Cub Scouts

OUR NEIGHBORHOODS and surrounding areas look a little tidier thanks to local Scouts who have been cleaning and planting their way toward earning the Cub Scout World Conservation Award. Members of the Wolf Den of Pack 613 planted gardens, picked up neighborhood litter, participated in a conservation project and performed other tasks to meet the requirements for the Scouting award, said Kim Clayton, who co-leads the den with her husband, Rod, and eighth-grade assistant Andrew Patrick. Last month, the Wolves took part in a conservation project called "Project Clean Stream" to clean streambeds in the Baltimore area, Kim Clayton said.

CHARLES KEENEY was ready. On the table was a board with a homemade volcano made of clay. Gathered around Charles, a member of Union Bridge's Cub Scout Pack 459, were his grandmother Pat Keeney - who also is his den mother - and fellow Scouts anxious to see his experiment. After pouring a small container of vinegar into the volcano's hole, white foam poured out. Charles' experiment was part of the troop's science fair. Each Cub Scout demonstrated an experiment. "I put baking soda in first and then added the vinegar," Charles said.

TWO CUB Scout brothers from Pack 761 have been recognized for their outstanding effort in the pack's annual popcorn sale. John and Brian Manos of Dayton sold more than $1,025 worth of popcorn for the fund-raiser, more than one-fourth of their pack's total. John, 9, and Brian, 8, had decided they wanted to sell enough to earn the prize offered by Boy Scouts of America - a Coleman camping stove. They knocked on more than 75 doors to reach their goal. Their mother, Joy Manos, gave them good advice at the beginning of the fund-raiser.

CUB SCOUT Troop 459 from Union Bridge shared holiday cheer with residents of Brookfield Manor Resident Care Inc. recently when the Scouts read Christmas stories and played "Jingle Bells" on their trumpets. The Scouts' visit to the assisted-living home in Middleburg is an annual event that began nearly a decade ago, according to Pat Keeney, the Scouts' den mother. One Scout's mother said that her son didn't have grandparents close by and that it would be nice to pay a visit to elderly people.

CUB SCOUT PACK 914 has a tradition this time of year - giving thanks. No turkey or stuffing is involved. The pack's form of thanks requires gloves, trash bags and lots of energy. These boys say "thank you" by cleaning up. Pack 914 recently thanked Jeffers Hill Elementary School by cleaning the fields around the school. "Every fall, the Scouts pick up trash as a thank-you to the school that provides their meeting place," said Meg Feroli, mother of Scouts David and Danny Feroli. The boys began the tradition four years ago, when they started meeting at Jeffers Hill.

PINEY RUN NATURE Center is staffed by naturalists who are Jacks-of-all-trades. They are educators who teach and interpret natural history for public and private groups and teach about local natural phenomena; artists who demonstrate crafts and building exhibits; and trainers who prepare volunteers for duties, teach boating skills and promote safety. Deanna Hofmann came to the nature center in 1986 from a center in Montgomery County. She works on curricula, provides programs for the campers and is responsible for the summer day camp for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.

FREEZING WEATHER, icy sidewalks and unplowed roads couldn't stop the excitement of Cub Pack 115's annual Pinewood Derby on Saturday afternoon. Luckily, the racecourse was set up indoors. The Crofton Woods Elementary School gymnasium provided warmth and a nice, dry place for more than 90 Scouts and their families to test the result of months of hard work fine-tuning their wooden speedsters. Each car began as a plain block of pine. Boys and their parents spent hours planning how to build their cars, make them look good and go fast.

SMALL WOODEN CARS raced down a new wooden track at Cub Pack 432's Pinewood Derby.The all-day event included heats for Cub Scouts from first through fifth grades and a "Big Kids Race" for older participants and family members.The race was held Saturday in the parish hall of Grace Episcopal Church in Elkridge, the church that has sponsored the Cub Pack since its beginning. The pack has held a derby every year since 1949.Bill Prehn, who served as Cubmaster for the pack for 10 years, has two of the cars that he raced as a child when his father, Herman Prehn, and Al Seipes were the pack's Cubmasters.

NEITHER RAIN nor wild beasts nor a scavenging cat could keep the Cub Scouts of Pack 618 from enjoying their fall family camp-out, held at Washington Monument State Park in Washington County this month.Cubmaster Dan Foley led his group of 28 Scouts in weekend activities that included a hike along the Appalachian Trail.Joining the pack for its first camp-out were Elwin Brown, Jimmy Geiser, Jared McAdoo, Evan Sturman, Kevin Caffrey, Harry Jessell and Brendan Smith.The adventures began before the Friday night sing-along, when one of the adults noticed a strange shape moving through the brush.

FAMILY FUN NIGHTS at the Hampstead pool have been popular summer events. The final fun night Aug. 21 attracted more than 25 families.Children lined edges of the pool for the splashy games organized by lifeguards Greg and Ryan Fisher and Becky Towns. In the concession stand, Laura Thornton poured syrup on the snowballs awarded to each winner.As a sure method to get contestants wet, the first game was the water balloon toss. Father-and-son team Jim and Brandon Tomlinson, 9, out-tossed several dozen teams.