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Tragedy in Iowa
Four teenagers were killed and dozens more were injured when a tornado struck the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in western Iowa last night:
(CNN) — Boy Scouts dived under picnic tables and were buried under a collapsed chimney when a tornado hit their camp in western Iowa, survivors said Thursday morning.
The tornado at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch killed three 13-year-old Scouts and a 14-year-old staff member who also was a Scout, said Lloyd Roitstein, president of the Boy Scouts of Mid-America Council. Forty-eight Scouts and staff members were injured.
Possible tornadoes also struck northeastern Kansas, killing at least two people, injuring many others and damaging buildings at Kansas State University.
Rob Logsdon, a 15-year-old staff member at the camp, said although he was injured, he rescued some of his fellow Boy Scouts trapped underneath the collapsed chimney.
[...]
Thomas White, an 18-year-old staff member, said he lay in a ditch with several of the younger scouts as the tornado roared through.
“The grace of God helped us for sure,” he said.
Logsdon said one of his friends was among the four killed.
“I went back to Little Sioux after I got out of the hospital, and his dad had just found out he died,” he said. “He was my staff partner and he was a good kid, and it’s a big loss. He was a great kid.”
Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Gene Meyer said 93 campers and 25 staff were at the camp when the storm struck about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. All have been accounted for, he said, but the 1,800-acre park was still being searched Thursday morning.
Roitstein, the Boy Scouts official, said the Scouts at the ranch were advanced Scouts between 13 and 18 years old and were there for a week of training. He said all of them were staying in tents and that the site is destroyed.
This is so, so sad. Mothers and fathers sent their sons to Boy Scout camp, never thinking it would be the last time they’d see them alive. Please keep the family members in your thoughts and prayers.
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6 Responses to “Tragedy in Iowa”
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I think that after a tragedy like this it should be mandatory for all camp grounds to build storm bunkers. If there was a underground place to go, it could prevent possible injuries and deaths.
Jennifer,
I understand you ‘care’ and are probably a very well-meaning person.
There are 1,000′s of campgrounds public and private. Whether public or private the cost of building and then maintaining such bunkers would raise campground access fees, etc and WOULD NEVER guarantee that people don’t die ever again in their rush to the bunker, etc.
Campgrounds sprawl over many acres. People who aren’t fit visit campgrounds.
Additionally, mandating means government would have to make these laws and then someone would have to enforce and inspect these facilities.
I’m not trying to be mean Jennifer. I care also. I wish there were unicorns, utopia, no wars, no greed, etc….
I think there needs to be a full scale investigation as to why a group of boys were on a hike when the weather was bad, yes they had no idea there would be a tornado, but there were alerts bad weather was coming. There were 25 adults there and not one of them were killed or injured, just the youngest? Jennifer you are right on about a storm bunker, they have all these people there and they cannot build a storm shelter? I think the boy scouts were true heroes helping there follow scouts and should be commended.I however wonder what the 25 adults were doing when they ignored bad weather was approaching. Common sense should tell you that if bad weather is approaching you get ready before a tornado arrives. Always prepared, I think not the boy scout leadership should have shelters.
They were already in a shelter, and had seconds warning before the tornado hit. How fast can you build a tornado proof shelter, Coty?
Tragedy strikes, and nature can be dangerous, and these scouts proved themselves better able to deal with it than many adults (including about fifty percent of the adult population of New Orleans after Katrina.) You’re not going to legislate hazard out of existence, nor should you try.
So instead of trying to score cheap points about the villain du jour (first Bush sighting at the storm machine controls in 3…2…1…), how about you shut up if you’re unable to offer condolence or support? These scouts proved they have what it takes, and may God bless them and may He comfort the families who lost children.
Coty, I think you read too much into the article. No where does it say that the scouts were taking a hike. I myself am a Eagle Scout, and have remained active as an adult, as well as formally working for a scout camp in Illinois. Most of these places don’t have bunkhouses for the scouts, usually just the staff. The scouts each camp out at a campsite with their troop with tents and the like. Generally, even in a storm, it is preferred that the scouts stay in their campsites, simply because 9 times out of 10, it is perfectly safe, and it prevents the scouts from having to crowd into mess halls and allows people to get some sleep.
Now, that being said, I assure the camp director would have been awake the whole time, keeping aware of the weather, with staff members informing troop masters of the situation, and at the first sign of risks, such as a tornado or severe thunder, all scouts would be called into safe areas. However, the people in charge need to decide if its safer to leave them where they are, or risk them walking through the woods to get to the safe areas. In this case, the kids were brought in, and likely the scouts in the ditch were trying to get in, and they didn’t make it in time.
Storms like this happen quickly, and while I’m sure there will be an investigation, it will be more to see what can be learned from this situation rather then to try and point fingers.
However, I think the important thing to walk away with, is that these scouts did as they were taught to do. Despite all of the politics scouts have been involved with, whether it be gay rights, atheism, or various issues with international scouting, these kids were able to come together, use what they were taught, and helped one another, and saved people in the process. Agree or disagree with their politics, (and I tend to disagree more often then not) the scouts response to the crisis is what scouting is about, and I have never been more proud to be involved in the program.
Meanwhile, linked on Drudge is further evidence of the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the “progressives.” No disaster is safe from being claimed a result of “global warming.” These vultures will use any excuse to toot their alarmist horn.
As for forcing every campsite to build shelters, this is a very, very rare occurrence. As a society, we have got to stop being such hand wringing pansies, so risk averse we don’t even let kids play on swings or play tag. It’s wussifying the entire human race needlessly. Employ rational actions against danger, but realize that it’s impossible to protect against everything in the world. It’s gotten to where we don’t send kids out to play unless they’re bundled up in airbags like the Michelin Man.