4 Alaskan Boy Scout Leaders killed in Virginia....
07-25-2005, 09:08 PM
#1
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4 Alaskan Boy Scout Leaders killed in Virginia....
Just caught a blurb on the news about 4 Alaskan scout leaders killed in a electrical accident at the Boy Scout Jambere in Verginia. Any one from there know any more? Terrible deal, thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.
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07-25-2005, 09:13 PM
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Scout leaders killed
Electrical accident claims four lives on Jamboree's opening day
BY KIRAN KRISHNAMURTHY
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer Jul 25, 2005
The scene of an accident at the National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia on Monday, involved electrical wires over a large tent. Four scout leaders were killed. (Rebecca Sell /The Free Lance-Star / The Associated Press)
BOWLING GREEN -- Four Boy Scout leaders were killed this afternoon during an electrical accident at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, officials said.
"They were in the process of setting up their camp sites," Bob Dries, a Boy Scouts of America spokesman, said last night.
Two other people -- a Scout leader and a contractor -- were injured and were in stable condition at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Dries said.
Dries said no youth Scouts were seriously injured.
Virginia Commonwealth University spokeswoman Pam Lepley said three adults from the jamboree were taken to VCU Medical Center in Richmond, at least one of whom was flown by helicopter.
Dries said he could not confirm reports that a vehicle had struck a utility pole and sent an electrical wire down onto a tent.
"A thorough investigation into the accident is underway," he said of the incident, which occurred between 4:30 and 5 p.m. on the day more than 31,000 jubilant Scouts began their 10-day stay at the quadrennial gathering.
Dries said he was unable to identify the jamboree subcamp in which the incident occurred. Dries said BSA officials were in the process of notifying the families of the deceased. Scout officials did not release the names or hometowns of the victims.
"Certainly our thoughts and prayers are with each of the victims' families," Dries said.
U.S. Army officials also were assisting with the investigation. The jamboree site encompasses about 3,000 acres of the 76,000-acre military base in Caroline County.
The jamboree has been held at Fort A.P. Hill since 1981. The deaths yesterday were the first at a jamboree since 1997 when a Scout was killed in a Humvee accident. Robert Combes, 16, of Finleyville, Pa., was driving the Army Humvee without permission when it skidded off a gravel road and overturned.
In 2001, at least six Scouts were shocked in a lightning strike. One Scout's heart stopped, but his troop leader administered CPR and the Scout recovered. None of the others were seriously injured.
Contact Kiran Krishnamurthy at (540) 371-4792 or kkrishnamurthy@timesdispatch.com
Times-Dispatch staff writer A.J. Hostetler contributed to this report.
from
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet...=1031784059507
Electrical accident claims four lives on Jamboree's opening day
BY KIRAN KRISHNAMURTHY
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer Jul 25, 2005
The scene of an accident at the National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia on Monday, involved electrical wires over a large tent. Four scout leaders were killed. (Rebecca Sell /The Free Lance-Star / The Associated Press)
BOWLING GREEN -- Four Boy Scout leaders were killed this afternoon during an electrical accident at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, officials said.
"They were in the process of setting up their camp sites," Bob Dries, a Boy Scouts of America spokesman, said last night.
Two other people -- a Scout leader and a contractor -- were injured and were in stable condition at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Dries said.
Dries said no youth Scouts were seriously injured.
Virginia Commonwealth University spokeswoman Pam Lepley said three adults from the jamboree were taken to VCU Medical Center in Richmond, at least one of whom was flown by helicopter.
Dries said he could not confirm reports that a vehicle had struck a utility pole and sent an electrical wire down onto a tent.
"A thorough investigation into the accident is underway," he said of the incident, which occurred between 4:30 and 5 p.m. on the day more than 31,000 jubilant Scouts began their 10-day stay at the quadrennial gathering.
Dries said he was unable to identify the jamboree subcamp in which the incident occurred. Dries said BSA officials were in the process of notifying the families of the deceased. Scout officials did not release the names or hometowns of the victims.
"Certainly our thoughts and prayers are with each of the victims' families," Dries said.
U.S. Army officials also were assisting with the investigation. The jamboree site encompasses about 3,000 acres of the 76,000-acre military base in Caroline County.
The jamboree has been held at Fort A.P. Hill since 1981. The deaths yesterday were the first at a jamboree since 1997 when a Scout was killed in a Humvee accident. Robert Combes, 16, of Finleyville, Pa., was driving the Army Humvee without permission when it skidded off a gravel road and overturned.
In 2001, at least six Scouts were shocked in a lightning strike. One Scout's heart stopped, but his troop leader administered CPR and the Scout recovered. None of the others were seriously injured.
Contact Kiran Krishnamurthy at (540) 371-4792 or kkrishnamurthy@timesdispatch.com
Times-Dispatch staff writer A.J. Hostetler contributed to this report.
from
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet...=1031784059507
07-26-2005, 04:30 PM
#6
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Originally posted by Greenhornet1986
Thats terrible. Me being an Eagle Scout makes me look back and think about the good times I had back in the Scouts. My prayers go out to their families.
Thats terrible. Me being an Eagle Scout makes me look back and think about the good times I had back in the Scouts. My prayers go out to their families.
Just got back from picking my son up from a weeklong scout camp,
he's eager to take after Daddy and get his Eagle.
Hmmm, maybe this warrants a poll, how many Eagle Scouts we have in residence here.
phox
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07-26-2005, 06:40 PM
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Tent pole, power line cause
of jamboree deaths
BY KIRAN KRISHNAMURTHY, LAWRENCE LATANE AND REX SPRINGSTON
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS Jul 26, 2005
The scene of an accident at the National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia on Monday, involved electrical wires over a large tent. Four scout leaders were killed. (Rebecca Sell /The Free Lance-Star / The Associated Press)
PHOTOS: Press conference
BOWLING GREEN -- The four adults killed yesterday at Fort A.P. Hill after a tent pole apparently touched an overhead electrical line included two Scout leaders who were fathers of boys attending the jamboree, a spokesman said today.
Michael Shibe, 49, had two sons at the National Scout Jamboree and Mike Lacroix, 42, had one son there, said Greg Shields, a Scouts spokesman. They are both from Anchorage, Alaska. Those Scouts are returning home to their families.
Also killed were Ronald H. Bitzer, 58, of Anchorage, and Scott Edward Powell, 57, of Perrysville, Ohio, who was part of the Alaska group, Shields said.
"Our hearts go out to the families of these dedicated Scout leaders who gave so much to their sons, their troops and their communities," said Shields.
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Bitzer died at the scene; three others died at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg.
Three were injured: Scout leader Jay Lawrence Call, 43, of Anchorage, who was in stable condition at VCU Medical Center; and two contract employees who were not identified. One was being treated at VCU's burn unit and the other was treated at VCU and released.
One unidentified Scout suffered minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.
A Scout at the Jamboree, 15-year-old Taylor Holfeld of Anchorage, was talking to his mother, Daphne, by phone when the incident occurred.
The boy said, "Oh my God! The tent is on fire! They are being burned!" according to his father, Karl.
Mrs. Holfeld advised her son not to touch anything that might be a live wire, Holfeld said in a telephone interview today.
Taylor "was pretty upset by what he was seeing," Holfeld said.
Mrs. Holfeld, for her part, recalled her son saying "something was on fire" but added, "It's all such a fog at this point."
"I think it was definitely hard for [the Scouts] to watch," she said. "That's the sad thing. I feel really sorry for all the boys."
Mr. Holfeld said he knew the four victims, two of them well -- Shibe and Bitzer. Holfeld and Shibe became Eagle Scouts together in the 1970s.
"They were very good people, committed to the Boy Scout cause," Holfeld said of the four.
In Bowling Green, Scout officials held a news conference this morning and then closed the base to reporters, who generally have open access to the Scouts and their activities. News organizations were kept outside the base early this morning and then were escorted from the property after the news conference.
Shields called it part of a "safety stand-down" in preparation for tomorrow's opening show, at which President Bush is scheduled to make an appearance. Army officials said that heat, high humidity and the threat of lightning strikes late in the day also played a role in the decision to "stand down" while the incident was being investigated. However, there was no reported curtailment of the Scout activities.
Shields said activities would go on and that Scouts were encouraged to drink water and seek shade.
The fatal accident is being investigated by the U.S. Army, and Scout officials declined to answer in detail questions about how the tent pole may have struck the overhead line.
Officials said there is a site plan for where tents should be located -- the areas are marked with stakes and twine. But they declined to answer questions about the specific site where the Western Alaska Council was putting up the large tent.
The fatalities yesterday came the day after a contract employee died after falling ill at A.P. The death of Albert Puff, 57, of Stella, N.C., was not reported by Scout officials until after yesterday's fatalities.
The Western Alaska Council is the largest of three Scout councils in Alaska and brought 80 youngsters and eight leaders to the jamboree.
Overall more than 43,000 Scouts and adults are at A.P. Hill this week.
The jamboree has been held at Fort A.P. Hill since 1981. The deaths yesterday were the first at a jamboree since 1997, when a Scout was killed in a Humvee accident.
In 2001, at least six Scouts were shocked in a lightning strike. One Scout's heart stopped, but his troop leader administered CPR and the Scout recovered. None of the others were seriously injured.
of jamboree deaths
BY KIRAN KRISHNAMURTHY, LAWRENCE LATANE AND REX SPRINGSTON
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS Jul 26, 2005
The scene of an accident at the National Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia on Monday, involved electrical wires over a large tent. Four scout leaders were killed. (Rebecca Sell /The Free Lance-Star / The Associated Press)
PHOTOS: Press conference
BOWLING GREEN -- The four adults killed yesterday at Fort A.P. Hill after a tent pole apparently touched an overhead electrical line included two Scout leaders who were fathers of boys attending the jamboree, a spokesman said today.
Michael Shibe, 49, had two sons at the National Scout Jamboree and Mike Lacroix, 42, had one son there, said Greg Shields, a Scouts spokesman. They are both from Anchorage, Alaska. Those Scouts are returning home to their families.
Also killed were Ronald H. Bitzer, 58, of Anchorage, and Scott Edward Powell, 57, of Perrysville, Ohio, who was part of the Alaska group, Shields said.
"Our hearts go out to the families of these dedicated Scout leaders who gave so much to their sons, their troops and their communities," said Shields.
PHOTO SLIDESHOWS
Updated daily. Slideshows will be archived on this page, so check back!
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
RELATED
2005 Boy Scout Jamboree
4 Scout leaders electrocuted as they set up their camp
Four Scout leaders killed
Scouts arrival
The heat of the moment
Troop represents a truly global group
Troop 1636 is a global group
Weather Forecast
2005 Scout Jamboree schedule
Bitzer died at the scene; three others died at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg.
Three were injured: Scout leader Jay Lawrence Call, 43, of Anchorage, who was in stable condition at VCU Medical Center; and two contract employees who were not identified. One was being treated at VCU's burn unit and the other was treated at VCU and released.
One unidentified Scout suffered minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.
A Scout at the Jamboree, 15-year-old Taylor Holfeld of Anchorage, was talking to his mother, Daphne, by phone when the incident occurred.
The boy said, "Oh my God! The tent is on fire! They are being burned!" according to his father, Karl.
Mrs. Holfeld advised her son not to touch anything that might be a live wire, Holfeld said in a telephone interview today.
Taylor "was pretty upset by what he was seeing," Holfeld said.
Mrs. Holfeld, for her part, recalled her son saying "something was on fire" but added, "It's all such a fog at this point."
"I think it was definitely hard for [the Scouts] to watch," she said. "That's the sad thing. I feel really sorry for all the boys."
Mr. Holfeld said he knew the four victims, two of them well -- Shibe and Bitzer. Holfeld and Shibe became Eagle Scouts together in the 1970s.
"They were very good people, committed to the Boy Scout cause," Holfeld said of the four.
In Bowling Green, Scout officials held a news conference this morning and then closed the base to reporters, who generally have open access to the Scouts and their activities. News organizations were kept outside the base early this morning and then were escorted from the property after the news conference.
Shields called it part of a "safety stand-down" in preparation for tomorrow's opening show, at which President Bush is scheduled to make an appearance. Army officials said that heat, high humidity and the threat of lightning strikes late in the day also played a role in the decision to "stand down" while the incident was being investigated. However, there was no reported curtailment of the Scout activities.
Shields said activities would go on and that Scouts were encouraged to drink water and seek shade.
The fatal accident is being investigated by the U.S. Army, and Scout officials declined to answer in detail questions about how the tent pole may have struck the overhead line.
Officials said there is a site plan for where tents should be located -- the areas are marked with stakes and twine. But they declined to answer questions about the specific site where the Western Alaska Council was putting up the large tent.
The fatalities yesterday came the day after a contract employee died after falling ill at A.P. The death of Albert Puff, 57, of Stella, N.C., was not reported by Scout officials until after yesterday's fatalities.
The Western Alaska Council is the largest of three Scout councils in Alaska and brought 80 youngsters and eight leaders to the jamboree.
Overall more than 43,000 Scouts and adults are at A.P. Hill this week.
The jamboree has been held at Fort A.P. Hill since 1981. The deaths yesterday were the first at a jamboree since 1997, when a Scout was killed in a Humvee accident.
In 2001, at least six Scouts were shocked in a lightning strike. One Scout's heart stopped, but his troop leader administered CPR and the Scout recovered. None of the others were seriously injured.
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