The Eastwick Press Newspaper

Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper

The Boys Of Troop 222 Have Been Very Busy Over The Last Few Months

By

submitted by Andy Zlotnick

Troop 222 participated in both the Winter Klondike Sled race and the Freeze Out held at the Rotary Scout Reservation located in Poestenkill on the last weekend of January.

Troop 222 at the Klondike 2014 at the Rotary Scout Reservation are Henry Ruebal, Josh Zlotnick, Justin Hall, Trevar Hall and Mike Zlotnick. Photo courtesy of Andy Zlotnick.
Troop 222 at the Klondike 2014 at the Rotary Scout Reservation are Henry Ruebal, Josh Zlotnick, Justin Hall, Trevar Hall and Mike Zlotnick. Photo courtesy of Andy Zlotnick.

The Scouts had to first build a sled, then pull it over a course that had stations that tested their abilities as scouts. Some of the activities required skills to lift their sleds up into the trees or carry a heavy weight up a steep hill, while others tested the scout’s abilities to start a fire without matches and cook a balanced trail meal.

After the Klondike was over Scout Joshua Zlotnick pitched a tent at Seneca lodge and slept out in the freezing temperatures; overnight the mercury fell to 2 above zero. On the Sunday after the Klondike Mike Zlotnick volunteered as a Boy Scout Arrowman to help out at the Cub Scout Snow and Do, a similar event to the Klondike but for Cub Scouts.

Joan Zlotnick, Michael Zlotnick and Trevar Hall at Willard Mountain. Photo courtesy of Andy Zlotnick.
Joan Zlotnick, Michael Zlotnick and Trevar Hall at Willard Mountain. Photo courtesy of Andy Zlotnick.

Troop 222 participated in the Boy Scout National Scout Sunday in both Grafton and Berlin. Scouts acted as ushers, greeters, readers and brought up the gifts during Mass on February 8.

Troop 222 also went on another winter adventure on February 15 to Willard Mountain to go night tubing. This event was sponsored by Troop 537 out of Averill Park. The scouts had three hours of tubing, bonfires and s’mores making for the evening and were helping out their brother troop from over the mountain.

Michael Zlotnick outside of the WRGB CH-6 studio. Photo by Andrew Zlotnick.
Michael Zlotnick outside of the WRGB CH-6 studio. Photo by Andrew Zlotnick.

Scouts from the Troop have been working on some special Merit Badges – Communications, Citizenship in the Community, Weather and Crime Prevention. On Friday, February 21, the boys went on a field trip to WRGB CH-6 Studios in Niskayuna, NY, where they toured the station, were shown how the weather portion of the news is produced and were able to talk with the News Anchors Craig Adams and Liz Bishop along with some of the staff behind the scenes. They were given a look at some new technology improvements at the station. Later in the day the Boys were treated to a tour of the new NYS Police HQ in Latham. While there they were shown the Patrol Room, offices and the Traffic Management center. All the Scouts were wowed by the number of TVs and monitors the Dispatchers get to use to do their job. Some of the most impressive technology was hard to see as it was the engineering that went in to the building itself. The scouts found out what a LEED certified building was and that just about every energy saving technology was utilized when they built the building. In the end they were all asked if they might someday consider a career in policing, and the boys all seemed very interested.

Any boy interested in Scouting should contact Andy Zlotnick, Scoutmaster for Troop 222, at 658-9066 or Troop222PVMCC@yahoo.com. The troop meets Mondays at the PVMCC in Petersburgh at 6:30 pm.