Troop Parent Committee Meeting – this Tuesday Night!
Please not that the committee meeting is Tuesday, February 15th at 7:15pm.
Klondike Derby
We don’t have all the final scores at this time but we do know the Patriot Patrol placed third overall. We had 16 scouts and 3 leaders attend the freeze-out on Friday night. That was an excellent turnout and all of you should be commended for spending the night when the temperatures dropped to the teens. On Saturday we had 30 scouts and 12 leaders participate for the Klondike –this was a very good turnout (>90% of the troop scouts). Each patrol had some strengths and weaknesses and it definitely fostered a learning experience for some. We will get out a full report once the scores have been posted and have had a debrief with everyone.
Free Training by the American Red Cross!
The American Red Cross has grant money for free Lifesaving training for Nashua youth 19 and younger. We will train 65 children in Adult CPR/AED, Child CPR/AED, Infant CPR and First aid for free until the end of March. Offer is first come, first serve. We can either, come to you and train a group or they can register for a community class already schedule at the Nashua Chapter of the ARC. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Our class schedules are on our webpage which is www.nhredcross.org or you can call me at the number below and we can schedule training for your group. Thanks, ~vicki
We have some really fun activities planned over the next few months.
You can’t find a better program that combines the outdoors, fun and values that are our scouts are getting from Troop 19.
With all this snow there is no better time than right now to go snow-shoeing! We have a snow shoe hike planned for February 19th and 20th. We will be staying in a cabin in Franconia Notch (near the Old Man of the Mountains and the Flume). The cabin has a wood stove and gas lanterns along with a gas stove for cooking. It is a short ½ mile hike from the trail head to the cabin. This trip is for any scout interested and you should be able to carry all your gear in a backpack. We will be spending the day on Saturday exploring the area on snow shoes—possible hikes include climbing a mountain peak, hiking to Lonesome Lake or the Flume. Cost of the trip is $10 per person for the cabin and $TBD for food. You will need to have snow shoes (you can rent from EMS or Beaver Brook in Hollis) and good winter clothing (no cotton). The permission slip and equipment list is posted on the website. Here is a picture of the cabin that Nate McManus took when we visited it last month.
2011 NH Jamboree and 'Scouting the Future' Patch Design Contest
Save the Date: October 7-9, 2011
Get ready to celebrate the start of a second century of Scouting by participating in the NH Jamboree! This year’s event will be held at Waterville Valley Ski Area and Resort Friday to Sunday of Columbus Day Weekend. Activities for Scouts and Venturers of all ages will be built around the four sections of the Scout Handbook: Scoutcraft, Woodcraft, Campcraft, and Continuing the Adventure. Surrounded by 4,000 ft mountains, Waterville Valley offers incredible opportunity for adventure, and you can expect exhibits and demonstrations of all kinds.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!
We need volunteers to help plan and deliver activities and organize the Jamboree. Talk to your District Activities Chairman to see how you can get involved or e-mail Chip Avery, Council Activities Chairperson.
YOUTH MEMBERS ARE INVITED TO ENTER THE PATCH DESIGN CONTEST!
The 2011 NH Jamboree patch will be chosen from submissions from Daniel Webster Council Scouts and Venturers. The winner will receive a $100 Daniel Webster Council gift certificate redeemable at the Manchester Scout Shop or towards DWC camp fees. Deadline for submissions is March 11. Visit www.nhscouting.org/nhjamboree for details and an official entry form.
Be sure to sign-up for the USS Salem trip.
Our trip aboard the USS Salem is still a month away (Saturday March 19), but it is now time for our final payment (the Troop has made two deposits already). Please have your portion of the fee at this Tuesday's meeting. If you know of one of our Scouts who is not attending, encourage them to go - we still have a few spots left!
Scouts in good standing (sold 20+ wreaths and current with dues) - ONLY $25!
Adults registered with the Troop (ASM & Committee Members) - ONLY $25!
Non-registered adults - $45
Sorry if this is short notice for some of you - the final payment schedule snuck-up on me!
Thanks,
Paul Guertin
The troop will be conducting elections for the Order of the Arrow on February 15th.
We have also distributed permission slips for the troop’s annual ski trip to Mt. Sunapee on March 5th and 6th. If you ski or snow board or want to learn how, this is a good time to try it. You can come up for one day or stay overnight (free accommodations at a local church) and have two days on the slopes. Snow Sports Merit Badge is also offered.
SELF-RESPECT
Here is an example of self-respect in professional sports as reported by the New York Times.
Pitcher Spurns $12 Million to Keep Self-Respect
The guaranteed contract is a fundamental principle of Major League Baseball, as much a part of the game as balls, strikes and outs. No matter how a player performs, or how his body holds up, he must be paid in full. Only in rare cases — an injury sustained off the field, gross personal misconduct — does a player forfeit his paycheck.
But the case of Gil Meche is rare for an entirely different reason. Meche, a 32-year-old right-handed pitcher, had a contract that called for a $12 million salary in 2011. Yet he will not report to Surprise, Ariz., with the rest of the Kansas City Royals for spring training next month. He will not have surgery to repair his chronically aching right shoulder. He will not pitch in relief, where the workload is lighter.
Meche retired last week, which means he will not be paid at all.
“When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it,” Meche said this week by phone from Lafayette, La. “Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.’’
Meche’s decision plays against type — the modern athlete out for every last dollar.
“This isn’t about being a hero — that’s not even close to what it’s about,” Meche said this week. “It’s just me getting back to a point in my life where I’m comfortable. Making that amount of money from a team that’s already given me over $40 million for my life and for my kids, it just wasn’t the right thing to do.”
The Royals signed Meche to a five-year, $55 million free-agent contract before the 2007 season, when he made the American League All-Star team. He pitched well again the next season, but by mid-2009, his body started to crumble. He made nine starts last season without a victory.
Still, the Royals fully expected Meche to pitch in relief, and to pay him the $12 million — three times more than any other player on the team. If nothing else, they believed, Meche could be a positive influence for a young roster.
But Meche knew the Royals really signed him to start games and log innings. His deteriorating shoulder, surgically repaired twice in 2001, would not allow him to do that. As a divorced father of three, he believed his children — ages 7, 5 and 3 — needed him more than his teammates did.
TYLER KEPNER
Regards,
Greg Anthony
