By popular demand I am going to run another Citizenship In The Community class.

I will be blunt–I made a huge mistake on the last one by trying to combine two classes for the last class.  It took forever for that last class to take place and by that time we were all tired of exchanging e-mails.  So this one will be run a little better and I promise that I won’t mess around with that last class.

Running it in the afternoon is attractive.  All we need to do is to pick a day.  I am open, but let’s try Monday afternoon from 3:45 – 5:00 PM.

There will be four classes plus one last class which will be a mini Town Meeting.  During the first four classes we will draft a warrant article and then hold a Special Town Meeting to debate that article.

We will need some adults to form a Board of Selectmen and maybe a Planning Board or Recreation Committee depending on what you decide on for an article.  By the way–if your mother is the Chair of the Board of Selectman, do not assume that your article will be approved by that board. 

Two or three Scouts will present the article and will, of course, be in favor of it.  The rest of the Scouts will divide into two or three precincts for the meeting.  In the past we have debated whether to put down artificial turf on the football field (defeated) and whether to limit how many Dunkin’ Donuts to allow in any one area (defeated).  Not everything has been defeated.  An article to ask for money to fund lights on the soccer field passed although there were some irritated abutters who spoke forcefully against it.

By the time we finish you will be familiar with the Town Office Building.  A member of the School Committee will have talked to you and answered your questions.  You will have visited the Department of Public Works.  You will know all about composting and recycling.  You will know how Town Meeting works and you will have debated an article before your own version of that body.  You will have met the Budget Officer, and a variety of other Town staff.

If for some reason you cannot make that last class, then there will be a substitute requirement.

I will start right after the holidays and we will meet once a week for 4 or 5 weeks.  Right now I am thinking about 3:45-5:00 on Monday.  If you are interested, please e-mail me.  And of course, Troop 119 Scouts and parents are invited to participate.  Historically we have been about half and half.

So send me an e-mail if you are interested.  If you like the idea of the class, but Monday doesn’t work, let me know what day would be better.

-Hank Manz

I missed an e-mail so did not deal with it BEFORE the big snowstorm.  I am now hurrying to catch up.

A Girl Scout named Erin Casey has a Gold Award project which is a good one and a reminder to us all of something we should have been already doing.  She wants us to remember to keep our neighborhood fire hydrants clear.

Last night there were a couple of fires in town.  Both could be dealt with quickly because the fire hydrants were clear.  Neighbors had already dug them out.

Think how cold it was out there last night (12 degrees above zero) and then think about how hard it will be for the firemen to have to dig out a hydrant should they need one.  Whew!  I just threw another log in the wood stove between shivers.

Anyway, I bet you all have fire hydrants in your neighborhood.  So put down the Xbox and Wii for a few minutes, stop irritating the cat and your parents, put on your boots, hat, mittens, and coat, and go dig out your local fire hydrant.

I dug mine out four times last night because the plows kept burying it.  The snow last night was pretty light, yet by the time the plows finished with it, it took me awhile to dig out that hydrant.

If you do dig out a hydrant, let me know about it by going to www.adoptahydrant.homestead.com and filling out the form you will find there.  If you have trouble bringing it up or filling it out, let me know about it by writing to me at 160scoutmaster@troop160.com.

Yes, anybody can do it.  You don’t have to be a Boy Scout.  But fill out the form so we can figure out how many hydrants we have kept clean.  If we really get our act together, I will start posting how many hydrants we have kept clear on the AdoptAHydrant page (without your names, of course).

Don’t just do it once.  Adopt that hydrant and make it your project for the rest of the winter.  Whenever this stuff melts, you might want to adopt a storm drain or two as well.  They get covered up, then the meltwater has nowhere to go.  The three in my neighborhood are marked with a paint stripe on the street so we can find them even when the plows have covered them up.  The plows usually don’t go in right next to the curb so they can be pretty buried.

So adopt a hydrant and then let us know about your good turns by filling out the online form.  If you take a picture of your hydrant, we might be able to post a few of them as well.  And yes, I will award service hours for your work.

-The Scoutmaster