Scouts Keep it Interesting

CareConnect Helicopter Display at Scout Event

A mixture of scout groups in Lamar filled Willow Creek Park for the second year this past Saturday, August 26^th as scout leaders hosted a gathering of events, offered to display some of the fun events scouts participate in.

Navigating a Path thru the Obstacle Course

Clarence Van Dyke, a den leader for Cub Scout Pack 223 said numerous groups came together to put out a welcome mat of activities for the kids in the community. “We want to help introduce scouting activities to the community and various groups got together a while back to start the process,” he said.  The mid-day events included Boy and Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, the new Explorer Post and Venture Scouts.

Getting Into the Protective Gear

One early highlight was the arrival of the CareConnect helicopter which landed in the open area of the middle of the park. They stayed for several hours, explaining the equipment, their mission and provided a demonstration, using a scout loaded onto a gurney, to show one aspect of their procedures.

Brace Yourself!

Laura Hobden, another scout parent explained, “We had a committee comprised of all the scouting groups put this together and this is our second year. We hope to make this an annual event.”  Hobden added that it was open to anyone in the community, to include those who weren’t scouts, but just wanted to have a fun afternoon and learn more about scouting activities in the area.  “We have a rock climbing wall, two obstacle courses, an archery area, dunk tank, face painting and a concession stand.  We also have a demonstration of a K9 take down.”

That involved the Lamar Police K9, Dante, accompanied by his handler, Officer O.J. Pierce…and a volunteer. Mark Warman, a local scout, was fitting into in a full body, protective suit for the demonstration.  Once all the details had been explained, Mark was given a head start of about three dozen yards to make a ‘break’ for it with Dante in full chase.  It didn’t take long for the K9 to make up the difference in yardage as he quickly pulled the young scout down and held on, waiting for the next command.  Several demonstrations of a takedown followed while the parents and scouts watched from along the rock border along Rotary Way Road which ran through the eastern side of the park.  It looked as if Dante could go a couple of more times, but Mark was the one who was starting to heat up from the outside temperatures and from carrying the weight of the protective suit.

The activities came to a close at 2pm that afternoon, but we can expect more activities, entertainment and information from the scouting groups around this time next year.

By Russ Baldwin