Troop 497 Announcements

Last Update: 21 February 2020. Click your browser's refresh button to ensure you are looking at the most recent update to this page.
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Annual Pancake Breakfast, Sunday 23 February 2020, 8:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Troop Fundraiser & Parish Event! - Be there and bring your family and friends with you!

To increase our success, each Scout family is asked to

Sell at least 10 tickets. (Tickets will be distributed at the January 23 & 30 Scout Meetings)

Please turn in ticket money & any unsold tickets by the February 20 Scout meeting

Volunteer at the Pancake Breakfast

Each Scout & 1 parent per family
Choose from:

Set-up February 22 from 6 – 7:30 p.m
Work a shift on Sunday, February 23

Donate bake table item: Whole cakes, pies, individually wrapped cookies or brownies, etc.

Bring donations to the Multipurpose Room on Saturday, February 22 between 6 p.m. & 7p.m. or on Sunday, February 23 at 7:30 a.m.

OR donate $5 by February 20 Scout meeting for Parents Club to purchase baked goods on your behalf.

We also need 2 people interested in coordinating the Bake Table.

If you are interested in helping or have any questions, please contact Heather Longley.

Committee Meeting: Monday, 2 March 7:30 PM

The Troop Committee will meet MONDAYS at 7:30 at the parish center this year. All adult leaders and parents are welcome to participate. Committee meetings are generally scheduled for the first Monday of each month. Check the announcements each month for updates.

First Thursday to First Class: 5 March, 6 - 7:30 PM

This is a great opportunity for Scouts to work on rank advancement through First Class and for Scouts and parents to get their questions answered. Scouts can also work on the Cyber Chip rank requirements. The program starts promptly at 6:00 PM in Joe's Cafe - the bottom room of the Parish Center. Pizza will be supplied from 7-7:30.

Backpacking on the Appalachian Trail, 6-8 March

Meet at the shed at 6:30. We don't have much to pack so we plan to be on the road by 7PM. Bring money for lunch on Sunday. Bring your pack ready to hike into camp on Friday night. Patrol food and gear will be divided Friday before leaving the shed.

DRIVERS: You need room for the backpacks and gear for you and your passengers in your vehicle. We don't plan on taking a trailer on this trip; though we might. Drivers and their passengers should be doing the same long or short hike so they stay together for the weekend. Don't mix long and short hikers in the same vehicle if it can be avoided.

Adults for Shuttling Cars: We need at least two adults who are willing to shuttle a few cars on Saturday so they are at Camp Tuckahoe Sunday morning to drive adults back to their cars at the hike starts. Please sign up to drive and indicate you are available for shuttling cars. It is a short hike to our Saturday camping location if you wound like to camp with us Saturday night.

Our next camping trip is backpacking along the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. This is the only opportunity this year for you to complete the PASS backpacking requirement - WE WILL NOT HAVE A BACKPACKING TRIP IN THE FALL OF 2020. The cost of the trip is $5 plus patrol food. Get your menus in to Mr. Michels. NO UNIFORMS FOR THIS TRIP - JUST BRING WHAT YOU NEED! BE PREPARED!

We will all camp together on Friday and Saturday nights. On Saturday we will have two routes for backpacking. The longer route will be about 12 miles. This route is for older Scouts and Scouts who need it for PASS. We will also have a shorter backpack, around 6.5 miles, for new and younger Scouts. We will all hike out about a mile together on Sunday morning.

This is a great opportunity for Scouts and adults to experience backpacking like we do at Philmont and is done by many people in the mountains and parks. Scouts and adults carry everything they need for the weekend in their backpacks. We will camp along the trail in a woods. We will boil water from a stream for cooking Saturday night and Sunday morning. This is very different than car camping, which is what we typically do. On this trip, if you need something, you have to bring it - no one else is going to bring it for you! Anyone joining us late is expected to honor the backpacking spirit of this trip and backpack in their gear no matter the actual distance they travel. This means it takes more planning by adults and Scouts. Don't worry, the Seniors will provide instruction during the meetings before trip.

Adults should arrange ahead of time to sleep at least two adults per small tent. There is limited space for pitching tents together in the woods and it will make your pack lighter. Don't purchase a pack for this trip - arrange to rent or borrow one from the troop or borrow one from another troop member. The troop has some backpacks available in several sizes for rent. The rental cost is $10 with a $20 deposit. Anyone willing to loan a backpack should contact Mr. Downs.

PRINT AND READ THIS DOCUMENT FULL OF DETAILS ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR THIS TRIP. It covers logistics about THIS trip. It contains information about the food you should bring and how it should be packed. There is a list of patrol and adult group gear and a personal gear list including what should be in your pack and what you should be wearing. It also covers cleanliness in the woods.

We will need drivers for this trip. Please sign up to drive at a troop meeting, by using SignUpGenius, about 70 miles or by sending an email to Dean. Here are driving directions for the trip. There are lots of directions because we need to shuttle people between hikes and camping areas. Please familiarize yourself with directions before the trip. There will be annotated topographical maps showing road details, for use with the directions and for backpacking, available on Friday before leave.

Dulaney District Camporee our April Camping Trip, Start Preparing NOW!

This year, for the first time in many years, we will be participating in April Dulaney District Camporee. The weekend is one big competition between Patrols from all the participating Troops. To be successful in the competition you must prepare ahead of time and train for some events. You can learn more information and download the entire camporee packet here (the link to the packet is near the bottom of the page). ALL ADULTS, SENIORS, AND PATROL LEADERS SHOULD DOWNLOAD AND STUDY THE PACKET NOW.

Some of the items will take time to prepare and we won't have a patrol cooking camp between now and the camporee.
Some things to note and encourage you all to read the packet:

Campsite must be set up in obvious patrol areas
There is an incoming inspection and scouts must have on them particular items, e.g., Scout Handbook, rain gear, flashlight, full uniform,...
There is a patrol flag competition and there are very specific requirements which none of our current patrol flags meet.
Their are campsite inspections with particular requirements.
Their are strict requirements for transporting people and gear to sites.

The list goes on and there are items that apply to Scouts and/or adults.

Sign up for 2021 High Adventure Camps

Sign-up lists for 2021 High Adventure trips (Sea Base and Northern Tier) are filling up fast. Please notify Mr. Strueber (Northern Tier), Mr. Fitton (Sea Base) or Mr. Shaffer if you would like to sign-up. $100 Deposits can be paid to Mr. Shaffer at any Troop meeting.

Summer Camp 2020 Deposits

Summer Camp deposits need to be received prior to Scouts being able to sign-up for merit badges which need to happen soon while openings are still available. February 2020 Summer Camp payment is $250 due to our Troop Treasurer, Mr. Shaffer. Final trip costs will be determined after receiving all transportation quotes for the trip and a payment schedule will be posted here.

Summer Camp 2020 Information for Adults

Summer camp sign up for everyone will begin in February. An early deposit will be required to reserve your space. Check back for more information.

Meanwhile, any adults planning to attend summer camp are required to be registered with the BSA. Please begin the process now. Allow several weeks to complete the entire process - the background check takes the longest. See the following adult leaders at a troop meeting for information noted:

Mr. Anderson for the BSA adult leader application forms,
Mr. Michels for the required Troop 497 background check information,
Mr. Spence for information related to the required BSA youth protection training and Archdiocese youth leader training information (both are on line). There is a link to the BSA YPT on the Resources page of this site under the Information menu.

In the future, new Summer Camp information will appear on this announcement page for a few weeks. Relevant information will also appear on the Major Events page of this site under the Information menu and will remain there until after camp or when no longer relevant. Please check both regularly between now and summer camp. Be sure to refresh your browser pages to see the latest version of the page.