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Top story of 2009:
Scouts choose county for national scouting center, high adventure base and jamboree
The Boy Scouts of America announced in June that West Virginia had won the bid against 28 other states for a $100 million National Scouting Center and high adventure base.
The BSA selected 10,000 acres of land located on a part of the property known as Garden Ground in Fayette County.
Garden Ground is located on the west side of the New River and is bordered by the communities of McCreery, Thurmond/Stone Cliff and Mount Hope.
West Virginia beat out 80 other proposals, thanks to its unique offerings, including “some of the best whitewater rafting, rappelling, mountain biking and other activities not found anywhere else,” the BSA said.
What exactly does this news mean for West Virginia?
About $10 million injected into the local economy each year, as well as 80 full-time and about 1,200 seasonal jobs.
As soon as it was announced, West Virginia began basking in its win. At the same time, behind closed doors, the BSA was still contemplating a locale to host its National Scout Jamboree.
That event, which attracts thousands of scouts from all over the world, has been held at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., since 1981, but will be moving from that location after next year’s event.
It didn’t take too long for the BSA to make a second announcement.
“It’s all coming to West Virginia,” officials said.
Fayette County will now house not only the National Scouting Center and high adventure base but the National Scout Jamboree as well.
Following the Boys Scouts’ centennial celebration in 2010 and its final Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, the Fayette County property, to be known as The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve following a $50 million contribution from the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation, will become the host site for the Jamboree, beginning in 2013.
Approximately 40,000 Boy Scouts attend the Jamboree and tens of thousands of outside visitors participate.
It was also revealed that efforts are now under way to try to bring the World Scout Jamboree to Fayette County a decade from now, in 2019.
Of the news, Gov. Joe Manchin said the BSA project will “transform who we are as a state, who we are as a people” and that “the news that goes forth is that we are a special place.”
The BSA said 3 million kids are currently involved in scouting and that during the next 100 years another “100 million kids will be involved” and will come to West Virginia to experience The Summit.
— E-mail: jayres@register-herald.com
- Local News
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Pratt was slammed over the weekend as Paint Creek left its banks and poured through homes. Torrential rains Friday night into Saturday caused flooding in the area and led to one confirmed death in Raleigh County and the suspected death of a Glasgow fireman (see related story in this edition) as he was swept away while helping rescue those trapped by floodwaters in Raleigh County.
- Waters engulf communities Torrential rainstorms combined with snowmelt from the mountains to create roaring floodwaters which left destruction in their path over the weekend.
- Future of city pool up in air Officials are still mulling the possibility of not opening the gates of the municipal pool this summer. They are considering that option, Mayor Jim Higgins says, but it’s a scenario none of them want to see come to pass.
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Fireman presumed dead
A Glasgow firefighter is presumed dead after a swift water rescue mission in Raleigh County during last weekend’s flooding.
Donald Adkins, 32, went missing when the boat he and fellow Glasgow Volunteer Fire Department personnel were in capsized as they attempted to lend aid to families hit by major flooding in the Beaver area.
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Female students exposed to engineering profession
The career of a woman who may design the bridge you drive on in 20 years could have received its impetus Thursday.
On that day, Bridgemont Community and Technical College hosted Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day in Davis Hall.
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Management plan available for review; meetings scheduled
Members of the public have the opportunity to study the results of hours of scoping sessions and background work as the National Park Service’s draft General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (GMP) and draft Foundation Plan for New River Gorge National River have been released for public review and input.
- Sports
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- WVU Tech baseball suffers setback The WVU Tech Golden Bear baseball team dropped both games of a mid-week doubleheader last Tuesday to Bluefield College.
- Retirement ends decorated career for Tech’s Jim Fout
- Tech softball drops games; Sang honored
- Tech athletics reaching out
- Fout retires
- Obituaries
