Scouts to help at Joplin schools

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- The local Boy Scouts of America Troop 114 will be represented during a project Saturday to help the city of Joplin recover from a devastating May 22 tornado.

More than 900 Boy Scouts from various states across the country are scheduled to be in Joplin Saturday to provide a day of service by assisting the Joplin School District. Working directly with teachers and school officials, they will have numerous assignments, including working on playground areas, assembly of classroom equipment, cleaning, and distributing new supplies to classrooms.

Ozark Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America Assistant Scout Executive Scott Gibbins, who is spearheading the effort, said more than 1,000 Boy Scouts and leaders plan to visit 16 different locations in Joplin -- including schools that sustained damage from the twister and others operating in temporary facilities due to the loss of buildings.

"We'll have various jobs from ground clean-up at spots that got hit, to helping teachers set up classrooms, repainting playground equipment, and mulching and landscaping," he said.

Gibbins said the Ozark Trails Council approached the Joplin School District about the project, adding that service is part of the Boy Scout program.

"It's a great way for our Scout groups to give back," he said. "We thought it was the best partnership, the best fit for us to give back. Service is part of our program."

Jarrett Lyon, 12, of Fort Scott, is one of the Scouts from local Troop 114 who is joining the project. He said he felt "good" about the opportunity to help Joplin recover from the tornado.

"Our Scout troop decided to do it," he said. "We'll be putting together things like desks and chairs and stuff for the schools."

Lyon said Scouts who participate in the endeavor will earn Citizens Points. A Scout who accumulates enough Citizens Points will then earn a badge.

Scott Flater, scoutmaster for Troop 114, said the group of local Scouts and leaders planned to leave Fort Scott Friday evening to camp at the Frank Childress Scout Reservation just south of Joplin.

They planned to travel into Joplin early Saturday to begin their work. He said his son, troop member Michael Flater, may make the trip.

The scouts will work to assemble desks, chairs, chalkboards and other items "to help get schools up and ready so they can start school in a couple of weeks," Scott Flater said.

"It's a great opportunity for us just to go down there and help," he said. "The Boy Scout slogan is 'To Do a Good Turn Daily.' It's nothing extraordinary or exceptional, it's what we should do and are expected to do."

In a news release, Gibbins said, "We are excited about the number of Boy Scouts coming to assist with the recovery efforts in Joplin. Our Council has had numerous inquiries from across the nation from Scouts wanting to assist Joplin in some way. We visited with school officials soon after the tornado and determined that the greatest need would be in organizing the classrooms in early August."

Joplin schools start classes Aug. 17.

Scouts are traveling to Joplin from Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Wisconsin to help. The Ozark Trails Council encompasses 31 counties in Kansas and Missouri and includes more than 12,000 Scouts.

In keeping with the Scout tradition, Best Choice Marketing in Joplin has covered the production cost of a specially designed badge that all participating Scouts will receive for their work.