Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts showcase skills at Scout-O-Rama

COEUR d’ALENE —Three minutes without air, three hours of exposure and three days without water — the "rule of three."

"No matter what the crisis is, water is always a concern," said Aaron Smith, assistant scoutmaster for Rathdrum's Boy Scout Troop 216.

DJ Smith, 12, spent Saturday at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds in Coeur d'Alene, demonstrating to visitors and participants of the 2016 Scout-O-Rama how to filter water for emergency situations.

"The unfortunate thing is like 1.4 billion people don't have access to safe drinking water," DJ said.

He had cut the bottom off a plastic two-liter bottle so it could be hung upside down and layered with sphagnum moss, charcoal and sand. DJ said the plastic bottle could be replaced with birch bark or something similar in the wild. When he poured dirty water through the filter

and placed the cup underneath, the water came through cloudy, but dirt particles or anything else floating in the water was removed.

"There is a little problem of it being a little cloudy, but that's why you have to boil it to get rid of all of the pathogens and stuff," DJ said. "If you are at different altitudes, like on Mount Everest, it boils at different temperatures."

One favorite stop for guests of the event was at the camp of Post Falls Troop 213, where 12-year-old Dakota Livingston was serving up cherry cobbler he had made in a Dutch Oven. The cherry pie filling, cake mix, brown sugar and butter were cooked to perfection with just the right amount of heat for the size of the oven used — 17 coals on top, nine on the bottom, Dakota said. He said he also cooked cheesy potatoes and attempted to cook pizza in the Dutch Oven, but the pizza "didn't turn out so good."

Obstacle courses, make-your-own first aid kits, cooking and rope challenges were among the Scout-O-Rama activities at the fairgrounds Saturday.

"It's a little smattering of everything," said Clif McIntosh, program and membership executive for the Old Missions District.

McIntosh said 12 troops and 11 packs from the district, which spreads from the Silver Valley to Athol, participated in the event, camping at the fairgrounds Friday night as they prepared to showcase their scouting skills to the public. He said the purpose of the event is to show off what they do and what scouting is about.

"A lot of kids crossed over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts in the last month or two, so this is the first campout to go on and it is nice for both the parents and the kids because it is right in town," he said. "It's a good trial run."

He said the event is a good recruiting tool as well, so they sent out 2,200 fliers for free youth admission to the Coeur d'Alene School District. He was unsure how many had come back Saturday, but hoped for a 10 percent return — 220 "potential new scouts."

McIntosh said they have seen as many as 1,200 people come through the gates in previous years, but with Saturday’s chilly, wet weather they expected maybe 500 to 800 people by the end of the day. The pancake breakfast from 7-10 a.m. brought in about 180 people, he said.

One of the main events held at Scout-O-Rama is the "Pinewood Derby," where the kids race cars they carved from blocks of wood. Many different shapes and designs could be seen — one of the fastest cars was carved and painted to look like a hot dog. Races were held in each Cub Scout Pack in the district prior to Scout-O-Rama and the top four racers from each Pack participated in the finals.

Dan Smith, assistant scoutmaster with Troop 202, sponsored by St. Pius X Church in Coeur d'Alene, said the event is a lot of fun, but is also competitive and judges were making their rounds to see how each troop handled their tasks. Troop 202 had built a trebuchet — an ancient ballista used to throw things into castles or at the enemy, he explained. The Scouts were launching rubber balls across the lawn.

"The cool thing about it is how we constructed it, with lashings and spars," he said. "We are demonstrating scout skills and letting people know how much fun it can be to come out and learn these things."

For some of the projects, such as the "World Famous Driftwood Theater," Scouts could earn merit badges during the event. The theater consisted of Cub Scouts and Webelos from the Sorensen Elementary Pack 205 performing puppet shows from different tales, such as "The Eagle and the Turtle" and "Ant and Grasshopper." Wyatt Matthews, 10, came up with an original skit he titled, "Burnt Marshmallow."

"Marshmallow, do a backflip," he commanded the marshmallow before asking the audience: "Did you see it, did you see it?"

The audience shook their heads and after several attempts at commanding the marshmallow to sing or count to three with no reaction, Wyatt finally said, "well this burnt marshmallow is nothing." Wyatt disappeared behind the curtain, and the audience broke into laughter as the marshmallow turned around and said, "Did you see me, did you see me?"