Boy Scouts robbed

WASILLA — It may be the season of giving but crime hasn’t taken a vacation.

Boy Scout Troop 300 was robbed on Dec. 11. About $5,000 worth of gear and equipment was stolen from the troop’s storage area located in the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church parking lot, scoutmasters say. The troop has no theft insurance and it would be out of their budget to obtain some.

“The setback is considerable,” said Troop 300 Scoutmaster Jeff Krzypkowski.

Enclosed inside a chain-link fence were a storage shed and two trailers containing essential scout inventory. At night, someone cut the back section of the fence to gain entry. After getting past the fence, the thieves were able to break the lock for one of the trailers, which contained canoes. They attempted to break the lock on the shed door — but to no avail. The focus shifted to the door’s hinges, which were removed, making the ransack possible. Piles of essential camping, hiking, and fishing gear were loaded into a canoe and dragged through the woods to a getaway car parked in the new Alyeska Therapy Center, Krzypkowski said. The suspects loaded their vehicle with the stolen goods and took off, leaving the canoe in the parking lot. The load was apparently too heavy. Numerous items were scattered in the woods. In the morning, someone at the church noticed the strewn items and called Krzypkowski. Upon arrival, he immediately knew his troop had been raided.

“Someone really thought about this,” Krzypkowski said.

According to Krzypkowski, a lot of expensive items were stolen. They lost all of their Dutch ovens, all of their cookware, stoves, special military-style bags that open and extend into a quick tarp, tents (both children and adult), sleeping bags, camp fuel and canoe paddles.

Boy Scout Committee chair Dorte Mobley was baffled by the theft.

“Why did they steal 12 canoe paddles?” Mobley asked.

It’s still unclear why the items were stolen, but they were taken for their monetary value, so the suspects will probably attempt to sell the lot. When the scouts first learned of the theft, they were shocked. They asked Krzypkowski, “Why would they steal our stuff?” He gave a speech to the boys and parents during one of their meetings.

“It’s easy to get mad about something like this but we have to look at where the real wealth lies. The wealth of our troop is not in that trailer, but in the boys and their families,” Krzypkowski said.

Troop 300 has an annual fundraiser at Palmer Moose Lodge to raise money for gear and trips. With 60 kids, it is one of the largest troops in the Valley. Krzypkowski said the scouts are very community-minded. They regularly volunteer their time to help those in need. Some highlights of the scout’s deeds include collecting food for food banks, cleaning up around town and ringing bells for the Salvation Army’s red kettles. The community minded them back. Two local companies came to the scouts’ aid after the incident. Clear Water Fencing replaced the entire back section of the fence. Gibson Roofing is donating time and labor to help fortify the shed to help protect it from any future incidents.

“This is not a one-man show,” Krzypkowski said.

Three different scout parents are helping prevent further theft by holding onto the trailers and some items from the shed at their own homes. Krzypkowski said that his troop’s roster of parents is very involved. After the theft, they stepped up to help where they could. One parent replaced the door hinges for the shed.

“There’s nothing exciting left in that shed. It’s gone,” Krzypkowski said.

Moving forward, Krzypkowski said he hopes the focus goes back to the boys and their families. He is proud of his troop, saying they have a strong unit. There is still plenty to do.

“We don’t just camp a couple times a year,” Krzypkowski said.

The scouts go on a large trip every month. They will be using some of the money from their fundraiser to begin replacing items. At the end of January, they will be taking an overnight ice fishing trip at the Matanuska Lake. In February, they will take a three-day weekend at Alyeska Resort to ski and snowboard. They will need to replace all of their camping and cooking gear before summer. Krzypkowski plans to take the boys on a five- to six-day canoe trip up to the Kenai Wildlife Refuge. They will be taking several short trips to prepare for the long excursion.

“The boys worked hard for this stuff,” Krzypkowski said.

Troop 300 is currently accepting donations. Mobley said that if anyone out there has sleeping bags they aren’t using, they can donate them to the troop. To learn more about Troop 300, also known as the “Thunderbirds,” visit: www.t300.weebly.com, where Krzypkowski can also be reached via email submission.

“You know how much popcorn those boys sold?” Mobley said. “We’ll move forward. We gotta’ sell more popcorn I guess.”