Beckman, Spencer
Gray, Michael                                    Ott, Cole                                          Browning, Aaron
Hiland, Spencer                                 Perkins, Joshua                                Carey, David
Honey, Ben                                       Phillips, Samuel                                Clement, Luke
Hopkins, Ross                                   Simmons, Thomas                            Dix, Jared
Jacobs, Mitchell                                Walker, Sean                                    Dugan, Thomas
Jones, Justin                
Adults:
Beckman, Chris                               Fowler, Thomas                              Ott, Carl
Browning, Mike                                Fry, Andy                                       Fry, Drew
Perkins, Mark                                  Reagan, Jerry                                 Carey, Dane
Harden, Dennis                                Spivey, David                                  Clement, Kevin
Hopkins, Roger                                Taylor, Hal                                      Dix, Steve
Jacobs, John                                   Lanier, Glen                                    Warren, Mike
Falana, Tom                                    Meyer, John                                    Ervin, Gore

Directions to Savage Ranger Station, 3157 SR 399, Palmer, TN 37365
Option 1: (87 Miles, 1hr. 57min)Take I 24E to Exit 127. Take toward AltamontTN 50 toward Altamont to TN 108. At 108 turn right (south) on 108 through Gruetli Laager to TN 399. Turn left on TN 399, The access road to Savage Ranger Station is about 4-5 miles on left.
Option 2: (76 Miles, 1hr. 45min) Take Hwy 70 to McMinnv.ille. Continue Hwy 70 BR to Hwy 56. Take left on Hwy 8 to Hwy 111. Turn right on Hwy 111. Follow Hwy 111 for approx. 4 miles and turn right on TN 399. After approximately 6 miles, look for the access road to Savage Ranger Station on the right.

Directions to Savage Station Camp Area: On the right side of the Savage Ranger Station, you will find the entrance to Savage Day Loop. Pick up a camping form from the bulletin board, fill it out for the group in your car and put a copy on the dash of your car. Walk .1 miles on the Day Loop Trail and watch for the Savage Station Camp Area on the left. Mike Warren and Gore Ervin are going up early on Friday and will reserve a camp site.

New Troop Families
We welcome to the following new scouts and parents who have joined at the recent crossovers:
From Pack 440:
Conner Ervin, Jarrod &Tracy
Madden Pack,Tracy & Courtney
Eric Smith, Rob & Tamera
Zachary Peay, Joey & Charlotte
Ryan O'Boyle, Rob & Ann
From Pack 538:
Benjamin Barrett and his dad Brett
Jeremy Siler his Dad, Jon and brother Justin are already troop members
Michael Wermert and his dad, John
Pack 321
Cooper Jones, Steve & Tiffany

New scouts, pick up a Boy Scout Handbook and check out page 17 – we want you to complete the joining requirements as soon as possible. Parents, please touch base with our Treasurer, Mike Holtman to make sure we have all the information we need.

New Adult Leaders
Glen Lanier joined as an Asst SM. Glen is an Eagle Scout, a member of St. Mark's and a recent graduate of MTSU. Several dad's crossed over with their sons to be adult leaders:  Jarrod Ervin, Tracy Pack, Rob Smith, Brett Barrett and John Wermert. (I apologize if I missed anyone)  Welcome, gentlemen, it's only an hour a week!

Awards
Mike Holtman was honored by the Trail of Tears District Saturday night – he received the District Award of merit also known as the Long Rifle Award for work with the troop, district and council. Congratulations, Mike!

Our troop received two National Camping Awards  for 31 days last year and 500 days since 1991.

Summer Camp
Camp dates are June 13 – 18. The cost is $175 if you register and make a $30 deposit by March 29. After that date, the cost is $195.  The balance is due on May 24th. There are extra charge for supplies for some merit badges that must be paid by May 24th. Financial assistance is available through Camperships. Scouts who have been to camp at least two years can apply for a Hai Campership, but we need to hurry as they must be in by March 12th. All scouts can apply for a council campership which must be in by April 1st. For specific details on costs, camperships and other information, check out the Leaders Guide at http://www.mtcbsa.org/assets/forms/CampForms/BScampLeadersGuide.pdf

There is a new Health Form which both youth and adult members need to fill out annually. It is mandatory for summer camp. We also carry these forms with us on all camp outs for use in an emergency, so it's important to have one on file for each scout and adult. Forms can be downloaded from the site above or picked up at a troop meeting. Philmont physicals will be accepted for summer camp.  You may get these completed by your family doctor or we will schedule physicals at some troop meetings in April and May.

Everyone in the troop (except non-swimmers) is required to take a swim test each year. We will schedule swim test on some Thursdays in April and May at the SportsCom indoor pool.

See Mr. Ervin as soon as possible and schedule your Merit Badge classes to insure that you get your first choice.

Wilderness First Aid Class (Philmont Adults)
We will have a Wilderness First Aid Class for adults attending Philmont on Apr 10 – 11 at St Marks UMC. We need to train at least 6 adults or 2 per crew. Troop 416 adults will also be taking this training. The cost will be approximately $25/person and will be paid by the troop.

Adult White Water
Dates are May 21 – 23 at Boxwell Reservation and June 4 – 6 at the Hiwassee River. For more details and to register, go to http://www.mtcbsa.org/Youth/scout/camping/HighAdventure.html#Adultwhitewater

Next Week's Troop Meeting
Next Monday is election night for the troop – we will elect a Senior Patrol Leader and Patrols will elect a Patrol Leader. You must be a Life Scout or Star Scout approved by the Scoutmaster to run for Senior Patrol Leader.

We will also elect candidates for the Order of the Arrow. To be eligible for the OA, scouts must be First Class or higher and have 15 nights of camping in the last two years – only one summer camp can be counted.  Everyone plan to attend – this is one of our most important meetings.

Eagle Court of Honor
Neal McClatchy will receive his Eagle badge at 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 20 at Bel Aire Baptist Church. All troop members are invited.

Troop Court of Honor
Our next regular troop court of honor will be at 7:00 PM on Monday, March 29 in the main church. At that time, we will have the drawing for the gift certificate for those who sold tickets for the Super Bowl fund raiser.

Patrol Assignments
The following patrol assignments were made at the last PLC:
Dylan and Dalton Bargatze and Justin Johnson will join the Rattlesnake Patrol
Andrew Bailey, David Carey, Jonathan Chambers and Justin Siler will join the Viper Patrol.

2010 KEY DATES
Mar 12-14                      Troop Camp Out – Savage Falls at Savage Gulf
Mar 15                          Troop SPL and PL & Order of the Arrow elections
Mar 20                          Eagle Court of Honor – Neal McClatchy 2 PM – Belaire Baptist Church
Mar 22                          Troop Planning Meeting (Leaders only):
                                    PLC & Troop Committee meeting
Mar 22-26                      Spring Break
Mar 26                          Laser Quest
Mar 29                          Troop Court of Honor
                                    Early Bird Deposit ($30) due for Summer Camp
Apr 4                            Easter Sunday
Apr 10 – 11                   Wilderness First Aid Class (Philmont Adults)
Apr 16-18                      Troop Camp Out – Backpacking – Walls of Jericho
Apr 25                           Eagle Scout Reception Class of 2009 Eagles 1:30 – 3:30 PM, Opryland Hotel
Apr 30 – May 2              Troop Camp Out – Canoeing at Grimes Canoe Base Buffalo River
May 14                         Greenway Clean Up Day
May 15                         Mother's Day
May 21-23                     Adult White Water School, Session 1, Camp Boxwell
May 24                         Balance of Summer Camp fees are due
May 29                         Flag Placement at Stones River Nat'l Batttlefield
May 31                         Memorial Day  No Troop meeting
June 4-6                        Adult White Water School, Session 2, Hiwassee River
June 13-18                    Summer Camp, Camp Stahlman, Boxwell Reservation
June 14                         No troop meeting – Summer Camp week
July 2-17                        Philmont High Adventure BackpackingTrek to Philmont
Aug 6-8                         Youth White Water Canoe & Kayak School Hiwassee River
Aug 20-22                     Troop White Water Camp Out Hiwassee River