EAGLE TIMES

                                                                            *** TROOP 80 BSA ***** APRIL 2000 ***

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BIRTHDAYS

Here are the birthdays for the month of April:

Steve Filipowicz 1, Eddie Murphy 3, Max Von Sydow 10, Pete Rose 14, John Banks 18, John Filipowicz 18, Chas Binkley 19, Jeff Indeck 22, Lee Majors 23, Grant Snell 24, Sheena Easton 23, Huntley Almond 27, Jay Leno 28

 DATES TO REMEMBER

Sneed Mini-Camporee April 14 - 15

Pop Corn orders must be in April 18

Pop Corn Arrives May 6

ALL Popcorn money in May 16

Court of Honor May 16

New Mexico campout May 19 - 21

Camp Don Summer Camp June 18 - 24

Wilderness Camp July 15 - 22

OA Ordeal August 18 - 20

PATROL POINTS

Standings as of 03/24/2K

Skill Patrol

C3 Arapaho 81

C1 Comanche 64

D3 Maya 63

B1 Apache 48

B2 Seminole 46

A3 Cree 37

D2 Erie 37

A1 Hopi 0

Outstanding Patrol

D2 Erie 6828

C1 Comanche 5684

C3 Arapaho 5509

D3 Maya 5312

B1 Apache 4195

B2 Seminole 4163

A3 Cree 3497

A1 Hopi 2185

Outstanding Crew

E1 Ute 2580

F1 Navaho 2440

E2 Wichita 1400

WILDERNESS CAMP

 Troop 80 is headed to Durango during the week of July 15 - 22 for the Troop’s Wilderness camp. -- NOTICE --- The date has changed so please check your calendar. We will visit Mesa Verde National Monument and have some free time in Durango. The hike will be over Hunchback Pass in the Weimenuche wilderness. Then we ride the narrow gauge train. The cost is estimated at $100 dollars, but you can earn money by selling popcorn. Attendance and advancement rules will apply before you are allowed to attend this camp.

SCOUT IN THE GLOBE NEWS

UT-El Paso junior Brandon Wolfram, a former AHS basketball star and Troop 80 Eagle scout, has received 1st-team recognition on the all Western Athletic Conference team. Wolfram, a 6-foot-9, 230-lb forward, ranked second in the WAC scoring race by averaging 20.9 points per game. He shot 56% from the floor and canned 83% of his free throws, both figures ranking 3rd in the WAC overall.  Wolfram is UTEP’s 19th all-time leading scorer with 1,101 points. He led in scoring 18 times during the regular season and had a pair of 30-point games. He averaged 6.8 rebounds per game and is 15 rebounds shy of becoming the 17th Miner in UTEP history to score 1,000 points and a record 500 rebounds. He earned First Team Academic All American honors.

NEW OFFICERS ELECTED

Stephen Gilbert and Shelby Amos were elected as Troop Guides. Cole Amburn became a Den Chief and Rhett Amburn is now a Quartermaster.

ORDER OF THE ARROW

July 29 through August 3, more than 6,800 Arrowmen will be descending on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville for the 2000 National OA Conference. The theme, “Bound in Brotherhood, Led by the Spirit.” will be incorporated with the rich and exciting programs and shows. 17 members of the Amarillo OA Lodge are attending this year with Chase Tillery and Terry Slade going from 80.  To join the OA and become a member of the BSA’s Honor Camping Fraternity, you must have camped for 15 days and nights. Then your fellow members of the Troop hold an election and you participate in an Ordeal weekend. Current members wear a Lodge flap on their right uniform pocket. The troop will hold elections sometime in April.

LET’S BE CAREFUL

Safety is important, but for some it could mean life or death. It seems that Grant Snider was racing 4-wheeler motorcross and was in a wreck where another 4-wheeler landed on top of him. His thumb was crushed. After two surgeries and four pins to put the thumb back together, he is expected to regain 100% after six weeks in a cast. He plans to go back to racing and soccer as soon as the doctor releases him.

MISSING PHYSICALS

Matt Hite reported that many of our members do not have up to date physicals on file and some of our new scouts and adults have not even turned one in yet. The BSA has strict policy guidelines in effect concerning this matter. According to policy, you will not be allowed to go on any campouts or field trips without a current physical on file. He will be printing a list of names with their physical expiration dates.

ADVANCEMENT CAMP

80 Scouts will have the chance for advancement and merit badges when they attend the Golden Spread Council’s Summer Camp the week of June 18 - 24 at Camp Don. The cost is $110 dollars. We will need a few adults willing to spend the week as Scoutmasters at camp. Plan now for a week of skills and fun.

SWIM NIGHTS

A reminder that the last Tuesday of each month is swim night. Don’t forget your swim suit and your. The rule is that you must be in full and correct uniform before getting on the bus.

NOTE TO PARENTS

We appreciate and need your support. Our Courts of Honor are very important to learn information and to recognize our Scouts, but so is each and every Tuesday night. On April 18, you are invited to attend a night of skills round-robin. Drinks and refreshments will be provided. There is a family campout in August at Camp Don where every member of the family is invited. We’ll even have a tent set up for you. We know that no scout advances without his family and behind every good Scout is his mom. There are over 120 merit badges a Scout could earn and we need your help as Counselors. Find one your good at and let us know you want to help. We need help with the family camp in August and don’t forget the tree lot. Then there is the father/son camp in May, too. We could always use your help. Contact Tim Enevoldson about details and to volunteer. Thanks for your support, because your sons deserve it. Eric Wolfram

COURT OF HONOR

The next Court of Honor is planned for May 16 starting at 7pm with a slide show and the awards ceremony will follow at 7:30pm. We need all parents to please attend so that you can find out what is going on with our troop and get that all important information. We also need you to be there to support your sons because this is when the scouts are presented with their badges and rank advancement. The troop only holds 4 Courts of Honor each year and they are very important to the scouts. We are expecting Aaron Amos, Kevin Tate, David Alexander, and Anthony Kennedy to receive their Eagles.

MUSEUM NEWS

Check out the displays in the Poppe Scout Museum. Rich Kritselis donated a series of historical and valuable Order of the Arrow pocket flaps. Many thanks for this donation. The units that spend the night in the 80 hut are very impressed with the displays and our building.

SCOUTS IN THE NEWS

Michael Slade was selected out of 900 participants to the Texas All-Star basketball team at a Nazerene Church tournament in Abilene during Spring Break. Selection puts him on the state team competing in an April 14th tournament in Oklahoma City.

John Filipowicz was selected to the Globe-News Boys Track Honor Roll for the pole vault with a height of 13-6 feet. Also competing in track, Michael Slade took 6th in the shot-putt and Brent Naylor won first in JV discuss at a recent track meet.

In other news, Michael Gilbert, ASPL from the 1980's is getting married. Tim Enevoldson was a presenter at the Amarillo ISD Parenting Seminar. Christian Enevoldson has been identified by Duke University for their MAP program for students who are academically advanced. He was assessed in January and received a composite score of 21 out of a possible 25. He scored in the upper 95 %.

Grant Snell, former 80 member and Eagle Scout was interviewed for the March 24th Generation Y section of the Globe News. He was quoted as saying, “Setting goals is an important quality for a leader and there are more consequences for leaders who are bad role models.” Way to go Grant!!!

OVER THE EDGE IN MARCH

44 scouts and 24 adults hiked or drove into Camp Haynes from Caprock Canyon. Steve Filipowicz convinced Stan Fithen, Louie Lincoln, Steve Sharp, and John Standish, new dads to the troop, to help on the repelling hill or go over the hill, as the case may be. Marty Jones came down and went biking with Chris Eaves and JD Dobrowolski to the railroad tunnel on the Rails-to-Trails bike path, a trip of over 20 miles. EW only made 18 ½ miles before having to be rescued. Hopi and Arapaho had perfect attendance and best campsite went to Erie patrol. Way to go Jack and Josiah!!!

If you know a Troop 80 member that has received an honor at school, church, or other event, please send a note to the Editor at tmslade@actx.edu or 5122 W. 16th Amarillo, TX 79106-4419.

Stephen Gilbert relaxes after a good meal cooked over an open fire.

Brantley Jones, and Shelby Amos, New leader, wake up after a good nights sleep.

A SCOUTMASTER’S MINUTE

     When I was a Cub Scout, I wore my uniform to school and was proud to be a member of Scouting. I wore all the badges I could earn. I wanted the other kids to know I was a Scout. As I moved up the grade ladder to Boy Scouts, you wouldn’t catch me alive in my uniform. Gosh!! What would the other kids think or say? In High School, nobody and I do mean nobody knew I was a Scout. The times haven’t changed as we enter the year 2000. I’ve never seen a Scout in uniform at the mall or grocery store. The boys are too afraid of what others will say because peer-pressure is a very powerful thing.

     Why does one become a member of the Boy Scouts? To learn new skills, go on campouts, to earn the Eagle rank. Most likely, you joined scouting because a friend joined and you wanted to be part of the group. If you look up the word “Gang” in a dictionary, it states that a gang is a group working together or associated socially. Then by definition, Scouting is a gang. We hang out together, have our own initiation (learning the Oath and Law), and our own colors (khaki and green). Sort of like any other gang. The one problem is that most members of a gang are proud to show their colors and protect their turf. The Scout gang seems to be hiding itself.

     Think to yourself what you have done while being a scout. Have you rafted on the Snake river in Wyoming or the Arkansas river in Colorado? If you saw a child drowning in a pool, would you be able to save a life? Have you been camping and could you find your way home if lost? Did you learn to swim or learn how to shoot a rifle as a scout? Can you do something as simple as tie a square knot? I bet the other gangs don’t teach these skills.

     While picking up my kid after a football practice one evening. Some of the other guys saw the sticker that I display on my bumper. It reads, “I’m proud of my Eagle Scout”. They asked who I was picking up and after I told them, they responded with “Wow, I didn’t know he was even a Scout”. The next guy said that he wished he had joined scouts because they did cool stuff.

    Maybe being part of the “Scouting” gang and showing others that your a Scout isn’t so bad after all. ASM Terry Slade