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One Last Flight For Gooding Boy Scouts
Sunday evening, Gooding’s BSA Troop 32 held an Eagle Court of Honor to recognize 12 young men who have attained the rank of Eagle Scout. Requirements for this rank include earning at least 21 merit badges, and demonstrating Scout Spirit through service and leadership – all before or by the age of 18. This includes an extensive service project that the scout plans, organizes and leads. The new Eagle Scouts are: Wiley Jackson, Hudson Rogers, Jacob Philips, Cole Anderson, Seth Harden, Seth Scott, Dale Shaw, Luke McLaughlin, Carter McLaughlin, Nick McCarther, Ben McCarther, and Tayten Gillette. Sunday’s celebration was somewhat bittersweet because this is Troop 32’s last group of Eagle Scouts. On January 1st, the LDS Church officially withdrew its sponsorship of BSA (Boy Scouts of America) along with over 400,000 youth – almost 20% of BSA’s membership. The loss of membership fees along with other financial problems caused the National BSA to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month on February 18th. Boy Scout troops will continue operate in the Magic Valley and around the nation (the bankruptcy filing only affects the national organization), but in Utah and other areas where the LDS Church has been the primary sponsor, many local troops will be replaced by the church’s new global “Children and Youth” program. While much of BSA’s financial troubles can be blamed on numerous sex-abuse lawsuits, there has also been a long deliberate war against this organization because of its past policies of prohibiting gay adults and/or gay youth from participating. In the year 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that BSA had a constitutional right to set standards regarding membership and leadership. Despite that ruling, BSA gave in to activists and financial pressure from companies like Intel, UPS, and Merck Pharmaceutical to change their standards for membership (2013) and leadership positions (2015). Those changes were opposed by a number of religious groups. Subsequently, other scouting organizations such as Trail Life USA have started to replace BSA troops for many churches.
News from the Heart of Idaho Camas • Lincoln • Gooding
March 11, 2020
Vol 44 Num 11
NRCS Water Supply Outlook Report
The Natural Resources Conservation Service in Idaho has released the March Water Supply Outlook Report for the 2020 water year. February brought less than normal precipitation across most of Idaho. Several SNOTEL stations in the Wood River basin in the south-central part of the state set new record lows for monthly precipitation. Daniel Tappa, Supervisory Hydrologist with the Idaho Natural Resources Conservation Service, noted that the numerous cloudless nights in February helped keep temperatures down, which has helped to preserve the snowpack Idaho does have. “You can get daily conditions updates on the Real-Time Conditions page from the NRCS Idaho Snow Survey web page.” NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center suggest an increased likelihood for above normal precipitation in early March, which would certainly be welcomed across south-central Idaho as streamflow forecasts in Wood and Lost basins are 20 to 60% of normal. Water shortages in these same areas are becoming a concern for the 2020 irrigation season. For information on specific basins, streams, and reservoirs, please view the full report online at March Water Supply Outlook Report.
Wood & Lost River Basin Precipitation