Utah Scouts preparing to push summer safety

Deseret Morning News ^ | June 03, 2006 | Pat Reavy and Ben Winslow

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Utah Scouts preparing to push summer safety

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Deseret Morning News, Saturday, June 03, 2006

By Pat Reavy and Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News

In the wake of high-profile outdoor tragedies in recent years, the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America is revising its rules to help keep Scouts safe this summer, and one Utah mom has developed an outdoors safety pack for children.

The organization has made sweeping changes to many of its camping policies, including new safety measures for hikes, precautions against lighting strikes and new guidelines for campfires.

"We now have in place tracking devices that can be checked out," said local BSA director of camping Matt Monroe.

The state has about four dozen of the tracking devices available for any Scout troop to check out. The devices can be worn around a Scout's neck or like a wristband.

"The Scoutmaster has a device that can pinpoint where the boy is," Monroe said.

The tracking devices are similar to what people in the sport of falconry use to keep track of their birds. Although they are not required, Monroe said he hopes they are used — especially by troops planning hikes in the High Uintas.

"It's an added layer of security," he said.

Other safety measures include a national BSA program, "Trek Safely," aimed at training local Scout leaders and their troops about how to be safe during outdoor outings. The 40- minute training emphasizes seven points:

• Qualified supervision; • Keep fit; • Plan ahead; • Gear up; • Communicate clearly and completely; • Monitor conditions; • Discipline.

In addition, the council has made a "Lost Youth Prevention" card that is printed on card stock and given to Scouts to carry in their pockets when they go hiking. The card emphasizes safety measures such as using the buddy system and offers safety advice if a Scout becomes lost: Don't move, stay calm, use a whistle from the Scout's pack, drink water and stay dry.

A special "Keeping Safe in the Outdoors" training packet was also developed locally for Cub Scouts, boys between the ages of 7 and 10.

Lost Boy Scouts have made big headlines in Utah in recent years. Bountiful resident Brennan Hawkins, 11, was lost for four days last year in the East Fork area near the Bear River Boy Scouts Reservation in the Uinta Mountains before being found alive.

Zachary Jones, 14, Ogden, was lost for 19 hours in the Green River Lakes area of Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest after leaving a main trail and getting lost on his way back to camp last year.

And Garrett Bardsley, 12, disappeared while camping with a church group in the High Uintas in 2004. His body has not been found.

Other tragedies include the death of 15-year-old Boy Scout Paul Ostler, who was struck by lightning at Camp Steiner in the High Uintas. A device has been installed at Camp Steiner that is able to give advance warning to possible lightning strikes.

The Boy Scouts are also facing a $14 million lawsuit for the cost of fighting a 14,000-acre fire in the Uintas in 2002. The lawsuit alleges Scouts started the fire.

In April, the Great Salt Lake Council adopted a new fire policy for 2006. The rules require fires to be supervised by an adult at least 21 years old and to be built inside metal fire-bowl containers at least 18 inches high. All flammable materials must be kept 4 to 6 feet away from the fire.

The tragedies of missing children in the outdoors prompted a Cottonwood Heights mom to create a new "safety pack" designed to give children some wilderness survival skills.

"I was like so many Utahns, just emotionally involved with the entire experience with Brennan," Robyn Frampton told the Deseret Morning News. "If they are going to go out there, I want to make sure they have some ability to keep themselves alive or help themselves be rescued."

Looking for backpacks and bags for children, Frampton said she didn't find anything useful for a child. So she created the Tyke Hike Safety Pack, which looks like a fanny pack but features hidden pockets for survival gear.

Early prototypes failed because small children would take the equipment out of a backpack or a bag.

"We just built a bag for my boys. The problem is little kids are little kids, and if they see it they're going to pull it out and crack the glow sticks," she said. "We designed it with hidden compartments. Kind of out of sight out of mind; the tabs are color coded in red so they know that red is the color of emergency."

She believes the hidden pockets will keep the glow sticks, poncho, thermal blanket, whistle, mirror, compass and perimeter markers safe from tampering until the time they are needed.

"It also comes with an instruction manual that's illustrated to show cause and effect," she said.

Since creating the Tyke Hike Safety Pack in April, Frampton said they have sold more than 500 at $14.95 each. She pitched them at a recent Scout-O-Rama and is in talks to sell them on the QVC cable shopping channel.

"No matter where they go, they have the essentials to keep them alive and assist in their own rescue," Frampton said.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com; bwinslow@desnews.com