SCOUT NEWS
Jessica Rumbaugh of Petroleum Valley Girl Scout Troop 21945 earned her Silver Award, the highest award given to Cadette scouts.
Jessica has been a Girl Scout for six years and has also received a Bronze Award as a Junior Girl Scout and the Presidential Award for community service.
Her Silver Award took two years to accomplish and involved showing people in her community how to preserve food at a low cost.
She used her leadership skills by sending out fliers and communicating with others to collect unwanted mason jars.
She helped cultivate a garden, bought the vegetable starts and tended to the garden while it produced. She also bought fruit and vegetables.
From these products Jessica made applesauce and apple butter. She also made blackberry jam, blueberry jelly, pickled peppers, zucchini relish, and frozen zucchini for breads. She froze apples, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, corn, tomatoes, and strawberries.
She dehydrated corn, tomatoes, apples, bananas and onions.
While doing the canning and dehydrating she took photos along the way and collected information about processing and preserving.
She made a pamphlet on “How to preserve food for your future,” along with helpful notes on what to purchase for this process, websites and books for more guidance.
Jessica contacted the local community church and asked for permission to attend one of its local food distribution days.
She handed out her pamphlets along with a mason jars and freezer bags to the participants who passed through the Petroleum Valley Food Cupboard that day.
Jessica, 14, is the daughter of Robert and Carol Rumbaugh of Chicora. She is a ninth grader at Karns City High School.
Troop 21945 is under the leadership of Brandy Waldroup and Lori Nagle.
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Blake Stock, son of Rich and Julie Stock of Renfrew, followed in the footsteps of his three older brothers when he earned his Eagle Scout rank Feb. 26 and will have his Court of Honor at Meridian Volunteer Fire Company.For his Eagle project, Blake completed the installation of two convenience ramps into the lower levels of St. Wendelin Catholic School.Blake joined scouting in 2005 as a Tiger Cub with Pack 19, sponsored by the Meridian United Presbyterian Church.He earned his Arrow of Light badge in 2009 and began Boy Scouts in Troop 19, sponsored by the Meridian Volunteer Fire Company.While a Boy Scout, Blake has served his troop as patrol leader, assistant patrol leader, and is assistant senior patrol leader.He has earned 33 merit badges, attended four years of summer camp at Camp Bucoco and one year of high adventure camp in the Laurel Highlands.Blake is a member of the Order of the Arrow Kuskitanee Lodge 168 and completed his ordeal in the fall of 2013.He participated in the National Youth Leadership Training program in 2012.Blake is an honor student in the ninth grade at Butler Intermediate High School. He is a member of the Golden Tornado Marching Band and enjoys playing ultimate Frisbee on the Butler club sport team.He also enjoys the yearly winter camp outs in cardboard boxes.———
Michael Sterner, 18, member of Boy Scout Troop 580, Bethel Township, has earned his Eagle Scout.Michael has been a member of the troop since 2007. He earned 28 badges and served as his troop's chaplain's aide and scribe.His Eagle project was building handicapped accessible picnic tables for the Butler Freeport Trail. In 2012, Michael traveled to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M., with a crew from his troop. While there, the crew hiked more than 100 miles.The son of Brian and Karen Sterner of Sarver, he is a senior at Freeport High School, a captain of the soccer team and is active with the Ski Club and DECA.In February, he competed at the State DECA competition. He plays recreational soccer and is also a soccer referee and mentor.Michael will attend Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, for plastics engineering.
