Troop 24 will be participating in a day hike run by the Des Plaines Valley Council Voyager Trace District.

The deadline to register is Sunday, March 23.

Location:  Salt Creek Trail beginning at Brookfield Zoo Woods and ending at Bemis Woods South.

Theme:  Morning Hike followed by Advancement Round Robins and Emergency Preparedness Presentations featuring Cook County’s Bomb Squad and Department of Homeland Security

Cost:  $6.50 for Scouts and Parents

Time:  Around 8:00 AM Staggered Patrol Starts from Brookfield Zoo Woods (We will be notified of our Troop Start time at a later date)

The Event: Along the trail Patrols will be questioned  at First Aid, Emergency Preparedness, Hiking, Map and Compass stations. (Tenderfoot requirement 5, Second class requirement 1b)

Lunch will be serve at Bemis Woods South.  After lunch Scouts will be encouraged to attend round robin sessions.  Topic will include rank reqs. for First Aid, (Tenderfoot 12b, 2nd class 7a, 1st class 8b) and Nature (Tenderfoot 11, 2nd class 6, 1st class 6)

We will need drivers to drive scouts from RPC to Brookfield Zoo Woods, pick them up at 3:00 PM from Bemis Woods South and bring them back to RPC, and parents & leaders to hike and participate.

A registration for should be filled out for each participant including adults.  Adults who can drive should fill out the driver info when completing their child’s registration.  Leaders and adults who participate will be driving to Zoo Woods and leaving their cars there.  So we will especially need drivers to pick up at Bemis and return scouts to RPC and some to drive adults and leaders to Zoo Woods to get their cars.

Please register at:
http://troop24riverside.com/2014/03/adventure-day-registration/

For questions contact  Dawn Gmitro.

Not only did our scouts take second place in the Klondike Derby on February 1, they also got a chance to put their first aid training to use, and did an outstanding job! A scout from another patrol, that did not have a leader with them, was hit on the head by a sled. While the rest of his patrol ran off, two scouts carried him up to the area where we were. You should have seen our scouts jump into action when they heard them yell, “Help! We have a hurt scout!”

They grabbed the first aid kit, offered their coats, hats and gloves as a cushion, reassured him, shielded his face from the snow and even did a little crowd control to keep the area clear. They were amazing and we can be proud of the job they did! Due to the fact that they stayed and helped, they lost points for the stations they missed. It didn’t even faze them.

Leader Mark Janopoulos did a great job too! While leaders were contemplating how to get the injured scout to the warming house, Mark ran and brought up the car. He eventually had to drive the paramedics and scout to an area where the second ambulance could pick them up. The first ambulance never made it up the road; it slid and became stuck. The scout turned out to be okay, he was just in shock.

Our boys really did a great job and were a great representation of Troop 24. When you see them, please congratulate Ryan C., Zach J., Ben J., Chris and Robert M., and Ewan P.

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP: February 7 Due to hotel reservations and group rates, we need to know who is going on the ski outing by THIS SATURDAY, February 7. We have 12 scouts & leaders signed up, but we need 20 for the group rate. Please don’t wait until the last minute!

Mark your calendars for February 22-23 for Troop 24’s annual ski outing.  This year we will travel to Alpine Valley Ski Resort in Wisconsin. We will spend Saturday participating in snow sports and then stay the night at the lodge at Alpine Valley with an indoor swimming pool and game room.

Parents should be aware that scouts will be skiing with buddies, but will not be skiing with adult leaders at all times.

Scouts who have never skied before can take lessons; in fact, lessons are highly encouraged for those who have not skied recently, or those who are not proficient (as one scout put it, “I know how to ski; I just don’t know how to stop or turn.”)

Scouts can attend on their own, or the whole family is welcome to take advantage of the group rates and join us. Families may choose to make this a day trip or stay overnight; all single scouts should plan to stay overnight.

Saturday February 22 – Sunday February 23

Saturday Itinerary:
Depart: RPC 7:00 a.m. (2-hour drive)
Ski or Snowboarding: 10:00 a.m.- 5:30 p.m.
Lessons: 10:30 a.m. (not required, but highly recommended for new or less-experienced skiers)
Dinner break/hotel check-in: 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Night-time Skiing (for those who pay for that option.)  7:00-10:00 p.m.
Swimming (optional): 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Sunday Itinerary:
Breakfast Buffet: 7:00-9:00 a.m.
Depart Hotel: 9:30 a.m.
Arrive Home: Return to RPC @ ~ 12:00 noon

Menu of Costs per person
The BSA requires scouts to wear helmets while skiing/snowboarding, so the cost of the helmet rental is included in all the prices below. For those who have their own ski/snowboard equipment, contact Dawn Gmitro.

Ski rental, helmet, lift = $75 (10:00 a.m. -5:30 p.m.) OR  $88 (10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.)

Snowboard rental, helmet, lift = $75 (10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.)  OR $88 (10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.)

Helmet, lift only = $49 (10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.) OR $64 (10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.)

Lessons = $5 Ski OR $10 Snowboard (Required for first-time skiers; recommended for inexperienced skiers)

Individual Scout Shared Hotel w/meals* = $50 (4 scouts per room)

Family Pizza supper = $6/person

Family Breakfast buffet = $11/person

Family Room (2 queen beds) = $121 Group Rate (tax not included) – Families interested in staying at the lodge should contact the reservations department and tell them you are part of Riverside Boy Scout Troop 24.  We have a bank of rooms reserved.  They will take your name and credit card info to hold as part of our group. (262-642-7374 or 800-227-9395 ext. 411)

*Pizza dinner and breakfast buffet is included in the price, all adults and scouts will need to bring either money or sack lunch for Saturday lunch at the ski hill. If scouts wish to play in the game room they should bring quarters with them.

Leaders in charge will be Joan & Mark Janopoulos and Joe & Abraham Ourth. For questions contact  Dawn Gmitro

Scouts, Adults, AND Siblings, sign up here: http://troop24riverside.com/2014/01/alpine-valley-form-february-22-23-2014/
Deadline for sign-up: 2/7/14

Back by very popular demand.  Winter Luge at the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex.  Sign up now, spots are limited!

Join Troop 24 on Sat/Sun January 11/12 for Luging at Winter Sports Complex in Muskegon, MI.

• The cost to Luge is $45
• 20 spots are available
• Sign-up closes on Dec 18 – no exceptions

Participants will be staying in a hotel Saturday night.  Once the Luge sign-up closes and we have a final count of scouts, we will make hotel reservations.  Boys will stay in rooms of 4 scouts,  the cost of the hotel, food, and transportation will be calculated and attendees will be asked to pay the remaining expenses by Jan 3.  (Preliminary estimate of additional expenses is ~$60/scout).

Scouts sign up here

Adults and Leaders sign up here  (we need 4-5 leaders/adults)

Registration will close when we have 20 scouts or on December 18 (whichever is first).  If over 20 scouts are interested, we will have a waiting list in case of cancellations.  Contact Susan Lynch with questions or to be placed on the waiting list.

The track provides an Olympic thrill with the safety of the participant in mind. Top speeds of approximately 30 mph are possible from the public start area located about 3/4 of the way up the track.  The 850’ track was designed by three-time Olympian Frank Masley and consists of six curves and two starting areas. Coaches are on hand to teach and assist both beginners and those who have slid before.  Scouts will have a 2.5 hour session which will include a lesson/coaching.

Check out the very cool video at this url: http://www.msports.org/luge

Boys will need to be able to carry a 25-40 lb sled up [lots of] stairs to starting area.

There will be NO Troop meeting on December 12. Instead, we will be going to the Oak Brook Family Recreation Center from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on December 13. The Oak Brook Family Recreation Center is located at 1450 Forest Gate Road in Oak Brook. Parents are asked to provide transportation for their scouts to & from the event. We also need adults to attend as chaperones. There is no cost to families for the outing, but we need to know how many plan to attend. Please let us know if you can come by signing up here: http://troop24riverside.com/2013/12/gym-swim-form-december-13-2013/

Monday trip on the Nantahala River

Our older scouts have been meeting to discuss possible high adventure outings. After a survey of parents and scouts, the first choice was a whitewater rafting trip. Fortunately, we have been able to reserve one week at BSA Camp Daniel Boone in Asheville, North Carolina, for July 27 through August 2, 2014. All participants must be First Class or above, have graduated from 8th grade, and have previously attended a summer camp with Troop 24. Participants will be required to pass a swim test, and should be strong swimmers.

They require a minimum of 12 participants on the crew so we would need 10 scouts and 2 leaders to commit. We must have commitments by December 30 for the event to go forward.

The trek itself is $475 per person for the week. With transportation, extra meals during travel, and miscellaneous expenses, we estimate the cost to be $700-$900 total per person (variation in cost depends on transportation costs, and whether we fly or drive). We will collect the cost in 3 installments, with the first $175 due by December 30, an additional $250 due on March 1, and the balance due on May 1.

More information is available at:
http://www.campdanielboone.org/HighAdventure/RaftingCanoeingTreks/WhitewaterAdventureTrek.aspx

The whitewater trip does not conflict with our regular summer camp at Tesomas, which is July 13-19. Scouts can attend both.

Ready to sign up? You can do so here: http://troop24riverside.com/2013/12/6083/

Have more questions? Contact Kent Johnson at kentjohnson@ameritech.net.

Scouts who took tents home to dry after the Mississippi Palisades outing should bring them to the Troop meeting on Thursday.

We are sorry to say that we have to cancel the EAA outing planned for this weekend due to low interest. We have participated in this program twice in the past (the last time 2 years ago), and have always had more scouts interested than we had room to accommodate. Consequently, we reserved 20 spots this year, which was the number that EAA told us was necessary for this overnight event.

Unfortunately, we had only 12 scouts sign up. We had 4 leaders lined up–thank you to those adults who volunteered! Scouts who paid will be receiving a refund via WePay. This is the second outing that we’ve had to cancel this year due to low turnout (the other being the Camporall in September). It’s disheartening for those who spend time making the arrangements necessary to offer these opportunities to our scouts, and it’s frustrating for the scouts who had planned to go.

We would appreciate any feedback from parents or scouts about why scouts are not signing up–too costly; conflicts with sports, homework, other activities; just not interested? Also unfortunate is the fact that the Troop will lose the deposit we put down to reserve this weekend.