Your Patrol Leaders Council has been hard at work this summer planning for the new Scout year starting in September. September will bring new and exciting facets to Troop 24 including new patrols, meeting plans, and senior leadership. September will see new senior management of the troop, and scouts who want to be considered for senior troop positions should review the job descriptions on the Troop 24 website and speak with the Scoutmaster.

The most important position in the Troop is that of Senior Patrol Leader which was has been held for the past year by Will Flaherty. Your PLC has established the minimum eligibility requirements for the Senior Patrol Leader. Any scout who meets the minimum eligibility requirements and wishes to be considered for the SPL position for the 2016-17 year should contact Mr. Flaherty.

The Minimum Eligibility Requirements as established by your Patrol Leaders Council are:

• The SPL shall hold the rank of Star, Life or Eagle at the time of selection.
• The SPL shall be at least a high school sophomore or 15 years of age or older.
• The SPL shall have held the position of Asst. Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, or Den Chief in the past.
• The SPL must make Scouting his primary commitment and commit to attending every Thursday meeting throughout the year.
• The SPL must commit to attending, planning and leading every Patrol Leaders Council meeting throughout the year.

Congratulations to our newest Eagle Scout, Will Flaherty!

Our pizza sale on the Fourth of July is our troop’s second largest fundraiser, and we need more help to make this a successful event. If you will be in town, please sign up for a shift of set-up, selling or clean-up. Meet at Riverside’s Guthrie Park in uniform shirts or troop t-shirts, with a hat if you will be serving food.

Sign up for 4th of July pizza sale

If you have already had your scout’s bike inspected by a bike shop, great! If not, we will have an inspection Wednesday, July 6, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Janopoulos’ house at 360 Nuttall in Riverside. We don’t want scouts to get to camp and have problems with their bikes, so the inspection is mandatory. If you know that your bicycle needs repair you will need to bring the needed parts with you and we will repair the bike that day.

You can also take your bicycle to any bike shop for inspection. Ask the bike shop to provide a paper saying that it is good working order.

We strongly encourage every scout to bring a bike. The camp is very large and it makes it much faster and easier to get around. Bikes are necessary for scouts taking archery and shooting sports because the ranges are quite far from our campsite.

Troop 24 will hold an Ax Yard on Friday, July 1, at 4:30 p.m. at the Janopoulos residence, 360 Nutall, Riverside. The purpose of the Ax Yard is to teach proper and safe use of knives, axes, and saws. Completion of the Ax Yard is required to obtain a Totin Chip, which is required if the scout is in possession of any kind of personal knife during any scouting activity. In preparation for the Ax Yard, each scout must review wood tools use and safety rules in the Boy Scout Handbook Chapter 12. Scouts must wear closed toe shoes and may wear Class B shirts.

Troop 24 Instructors are required to attend the Ax Yard and be prepared to teach the requisite wood tool use and safety rules.

Erik H. would like your help with his Eagle project on Saturday July 2 and Sunday July 3. The project is building benches for Komarek School, and scouts and adults are needed to help with construction of these benches during three shifts each day.

The work will take place in Erik’s yard at 2413 4th Avenue, North Riverside. Refreshments will be provided. Also, there is a pool for helpers to cool off in after their shift if they want (remember to bring a suit & towel). Thank you for your help!

Sign up for Saturday

Sign up for Sunday

Elijah O is requesting scout assistance from any scouts whose families have a front-loading washing machine. (Regular machines are too hard on the animals.) He has bags of stuffed animals to be washed and dried. If you are able to help, please contact Elijah at elijahourth@comcast.net.

Congratulations to our newest Eagle Scout, Killian Klotz!