9/30

Text of email from scout in Afghanistan

We got a little wet this weekend but I think everyone had a good time. I wanted to touch base on a few things from the weekend. For some of you it will be a reminder and for our new scouts it will be the first time.

When we arrive back to at the church there is a lot of gear to be taken care of. Some is personal gear and some is troop gear. We need to have everyone stay until the troop gear is put away. Now that everything goes into the shed and not upstairs it only takes about 10 minutes when we have everyone working together.

If your son's patrol slept in a troop owned tent, someone from that patrol needs to bring the tent home and set it up so it can dry. We can't have the tents rotting from mold because it was put away in the shed or left in the trailer. I'm sure you don't want your son sleeping in a tent that is covered in mildew either.

There are usually 2-3 trash bags from the weekend and someone has to take them home. We need one person from a patrol to volunteer for this duty. We can't expect the church to let us fill up their dumpster with our garbage.

Also either class "A or B" shirts are REQUIRED on campouts. The proper shirt is listed at the bottom of the permission form.

So, please have your son ask a scoutmaster or the senior patrol leader if his work is done and if it is OK for him to leave. At the end of a campout we all want to get home and it's not fair to leave the cleanup work to just a few.

9/26

To all,

We are still looking for 2 parents to help Mrs. Vasquez coordinate the food for this year's court of honor. Please contact her about this important task. As parents of older scouts retire we will need parents of younger scouts to step up and take their place or the program will suffer.

Along with the court of honor the new year is signaled by the annual collection of troop dues. Dues are $75.00 for the first child and $60.00 for the second. Please make your check out to "TROOP 140".

Popcorn is also coming up and Mrs. Vasquez will also be needing 2 people to help her with that as well.

This weekend's campout will be a wet one for at least the first half so please make sure your son has rain gear. Please remember that there is a $10.00 fee for this trip. $5.00 for transportation and $5.00 for entrance into the nature preserve. Speaking of money, we will also be visiting Cabelas as it is next to the preserve. Your son will have the opportunity to shop for an hour while we are there. We are looking at an approximate 2:00 pickup time back at the church. This trip will involve hiking around the preserve during the day. Please make sure your son has a day pack and the appropriate clothes for the expected weather at our location. A chair to sit on is always a great idea for almost every campout.

Please note that the meeting on October 8th will be held at Givens-Belet and NOT the church We will be doing a flag retirement ceremony.

Mr. Hromnak is working on arranging for the boys to finish the climbing merit badge at Dutch Springs. The date is Saturday, October 18. The caravan will be leaving the church at 7:30 AM sharp.

For the boys who have made the rank of 1st class we are planning on finishing the escarpment trail in the Catskills the weekend of October 11th. It's a 15 mile hike with a few mountains thrown in for extra fun.

From Mr. Irizarri regarding the upcoming shooting:
I will be hosting on the 3rd OCT at my home 28 Lincoln Laurel Rd starting at 5:00 merit badge training for rifle.

he course will be 3 hours long with a test at the end. Please bring your Rifle merit Badge book along with pencil and paper.

On the 4th we will be meeting at my home and driving to the rage for the practical part of the test at the Walpack. Plan on arriving at 8:00

and we should be done by 10:30.

All Guns ammo and targets will be provided along with hearing and eye protection.

Do not bring any ammo or guns to either training session.