Knot News is the news and information website for Troop 256 and Crew 256. They are a Boy Scouts of America units based in Henderson, Nevada. The troop meets most Thursday evenings at 6:30 PM, and the crew meets on the first and third Thursday evenings at 5:30 PM (the last Thursday of every month is reserved for our Committee and Patrol Council (AKA Greenbar) meetings). Our chartered organization and the place where we gather is the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) Local 159 (commonly referred to as the Painters' Union Hall), which is located at 1701 Whitney Mesa Dr., Henderson, NV 89014. Our mailing address is Boy Scout Troop/Crew 256, PO Box 20428, Las Vegas, NV 89112.
This website is dedicated to sharing news and information about the troop and crew and their activities to the general public and for the members of the two units. If you are interested in the troop, we encourage you to look around at what is available here, and to contact us for more information, or attend a meeting. There is no fee to attend a meeting, so don't let that stop you from joining us.
Troop 256 has over 20 scouts embarking on a 3 month Personal Fitness
Regimen. These scouts are working towards their Eagle required
Personal Fitness Merit Badge. Each week they have the opportunity to
meet early at the Union Hall for a mile run as well as timed sit-ups
and push-ups! Last week we had a record 12 scouts complete the mile -
in times ranging from 8 minutes to just over 13minutes! The night was
clear, the weather beautiful and the scouts enthusiastic! Great Job
guys! Feel free to join us at 6pm on Thursdays!
Troop 256 has over 20 scouts embarking on a 3 month personal fitness regimen. These scouts are working towards their Eagle Scout required Personal Fitness Merit Badge. Each week they have the opportunity to meet early at the Union Hall for a mile run as well as timed sit-ups and push-ups! Last week we had a record 12 scouts complete the mile - in times ranging from 8 minutes to just over 13 minutes! The night was clear, the weather beautiful and the scouts enthusiastic! Great Job guys! Feel free to join us at 6 P.M. on Thursdays!
A few years ago Troop 256's word of the year was "Gratitude." A scout is grateful when he follows the Scout Law; it comes under 'courteous' and 'kind.' Our nation has designated Nov. 11th as the day we all say "Thank you" to those who guarantee us our freedoms and rights. There are at least these members of the Troop 256 family who are veterans:
James "JW" Sterett, USMC reservist
Steven Barrett, USN
Phillip Stewart, USMC reservist
Clayton Elliott, USAF
Adam Schwerin, USAF
Nolan Fitch-Ramos, US Army National Guard
Dan Melcher, USAF
and two who are becoming service members:
Nick Sacco, USAF ROTC
OJ Barakat, USAF ROTC
All these are Eagle Scouts and four were troop SPLs. Also at last night's troop meeting there were two fathers, Greg Miller and Jason Letkiewicz who are USAF vets and a mother, Rosie Gregorec, a USMC vet. (OK, Rosie was not there but at some USMC birthday bash...).
President Kennedy said in part this on Nov. 11, 1961 at Arlington National Cemetary:
"There is no way to maintain the frontiers of freedom without cost and commitment and risk. There is no swift and easy path to peace in our generation. ...
But let no nation confuse our perseverance and patience with fear of war or unwillingness to meet our responsibilities. We cannot save ourselves by abandoning those who are associated with us, or rejecting our responsibilities.
In the end, the only way to maintain the peace is to be prepared in the final extreme to fight for our country -- and to mean it.
As a nation, we have little capacity for deception. We can convince friend and foe alike that we are in earnest about the defense of freedom only if we are in earnest -- and I can assure the world that we are."
I think it is said even better in this quote of Zell Miller, former governor and US senator from Ga. and a sergeant in the USMC:
“For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.”
Thank you Veterans.
To all Troop 256 members, family, & friends,
This year the troop took 25 scouts to camp, the largest number in at least 3 years. We were also in camp a couple of weeks early, session 4 rather than session 6. No rain except for 5 minutes one morning and a few more drops that fell in the middle of one night. Camp was a bit dustier and the mornings were cooler (it felt good).
Eleven scouts and four adults went on a back country overnight hike in the El Dorado Mountains this past weekend (April 16-17). The hike was 5.3 miles (8.5 km) long and had a 1380 ft. (420 m) elevation gain. The younger scouts used this hike to complete a first class rank requirement that called for hiking at least five miles and using compass skills to map their route. There was no trail so the scouts learned to use a topographic map to help plan their route and to locate their position. Part of the route followed the Keyhole Canyon wash.
I am very sad to report former Assistant Scoutmaster Greg Melcher died Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2011. His sudden departure from this world came as a shock to me.
