Weekend of April 16 - 18, 2010

Troop 1970 needs all hands on deck to help out on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. Detailed schedule is below.

We need chase-car drivers, cooks, food servers, truck unloaders, bag haulers, receipt deliverers, and stack counters.  In other words, there is something for everyone to do to contribute to this overall team effort.  Come help for 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours or spend the whole weekend.

Scoutbucks are earned for each scout’s account for every hour that any family member, scout, neighbor or pal spends working.  Scoutbucks can be applied to camp, outings, gear, registration, and other scout related costs.

See you out there.

FRIDAY 16 April

3:00   — Scouts arrive for Site setup (Langston Hughes Middle School at 11401 Ridge Heights Rd in Reston)
3:00   — Mulch starts arriving
4:00   — site set up complete (shelters, cooking gear, etc.)
4:30   — initial set of loaded delivery trucks roll
6:00   — PIZZA for dinner
8:00   — quit deliveries for Friday, set up delivery trucks

SATURDAY 17 April

7:30 AM — arrive to set up, coffee, donuts, receive assignments
8 AM — delivery trucks roll
11:30 — lunch available as trucks & crews return
6 PM — complete deliveries (could extend into evening or Sunday)
7 PM — Empty pallets dropped off at pickup site (West on Rt 50)
7 PM — site cleanup complete, adult volunteers gather to return rental
trucks (Sterling)

SUNDAY 18 April (Only If Necessary)

7:30 AM — arrive to set up, coffee, donuts, receive assignments
8 AM — delivery trucks roll
12      — complete deliveries (could extend into afternoon)
– Empty pallets dropped off at pickup site
– site cleanup complete,
– adult volunteers gather to return rental trucks

Order enough mulch for your landscaping needs.

BSA Troop 1970 — serving the community for 40 years, announces our 16th Annual Spring Mulch Sale!  Same prices as last year!

• Premium double shredded & aged oak-bark mulch. 3 cubic feet bags (about 5o lbs) covers 3-foot x 3-foot area 4-inches deep.
• Free curbside delivery in Reston/Herndon/Oakton/Vienna area.
• Mulch delivered during weekend of April 16-18, 2010.
• Tax deductible donation (receipt & quid pro quo disclosure provided).

Download the flyer and print it out. Then fill-out the order form and send it back to us with your check. Make checks payable to: BSA Troop 1970.

Prices list (minimum order is 20 bags):

• 20 – 34 bags = $5.50 / bag
• 35 bags or more = $5.00 / bag
• 100 bags or more = $4.50 / bag

Please place orders before March 20, 2010!  Although we strive to serve all customers we are limited in the amount of mulch we can handle. Once our limit is reached we will stop accepting orders.  Please order early, we sell out every year!

For more information email Mulch Czar Mike Lockwood.

This is an FYI on a new program that is only available during 2010. In honor of the BSA’s 100th Anniversary, though, today’s generation of Scouts will get the unique opportunity to experience some of the activities their predecessors enjoyed. That’s possible thanks to the BSA’s new Historical Merit Badge Program, a set of four discontinued merit badges that today’s Scouts can earn only during 2010. Note that they do count towards advancement.

Centenial Historic Merit Badges

On November 30, the local healthcare coordinator from the Muscular Dystrophy Association office will give an overview on the MDA and the services that they offer. This will fulfill requirement #2 but you must be in attendance for it to count.

See you on Monday!

Neil Bonner, Disabilities Awareness merit badge counselor

Skiing is fun[:

Boy Scout Troop 1970 is once again hitting the slopes at Timberline Four Seasons Resort in Davis, West Virginia. We will depart the afternoon of Friday, January 22, ski on Saturday, Saturday evening (optional) and Sunday morning, then hit the road to arrive home late-afternoon on Sunday, January 24.

We had great skiing last year, with good weather and nearly every slope open. Timberline is a great place for beginning skiers, with a beginners’ slope with chair lift and two long, gentle runs. It also offers a variety of slopes for more serious skiers, with ratings up to double-black-diamond, plus a freestyle terrain park. Although this is the most expensive of the regular Troop outings, it is a terrific deal for skiing. Timberline offers an all-in-one package for Scout groups, which includes lodging, all five meals, rental equipment, lift tickets, and a ski lesson. Parents are welcome to join their sons on this trip.

It may seem early to be talking about snow, but I must have your reservation forms and payments by *** NOVEMBER 16th *** in order to reserve the proper number of bunks at Timberline.

Attached please find the following pages and forms, which I will also pass out at the Troop meeting on Monday:

- Description of the trip and available options, with a reservation form for you to complete and return with payment.

- A selection of pictures from our last two visits to Timberline.

- The permission slip for this trip.

- A list of things to bring on the trip.

It will be important to come prepared for skiing in weather that may range from spring-like to polar-like. We will spend time at Troop meetings discussing proper clothing and behavior to ensure that everyone has a fun and safe time.

Yours in Scouting,
ASM Mike Blanpied

Troop 1970 will take part in Scouting for Food the weekend of November 6th/7th/8th. We will be distributing bags to homes and Troop 1971 will be collecting the donations the following weekend.

• Bags with flyers inserted inside will be handed out to volunteer drivers (adults) on Monday November 2nd at the Troop Meeting. Everyone will get about 100 bags for their route. If you can not pick up bags on that night, you can make arrangement with Mr. Hutzler to stop by his house and pick up your supplies.
• You are free to distribute the bags on your route anytime during the weekend of the 6th-8th.
• Each route has been carefully selected to have about 100 homes in it. (thank you Google Maps satellite view!)
• If you want to trade a route, talk to the person who has the other route. The organizer (Carl Hutzler) can not help with negotiations.
• It may be possible to go green on some of these routes. With appropriate supervision and planning, you might be able to ride a bike with the bags on your handlebars or in a larger courier type bag on your shoulder. When you get to a group of houses, drop the bike and walk the bags to the doors. This is just an option and must be approved by your adult driver during your route planning discussions.
• Please make sure that bags are tied securely to to the door of each house or put inside or pinched in a storm door if one is available. DO NOT PUT BAGS INSIDE OF MAILBOXES.
• Extra bags will be available at Mr. Hutzler’s house at 2512 Freetown Drive 20191 (near Glade Dr and Reston Pkwy)
  

The overall map of our territory along with color coded routes for each volunteer team (driver + scouts) is drawn out on a Google Map. I hope everyone is able to view it and print it for their use. Let Mr. Hutzler know if you have any issues with this (I do not plan on printing color maps for everyone).

Larger Map with Assignments – Click Here

Flyer (JPG file)

View Scouting for Food 2009 – Troop 1970/1971 in a larger map

I love backpacking!

Scouts,

Below are the details of our trip. A permission slip will follow shortly.

This trip follows very close on the heels of our last outing and we now have only one more meeting to get fully prepared. Please keep an eye out for follow up emails and be prepare for our meeting next Monday.  If you plan on participating, please respond to this email and let me know how many of your family will attend.

Things we need to do next Monday:

• Watch a short demo of cooking gear and talk about appropriate food for backpacking and drinking water
• Plan Meals and assign grub masters
• Check backpacks  If you are a younger scout that has not backpacked with us before please bring your pack packed with the gear you are taking (minus food and water)
• All are welcome to bring their packs for checking and to show off your cool camping gear.
• Return permission slips

THE TRIP:

We will be hiking the Appalachian Trail again.  How lucky we are to have this in our own back yard!  The section we will be hiking is a little over six miles long and is not extremely strenuous. It is in the mountains however and you will have a pack to carry.  Backpackers will start at Keys Gap trail head  on route 9 and hike to the camping area near Blackburn Trail Center. We will be camping in a heavily wooded area where there are a few designated campsites.   Mostly we will have to find places for our tents among the trees.

(Don’t forget those pads.)  I am guessing that in 2 weeks we should have nice fall color to add to the scenery.

If there is enough interest and adult leaders we will also have an out and back hike for those who want something a little less challenging.  Just a warning though, the camping area is about 2 tenths of a mile from the Blackburn Trail Center parking area and it is up the side of the mountain.  If we do this option, you will still want to bring lighter gear in a pack so you can carry it safely to the camping area. I checked out the trail head this past weekend.  It is under an hour away and very easy to find. 

I have included a packing check list below as well as a map of the trail area and a site on the Blackburn Trail Center.

Map
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/at/m.php?wpt=Blackburn

BTC
http://www.pecva.org/anx/index.cfm/1,325,775,0,html/

 Regards,
Bob Terrafranca