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|  Pack 597 News The articles on this page will help keep you current with the most recent events at Pack 597. Salvation Army - Bell Ringing
Date: 12/17/2011 Author: Erica Grand
Pack 597 has a long history of bell ringing for the Salvation Army. This year we did our
usual great job of singing, ringing, and bringing holiday cheer to all who visited the Eden
Prairie Wal-Mart store on Saturday, December 17, and the weather was great!!
A huge Thank You to all Scouts and parents who attended this year’s Bell Ringing. We
helped raise a total of $808.00. A few scouts asked, “Where does the money we collect
go?” I think this short history would be great to share with them….
The tradition of the Salvation Army kettles began in San Francisco in 1891 with
Captain Joseph McFee. Captain McFee was looking for a way to help provide
meals to families in need. Captain McFee decided to place a kettle at the Oakland
ferry landing.
By strategically placing the kettle, he was able to attract donations from those
going to and from the ferry boats.
Now, more than 100 years have passed and instead of providing just a simple
Holiday meal, the money raised at the Salvation Army’s kettles is also used to
provide clothing, shelter, toys, financial assistance and counseling year-round.
The Salvation Army's holiday fund-raising activities play a crucial role in sharing
the spirit of the season with families in need.
GREAT JOB Pack 597 Scouts and Families. The same Saturday, other Eden Prairie Cub
Scout Packs rang bells locally – the five Cub Scout Packs from Eden Prairie, including
ours, helped raise more than $3,000. Happy Holidays and we will see you at the Ool
Party on January 7, 2012.
Den 8 Tours the Brooklyn Park Waste Center Date: 11/12/2010 Author: Amy Konkoly 
On November 12th, 2010, on a day off school, 8 scouts from Den 8 (along with Erika Grand and Amy Konkoly) toured the Brooklyn Park Waste Center. During the tour, they learned that 1,200,000 pounds of garbage are brought into the facility each day. The watched garbage trucks dump their loads into the garbage "pit" and then a large truck pushed the garbage into a larger semi. The semis were taking loads up to Elk River where the garbage is burned and turned into electricity. The scouts also saw the recycling center when people can bring in their items which can't be dumped into the garbage - such as appliances, TV's and other electronics, old tires, used oil, glass bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard, fluorescent light bulbs, paint cans and other household chemicals.
Of the most importance, the scouts learned 5 reasons why we all need to recycle: These are:
1) Recycling keeps these items out of the landfill
2) Recycling saves our natural resources (such as trees, oil, sand, metals)
3) Recycling saves energy
4) Recycling means there is less pollution
5) Recycling helps our economy in the state of Minnesota (creates 20,000 jobs, much tax revenue, and adds $3 billion annually to our economy)
The most important take away message for this tour is USE A REFILLABLE WATER BOTTLE. Did you know that there are 4 million individual plastic water bottles being used every HOUR in the US? Only about 1/4 of those bottles end up being recycled. It takes 1 million of those bottles filled with oil to make the 4 million bottles. That's a lot of oil!
Next time you see a Den 8 scout, ask him if he remembers:
1) Recycling 1 aluminum can translates into the energy required to power the TV for how many hours?
2) Recycling a 1 foot stack of newspapers translates into the energy required to take how many hot showers?
3) Recycling 1 glass jar translates into burning a 100-watt lightbulb for how many hours?
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Pack 597 Does a Good Turn for Prop Date: 11/01/2010 Author: Tom Paul The Scouts and families of Cub Scout Pack 597, sponsored by St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie, conducted their annual Cake Raffle and Contest to raise funds for Eden Prairie People Reaching Out to Other People (PROP) on Tuesday, October 26, 2010. Each year, the Cub Scouts bake or buy cakes with various themes and designs and auction them with the proceeds delivered to PROP. This year’s event generated $ 331.00 from cake donations. Special prizes were awarded for Best Halloween Theme, Best Scouting Theme, and Best Sports Theme. See the pictures web page for a pPicture of a few of the Pack 597 Scouts with Cubmaster Tom Pahl and Carmen from PROP. Thanks to everyone for their great spirit and generous donations to PROP. |
Youth Protection Training -- Effective 6/1/2010 Date: 06/03/2010 Author: Tom Paul All:
Sorry for the late notice but we just learned that all volunteers must be trained in Youth Protection Training as of June 1, 2010. See the flyer below for details and further explanation.
What does this mean for you? If you are a Den Leader, member of our Leadership or a registered volunteer, you MUST take this training once every two years. Please complete the on-line YPT training and keep/print a copy of the certificate you receive at the end and bring to one of our upcoming Pack events (either Pack Leadership Committee meeting or Pack meeting/bike ride on June 29th).
Quite honestly, this sort of training makes good sense for all of our Pack parents, both to protect you and help ensure that we, your Scout leaders, are familiar and follow the BSA's guidelines. Therefore, we are recommending and encouraging all of you to take this training if you have not done so in the past two years.
Thanks for your time and efforts. We strive hard to Do Our Best for your Scout and this is just one more way to accomplish that goal. Have a great day. Tom Pahl, Cubmaster
| | | | June 1, 2010 |  | Youth safety is the No. 1 concern of the BSA. To increase awareness of this societal problem and to create even greater barriers to abuse than already exist today in Scouting, the Boy Scouts of America is implementing several important changes to further enhance its Youth Protection policies. | Effective June 1, 2010: - -- Youth Protection training is required for all registered volunteers.
- -- New leaders are required to take Youth Protection training before they submit an application for registration. The certificate of completion for this training must be submitted at the time application is made and before volunteer service with youth begins.
- -- Youth Protection training must be taken every two years. If a volunteer's Youth Protection training record is not current at the time of recharter, the volunteer will not be reregistered.
| To ensure these policies are fully implemented, please take the following steps: 
- -- If you have not taken Youth Protection training within the past two years, please log on to MyScouting and take the training. Be sure to have your member ID number. The number can be found on your Boy Scouts of America membership card.
- -- If you do not know your member ID number, contact your unit leader or committee chairman. Your council can also assist.
- -- A person does not have to be a registered volunteer or have an ID number to take Youth Protection training. To take the training, log in to MyScouting and create an account. From the MyScouting portal, click on E-Learning and take the Youth Protection training. Upon completion, print a certificate and submit it with an application or submit to the unit leader for processing at the local council.
- -- If you have taken Youth Protection training online but did not input your member ID number, please log on to MyScouting and input your member ID in the My Profile section so the training will be linked to your records.
- -- If you have taken Youth Protection training within the past two years but did not take the course online, log on to MyScouting to ensure your records are up-to-date, or contact your council for verification that your Youth Protection training records are accurate.
- -- Finally, please share these important changes with other Scouters.
| To find out more about the Youth Protection policies of the Boy Scouts of America and how to help Scouting keep your family safe, see the Parent's Guide in any of the Cub Scouting or Boy Scouting handbooks, or go to http://www.scouting.org/Training/YouthProtection.aspx. Thank you for your commitment to our nation's young people and to Scouting. Sincerely, James Terry
Assistant Chief Scout Executive |
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| inewood Derby Date: 03/03/2010 Author: Tyler Shawley The article below was written by one of our Cub Scouts. It describes the Pinewood Dery experience from the cub scout point of view. You can see additional pictures in the Pack 597 picture album. By Tyler Shawley: Pinewood Derby was exciting. It was exciting because we never knew who would win the race. It was also exciting to watch some of the cars malfunction during the practice rounds. The best part about Pinewood Derby was watching the races. Some of the cars were very creative. Like the crayola car but instead of crayola it was named cubola, some people used legos, attached flags and even lego people driving the car. This year there were participant trophies for everyone except for the first six places because they got bigger trophies. I didn’t win this year, but am hoping that I do next year.
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| Polar Cubs Date: 02/08/2010 Author: Dan the Man The article below was written by one of our Cub Scouts. It describes the "Polar cubs" experience at Camp Phillipo. You can see additional pictures in the Den 8 picture album. By Dan the Man:
Toobing was awesome. We got to ride on humungus tubes. The biggest one can hold 8 people!!!! Capture the chicken was another game we played at Polar Cub Camp. We had a cookie, chicken sandwich, lemonade and carrots and potatoes for lunch *** it was yummy. I hit a lot of people playing dodge ball (but it was actually called something else). The kids won in snowball soccer (kids versus parents). We used humungus exercise balls which were not easy to carry or throw. We also made Penguin Snow Fall sticks. By the end of the day, I was tired, cold and wet but we had tons of fun. |
| ub Scouts Help Haiti and Others (Feed My Starving Childern) Date: 01/14/2010 Author: Jackson  The article below was written by one of our Cub Scouts (with a bit of parental assistance) after watching the news on Haiti and its earthquake this week. It should make all of us realize the good things we do are felt forever and ring with our Cub Scouts for their entire life. Cubmaster Tom By Jackson:
I had never heard of the little island not far from Florida called Haiti, before my Cub Scout Pack volunteered at Feed My Starving Children back in November. It felt good knowing that I was putting together food packets that were going to help Omar and children like him in Haiti, that don't always know if they will have dinner every night.
It made me very sad the other night when I saw on the TV news all of the damage done in Haiti by the earthquake. It made me even sadder thinking that Omar might be hurt.
I am glad that my Cub Scout Pack volunteered at Feed My Starving Children. It felt good to help others who aren't as lucky as me. I plan to have my mom and dad drive me over there again so I can drop off my M&M container full of quarters so they can buy more food and send it to Haiti and help Omar and his friends. |
| Scout Sunday Febrary 7, 2010 Date: 01/14/2010 Author: Tom Pahl On February 7, 2010, St. Andrews Lutheran Church will join forces with Cub Scout Pack 597 and others local Scouts to host a breakfast to be held in Fellowship Hall in celebration of Scout Sunday. All Scouts, both girls and boys, are invited to wear their Scout uniforms and assist with the church and breakfast services. The Scouts are proud and honored with their affiliation with St. Andrews. We know the feeling is mutual. One hundred years ago, on February 8, 1910, Chicago publisher William Boyce founded the Boy Scouts of America and shortly thereafter, in 1912, Juliette Gordon (Daisy) Low founded the Girl Scouts. St. Andrews has long been a chartered organization and has supported many of our Scout youth and leadership through use of its facilities, financial contributions, and strong support for the Scouting values and way of life. Cub Scout Pack 597 currently is chartered with St. Andrews and efforts are currently underway to regain a Boy Scout Troop and a Venturing Crew to be sponsored by St. Andrews. As many as 50 Boy Scouts affiliated with St. Andrews have achieved and received their Eagle Scout award through Troop 597. Many families who currently attend St. Andrews are active in various Scouting programs held there. One such family is Peter and Janelle Steinman who, along with their sons, Alex and Andrew, are active leaders and volunteers with Cub Scout Pack 597. The Steinman family has a long history with Scouting: Peter’s grandfather, Bradley, was an Eagle Scout in 1927 and served as the Scoutmaster in the Duluth area and received the Voyageur Council Silver Beaver Award; Peter’s father, Duncan, became an Eagle Scout in 1954, received the Silver Beaver and Minnetonka District Award of Merit and currently serves on the Northern Star Council President’s Council. Peter himself is an Eagle Scout from Troop 210 (Minnetonka – Viking Council) and currently serves as the Den Leader for Webelos Den 2. Janelle was a Brownie and Girl Scout as a youth and she is also an active Scout volunteer, serving this year as the Pack 597 Blue & Gold chairperson, to be held on February 23, 2010. Alex, age 10, is a Jr. Webelos and Andrew, age 8, is a Wolf Scout. Whether you are or were a Scout yourself, a Scouting leader, a Friend of Scouting, or just support the ideals of Scouting, remember this: A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent. Please join the Scout Sunday Celebration of 100 years on February 7, 2010. Breakfast will be served by the Scouts from 8:30 a.m. until noon and freewill donations will be accepted to help defray the expenses of breakfast with any excess contributions to the Scouting Program. |
Pack 597's Scouts Work for the Army Date: 01/04/2010 Author: Tom Pahl Salvation Army, that is. On Saturday, December 19, Pack 597 staged a work day for the Salvation Army, by ringing the traditional bells, singing songs and spreading holiday cheer. Our Pack manned the Wal-Mart store/bucket and worked in shifts of 5-10 Scouts and parents for the bulk of the day, starting at 11 a.m. and concluding at 5:00 p.m. Although the numbers are still preliminary, Pack 597 raised more than $764 for the Salvation Army, one of the highest amount raised by any single Scout location in Eden Prairie. This year, four other Eden Prairie Cub Scout packs joined with Pack 597 to staff the Salvation Army’s buckets throughout the area – altogether, the EP Cub Scouts helped raised $3,000 on December 19. Great Job! Although it was brisk to start the day, our Cub Scouts enjoyed singing and ringing for those patrons passing by the doors of Wal-Mart. Parents were especially thankful the sun made its way out to help keep everyone warm and happy inside. We look forward to returning next year as experienced campanologists, that is, persons who are skilled in the art of bell ringing. Here is another interesting aside. Did you know that by the 17th century, campanology was a “gentleman’s recreation” and the word “campanology” comes from the Latin word for bell “campana”? So, our Scouts are both campers and campanologists. Thanks for ringing!
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Web Site Redesign Date: 12/4/2009 Author: Lonnie Johnson The web site has been redesigned. The purpose of this redesign is to make the site more content rich and to allow more people to participate in addition of content to the site. With the old web site, I was the only person that could access and update the web site. Web site updates required knowledge of Microsoft FrontPage or HTML. These are not skills the typical person has. Preparation also needed to be done for the future. At some point my son will move on to Boy Scouts and Pack 597 will need someone else to update the web site. I have done a lot of research on this issue in an attempt to get maximum participation and results with minimum cost and effort. I tried a packaged web site application that provided much of what I wanted however the implementation was too complex and it was going to take me weeks or months to get the application running and then there were potenial problems maintaining the application in the future. Then I came across Microsoft Office Live for Small Business. This is a service that offers "free web site hosting" (some strings attached) and an online web interface that allows the web site to be updated via a web browser by anyone that has enough skill to use a word processor. No HTML or web building skills required. The web site you are reading now is the result of that effort. In the long term, I hope that this site will provide the following benefits. More that one person will be able to add content. Reduce the need for e-mails and newletters. Present a more professional looking web site. Publicize the benefits of Pack 597. Archive commonly referenced information. Provide a shared repository and archive for pictures and articles. Save money.
As with any decision, there are some trade-offs. The facilities available on the web site are limited. Web site updating must be done with Internet Explorer, other web browsers are not allowed. Built-in functions like the calender are in a fixed-design format and cannot be modified. Some of the update facilities are a bit cumbersome. Overall the benefits far outweigh the negatives and I think this new web site design will be a huge step forward for Pack 597. If you are interested in adding to the web site content, please let me know and I will set up access to the site for you. |
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