Local Cub Scouts plan pinewood derby

With two years of Pinewood Derbies under their belt, local Cub Scout Pack 31 is ready to take it to the next level and are offering an open class following their cub scout derby.

The open class is being offered as a fun, community event as well as a fund raiser, according the Cub Master Josh Gillming.

“The fee for the open class will go directly to the scouts to be used to purchase books, uniforms, supplies and will pay for summer camps,” he said.

The scouts will begin with a block of wood, four wheels and four nails. From there, they will design there own racer and compete on a track built by Kimball Boy Scouts of the past.

“It’s fun for kids to work with their dads in the shop. That’s the biggest thing with scouting, is having someone to mentor. Some of the dads don’t know about camping, fishing and stuff. If the dads come to scouting then the dads learn right along with the boys,” Gillming said. “The hardest thing is getting parent involvement.”

When the scouts are done, the open class begins, but Gillming added that Boy Scouts of America rules still apply, this year.

As with anything, once the foundation is laid, the sky is the limit, and the pinewood derby is no exception. “Next year we might have a super modified class,” Gillming added.

In addition to the annual pinewood derby, the local pack focuses on fun learning projects for boys in grades 1 – 5 and provides an opportunity for parents and adult volunteers to be involved in the all the fun as well.

Gillming invites all interested boys, grades 1-5, to join them and he added that adult volunteers and parents are welcome as well.

“They don’t have to be parents to help out,” Gillming said.

Gillming has been in scouting for more than two decades, but when he moved back here in 1999 he could not find a local pack.

“Finally when my boys got to be that age I got ‘volun-told’ that I was going to be a scout leader,” Gillming said. “That was three years ago. We just had to basically start from scratch. We have been building a foundation that we can keep growing on.”

As they grow, members of the three-year old pack will begin age-appropriate service projects with their charter organization, the United Methodist Church Men, according to charter organization representative Randy Gunn.

They have already begun by picking up litter at Oliver Reservoir and they will continue serving the community in true Boy Scout fashion.

“It blends in well with the church, serving youth and their values,” Gunn said.