Alaska lost 4 fathers and true positive role models in a freak accident at the National Scout Jamboree this week, dying right in front of the sons they were there to enjoy this special occasion with.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/s...p-6639663c.html

I have been active in scouts my whole life, and personally knew two of these guys. They were always there for thier families or others families.

In a day and age when so many boys and young men have no positive male role model, and sometimes no male family member, these guys step up into this role and end up being fathers not only to thier own sons, but so many more.

I personally know a guy, raised by just his mom when dad took off and never looked back, that, because of the involvement from one of these guys, is getting his MBA from Yale today.

Sometimes God takes the best of the best of us, and it is very hard to know why.

God bless those souls.

That is a shame; its always awful when such things happen. I only hope that somehow, someone can learn from this seemingly horrific tradegy.

That's insane. I am a Boy Scout, and I have no idea of
1. Why the power line was that close and
2. How they didn't notice it.

I don't know who to blame when this stuff happens. I am thinking, "Who's the idiot that made a power line that low?" Then I can think, "Were the now-deceased campers blind?!" So basically, I can blame many people. Generally, I seem to think that whenever this stuff happens, I blame the people it happens to for not being careful. If I die falling off a cliff when I'm skiing, and that cliff isn't marked, I expect no one to blame the ski resort. Blame my idiocy.

Blahhhhh. It doesn't feel right blaming the people that are now dead.



I don't want to sound cynical, sarcastic, mean, callous, rude or something when I said that last thing, so I suppose I'll use a (political) analogy. This is why I'm against seat belt laws because it definetly shouldn't be the government's business by stopping me from breaking all of the bones in my face by hitting it on the road after I crash in a car. See, I'm not hypocritical. I'd blame myself if I ever did something dumb that led to my death.

I guess I'm just really sorry to everyone that it happened to, and affected. I hope that doesn't happen in my troop, or anyone elses.

It is a sad day and so many people are mouring these fine men. Accidents happen and sometimes there is nothing that can explain what happened and why it happened. Blaming won't bring them back.

We have to remember these fine Boy Scout leaders for the good things they have done. And I am sure they have done a great deal. It is a terrible tragedy.

I pray that the Boy Scouts will come back even more strong and that this does not stop them in any way from the wonderful things they deserve.

I am sorry CrusinRam that you knew two of the men killed. It must be tough, and I guess all I can say is that I am sorry for your loss as well.

God Bless

Words fail me. I cannot even begin to imagine how devastating this must be for you, and for many others.

It's no secret that I am an opponent of some of the exclusionary policies of the Boy Scouts of America, but I have nothing but respect for the goals of Scouting itself, and for the people involved in it.

I join with the others in expressing my sorrow and condolences to you, CR, your community and most especially the families of those four fine men. This is to be sure a most tragic accident and indeed that is exactly what it was.

There was a similar thing that happened here in LA back when I was running a satellite uplink news truck. A local KABC microwave truck pulled up to a story and was "slamming" to get up and running on-air in time for their newscast live shot. That means the truck engineer was trying to do about 20 things all at once. Power up the truck, run the cables, set up the cameras, dial into the IFB. So, she jumped out of the truck, looked up and saw it was clear and hit the mast extension switch. What she didn't realize was that because of the crown in the road, her truck was slightly tilted and that caused the mast to go up at an angle where it hit a high voltage power line that wasn't directly overhead. It started sparking and smoking and making all kinds of noise and the reporter who was in the truck at the time getting ready for her report paniced. An LAPD officer who was on scene saw what was happening and screamed at her to stay put, but she was already on her way out of the truck and as soon as her foot hit the ground, she was nailed with 25,000 volts.


Luckily, there were LAFD paramedics on scene (which was the news story in the first place, accident or something, I forget what it was) and they reached her in seconds. They were able to transport her to one of the world's top burn centers, the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks within minutes, and she survived albeit with some very dibilatating injuries.

After that day, I made it a habit to always take one final look before I put up the dish on my truck. I didn't care if I was in the middle of the wilderness covering a forest fire and they needed to be on air in 30 seconds, I still checked. Accidents happen and as in this case with the Boy Scouts, they have horrible consequences. About all we can do is grieve and learn from them so they don't happen again.

I know this is the casual conversation forum, but quite frankly the desire on the part of some here to use this horrific tragedy to bash the policies of the Boy Scouts is reprehensible.

Stories like this tend to hit home with me. I am a scoutmaster, and can attest to the general state of doing-ten-things-at-once while at camp. I have personally never attended a Jamboree, but have recently returned from a week at Summer Camp. From the moment we arrive, there are dozens of things that need our attention, mostly involving setting up camp before we have to be somewhere. It is easy to overlook something like a power line, especially when tents and power lines are almost never associated with each other.

Unfortunately, with power lines, a local radio commercial says it best: There is no negotiating. No correcting. Once you touch that power line, it is over.