Happy New Year!

First off, I’d like to say THANK YOU to all of the scouts and parents who participated in the Christmas Parade, the Food Drive, and Christmas Caroling! Our Pack was awarded the First Place in the Christmas Parade for our age group! Also, several of our scouts won the drawings for the extra popcorn prizes that were offered district-wide. Our own Ben Bowlin won a playstation 3! Congratulations, scouts!

PINEWOOD DERBY 2011
Our Pinewood Derby will be held January 25th up at the United Methodist Church. Scouts need to CHECK IN at 6:30 p.m. Please be there on time. Scouts sign in, cars are weighed, and any last minute adjustments are done. We begin racing at 7:00 p.m. Rules for the derby are short and sweet:

FOR CUB SCOUTS: You must follow the rules for building the pinecar in your pinewood derby kit. You must use the official kit supplied to you by the Cub Scouts. If you need additional kits, you can purchase them from Pack 101 for $5.00. Your cars must use the block of wood and all of the stock parts which come in the kit. It must be the specified wheelbase, axle height, length, width, and weight (5.0 ounces or less). You can add weights, wood, and other parts as long as the car stays within the stated guidelines. A dry graphite-based lubricant can be used on the wheels. My advice is to apply the lubricant after you have completely finished the car. If you need to double-check the weight of your vehicle, you can do so at the Metropolis Post Office.

FOR OPEN CLASS RACERS: You must begin with an official pinecar kit. The wheelbase, axle height, and overall width of the vehicle must be as specified in the kit. However, most everything else can be modified. Although you must use the block of wood as the body, exactly how much of it you is is up to you (meaning, at least some part of the body must be made from the original block of wood). The wheels, axles, weight, and just about every other aspect of the vehicle is OPEN for interpretation (which is why it is called the Open Class). I will make any final decision about whether or not a car will be allowed to race. For example, if the car won't fit on the track, or if racing the car would damage the track, it will not be allowed to race. If you are unsure whether or not a modified car you wish to run will be allowed to race, please contact me ahead of time (618) 524-8340 or pugh@shawneelink.net.

Many awards will be handed out. So, having a fast racer might be great, but having a unique design, or an interesting paint job, or an unusual use of material will also be recognized, as well as many, many other attributes. We look forward to seeing you there!

RECYCLABLE SNOWMANCONTEST 2011
Every year at the Pinewood Derby, we also hold a contest for each den to make a snowman, but not just any snowman. In the past, we have made edible snowmen, in which all the parts have to be foodstuffs. However, we realized that wasting food when there are people in our own community who need food was just not the right message to send to our scouts. So, we decided this year to have a recyclable snowman contest, in which each den will make a small snowman or winter scene featuring a snowman from any materials that have been repurposed for this project. That might include cardboard, cans, plastic wrap, or any old thing that you can recycle into a snowman!

SCOUT SUNDAY 2011
Every year, the United Methodist Church recognizes Pack 101, and invites us to join them for church on Sunday. This is our opportunity to honor their support of our Pack and be thankful for the space, time, and facilities they devote to us as well. Please plan on joining the United Methodist Church parishioners for Scout Sunday on February 13th. Worship service starts at 10:00 a.m. Scouts and leaders should wear their uniforms.

BLUE AND GOLD BANQUET 2011
The next big event in our calendar is THE BLUE AND GOLD BANQUET, a special scout event held in place of our February Pack Meeting, on Saturday, February 26th. This year’s theme for our Blue and Gold Banquet will be “Camping Out,” and our potluck will be traditional scout camp food. The First Baptist Church Family Life Center will host our event. It is located at the intersection of 6th and Catherine Street. If you turn at the DQ, it is one block down on the left. Each den has been assigned some specific foods to bring. If you’re not sure what that is, please contact your den leader. People need to show up with their food dishes at approximately 5:30 p.m. The banquet itself will begin at 6:00 p.m., and the program will begin at 7:00 p.m.

EVERYONE in your scout’s life is invited---mom, dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, in-laws and outlaws. We will supply the main course, drinks, and dessert. We ask each family to bring one of the dishes we asked their dens to prepare, so that our banquet table will be bountiful. It is very important that you RSVP to me the TOTAL number of people in your family, including your scout, who will be attending the banquet. We need to know how many tables to set up and how much of the main dish, drinks, and other supplies we will need to buy. PLEASE, RSVP by February 18th by mail, phone, email, or facebook. My address is 113 Lindsey, Metropolis, IL, 62960.. My phone is (618) 524-8340, my email is pugh@shawneelink.net, and our facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Metropolis-Illinois-Cub-Scout-Pack-101/133467963360177

What is so special about the Blue and Gold Banquet? This is the celebration of the anniversary of Scouting. This is also the time at which we recognize, through official ceremony, the crossing over of Webelos II scouts from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. From that moment on, they are Webelos II no longer. The larger adventure of scouting awaits them. The entire Pack participates in this advancement. We look forward to seeing you there!

Pinewood Derby and Blue and Gold

First off, I’d like to say THANK YOU to all of the scouts and parents who participated in the Christmas Parade in December, Christmas Carroling, and our Pinewood Derby! Our Pack was awarded the Third Place in the Christmas Parade, our best showing yet!

We held our Pinewood Derby on January 26th up at the Church. We nearly had 50 participants, making it one of our largest derbies ever. I want to thank everybody for participating, all of the leaders for their supervision, and all of the parents and families for supporting your scouts! Pictures of the Derby and of each den were taken by the folks up at the Metropolis Planet. You can see the pictures at The Metropolis Planet and when our pictures are posted, you can view them here.

Even though our event was a terrific success, it has come to my attention that despite our best efforts, a couple of mistakes occurred. First, it's possible that one boy's time was recorded incorrectly. The parents of the boy were writing their scout’s times down because they were texting their friends about his participation in the race. Their texts are different than the time we recorded, which would have made a difference in the race. I think it is right and fair that we recognize the boy without taking away the accomplishments of anyone else. Second, it looks like in another case, the time was recorded correctly, but the best times weren't circled. Again, I am not pointing fingers here. One leader recorded the times, another reviewed them for the awards, and I looked at them again while I was reading them off. Mistakes happen, and it is not a matter of negligence nor maliciousness. However, one boy was upset when he realized that his time should’ve been recognized and wasn’t. The first boy, for whom there might have been a time discrepancy, was Austin Cohoon. The other boy, whose time wasn’t recognized during the race, was Cobie Copley. I am proud of both of these boys. My sincerest apology goes out to them, and my gratitude to the folks who made me aware of our mistake.

Pinewood Derby Race Winners:
TIGERS
1st: Dalton Ledbetter; 2nd: Austin Cohoon; 3rd: Kody Brookshier; 4th: Nickolas Shinn; 5th: Matt Helm; 6th: Grant Helm; 7th: Jacob Mitchell; 8th: AJ Heine; 9th: AC Heine; 10th: Hayden LaVeau; 11th: Andy Sutton; 12th: Ralph Richardson; 13th: Bryan Walquist
WOLFS
1st: Tristen White; 2nd: Seth Blankenbaker; 3rd: Dylan Copley; 4th: Chris Runion; 5th: Carson McKee; 6th: Samuel Crockett; 7th: Tristen Hoxworth; 8th: Matt McHaney; 9th: Stetson Ramey; 10th: John Bowman; 11th: Caleb Holman; 12th: Julian Russell; 13th: Ethan Atkinson; 14th: Robbie Myers; 15th: Lucas Stahl
BEARS
1st: Riley Alsip; 2nd: Ben Bowlin; 3rd: Caleb Blankenbaker; 4th: Cobie Copley; 5th: Seth Clausen; 6th: Payton Adams
WEBELOS I
1st: Teige Heckenlaible; 2nd: Trentin Scronce; 3rd: Noah Carter
WEBELOS II
1st: Caleb Ashley; 2nd: Doug Bates; 3rd: Zachary Walquist; 4th: Patrick Harvill; 5th: Braden Stamme

Award for Outstanding Design: Tristan Hoxworth; Best Use of Materials: Braden Stamme; Unique Car: Matt Helm; Scout Theme: Riley Alsip; The BRICK Award: Zachary Walquist

We would like to congratulate Adam Cohoon and the Tiger Cubs for winning the Edible Snowman contest this year! Adam’s scouts received the award of a pizza party for their den, and made one of the most inventive snowmen (a Jamaican snowman made of meatballs!) I’ve ever seen.
I also want to thank everybody who was present for Scout Sunday up at the United Methodist Church on the 14th. We had a great turn out.


The next big event in our calendar is THE BLUE AND GOLD BANQUET, a special scout event held in place of our February Pack Meeting, on Saturday, February 27th. This year’s theme for our Blue and Gold Banquet will be “One Hundred Years of Scouting,” and our potluck will be a traditional barbecue. The First Christian Church in Metropolis (across from the Dairy Queen) will host our event. People need to show up with their food dishes at 5:30 p.m. Each den has been assigned some specific foods to bring. If you’re not sure what that is, please contact your den leader. The banquet itself will begin at 6:00 p.m., and the program will begin at 7:00 pm.

EVERYONE in your scout’s life is invited---mom, dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, in-laws and outlaws. We will supply the main course, drinks, and dessert. We ask each family to bring one of the dishes we asked each den to prepare, so that our banquet table will be bountiful. It is very important that you RSVP to me the TOTAL number of people in your family, including your scout, who will be attending the banquet. We need to know how many tables to set up and how much of the main dish, drinks, and other supplies we will need to buy. PLEASE, RSVP to me by mail, by phone, or by email. My address is 113 Lindsey, Metropolis, IL, 62960. My phone is 618) 524-8340, and my email is pugh@shawneelink.net. PLEASE RSVP me back!

What is so special about the Blue and Gold Banquet? This is the celebration of the anniversary of Scouting. This is also the time at which we recognize, through official ceremony, the crossing over of Webelos II scouts from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. From that moment on, they are Webelos II no longer. The larger adventure of scouting awaits them. The entire Pack participates in this advancement. We look forward to seeing you there!

Blue and Gold Banquet, 2009

I want to thank everyone for making our Blue and Gold Banquet a huge success. Everyone enjoyed the food, the festivities, and I especially appreciated that four of our scouts earned the Arrow of Light, and crossed over into Boy Scouts. This easily the most important event that we prepare our scouts for, the most important event that I have the honor of participating in, and probably the most important ceremony over which the den leader presides. Also, sadly, it is the last day these boys will be cub scouts, and is usually the last day that the den leader remains an active participant in cub scouts.

Those four boys who bridged over are John Smith, Wesley Olroyd, Jonathan Hodges, and Dakota Robbins. They have earned our respect and admiration for their efforts.

Here are pictures of the event.