Boy Scout Troop 715 recently held its annual Winter Awards Banquet at the Trinity United Methodist Church, where it meets each Monday evening. Senior Patrol Leader Chase Madsen acted as master of ceremony during the awards program, which followed a carry-in dinner. Before the awards were handed out, some of the adult leaders gave their report on projects. Trish Hernandez reported that the Troop has collected about 300 pounds of plastic lids out of the 400 needed to purchase a park bench that will be donated to Winona Lake for their new splash park. The Troop hopes to collect enough plastic caps for two benches. Courtney Dunham said the Scouts had over $2,000 in popcorn sales. She was assisted by Audrey Frush. Kathy Smith reported the cutlery sales were finished. The Troop members did 21 hours of bell ringing for the Salvation Army. Then the crowd viewed a DVD of last summer’s Troop trip, where some of the Scouts and leaders hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The following gives the Scouts name, new Scout rank (if earned) and the number of Merit Badges earned: Alex Aram - Scout (one), Grant Bibler (two), Will Bibler (two), Bryston Canada (two), Grayden Dunham - Life Scout (nine), Andrew Frush - Tenderfoot (six), Meraley Fugate - Star Scout (nine), Ryan Harris - Life Scout (eight), Jacob Hawn - Star Scout (10), Nick Hawn - (two) Eagle Palms, Dyllan Hernandez - (five), Alex Jordan - Second Class (eight), Conner Joy - Tenderfoot (one), Parker Kelley - Star Scout (seven), Dillon King - (three), Chase Madsen - Life Scout (10), Jeffrey Naundorf-Miller - Tenderfoot (three), Joel Roberson - Tenderfoot (eight), Ryan Seibold - First Class (five), Frank Sexton - Tenderfoot (eight), Kole Smith - (three) Eagle Palms, and Sean Stabler - Star Scout (seven). During the Christmas break, Assistant Scoutmaster Joe Hawn arranged one night at the Nye Youth Cabin. The Scouts visited the Old Kosciusko County Jail Museum, made bird feeders out of large pine cones – topped with butter, peanut butter and seeds. Most of the evening, the Scouts worked on the First Aid Merit Badge under the guidance of counselor Michael Joy.
