I was looking for something else on pennlive.com and I found this in my local news. It's a real shame.

http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnews/2007/06/9year_old_killed_at_perry_coun.html

I think I went there as a cub scout when I was a wee one.


Transcript:

A 9-year-old boy was killed at Hidden Valley Boy Scout Camp when a 13-foot high totem pole fell on top of him yesterday, authorities said.

Tyler O. Shope of Shermans Dale, Perry County, was pronounced dead of head and chest injuries about a half-hour after the 3:15 p.m. accident, Perry County Coroner Michael Shalonis said.

State police said Shope, a Cub Scout, was playing at the base of the totem pole on the first day of Boy Scout camp when it fell on him. His parents were standing nearby.

The totem pole was next to the camp's health lodge, Scouting officials said. Shope was waiting his turn to have his health records reviewed so he could join the camp.

Scouting officials said they believe the totem pole had been carved somewhere else in the camp and then set up by the health lodge more than eight years ago.

Shalonis said the boy's father helped lift the pole off of the boy.

It’s these kind of stories that break a parent's heart.

A boy from our town, about the same age, was walking past an old mill on his way to go fishing when the chimney which had probably stood for 100 years decided not to stand for 101 years.

He went to the same Catholic school as our kids and his mother is the librarian there. We waited for hours in the line outside the funeral home and when we got inside I, Mr. Unemotional, got as close as I ever have to losing it.

The kid, well, I think he'll be ok, but empathizing with the parents really gets to me.

What a sad story. I'll be taking 14 boys to Scout Camp for a week next month, and while we're there, they are all my kids. I have had my share of injuries to deal with over the years, only one ever required more than local care that we could provide, fortunately. The one that did make a trip to the hospital was back in camp the next night.

You expect, in a way, some kind of minor injuries in camp, but, I can't really imagine how we'd feel if we lost one of our boys. You know that there is risk in any activity, and you do your best to make it a safe environment. Let them make the small mistakes, but, have a safety net for the big ones. I don't usually consider camp to be even remotely close to some of the high adventure trips we've done, and yet there is risk.

I feel for that family, and for the extended family of Scouts and Scouters that will be affected by this for a long time.