Notables Help Scouts Sew Up Badges, Skills

When asked to sing out the names of his family and his address to an audience of fellow Boy Scouts, 12-year-old Cameren Kahler stumbled. He then ducked as this audience, egged on by actor Larry Hagman, showered him with wadded balls of newspaper.

“It’s hard to remember stuff when you’ve got to perform,” Hagman explained after he instigated the spirited pelting. “As an actor you’ve got to have this stuff down rote before you start.”

The Ojai actor was one of many notable figures who volunteered Saturday to lend guidance to the more than 300 Boy Scouts participating in the third annual Merit Badge Round-Up in Ventura.

The roundup gave west county Scouts, ages 11 to 18, the opportunity to choose from 36 classes on topics ranging from coin collecting to personal management to plumbing.

“The attributes this organization teaches are fantastic,” said Hagman, a veteran actor of such television hits as “I Dream of Jeannie” and “Dallas.” “I don’t know of any other organization that teaches this sort of stuff.”

Hagman wasn’t the only celebrity in evidence at the session, held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Loma Vista Road.

Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury taught a session on horsemanship while four local judges offered instruction on everything from civics to model railroading.

Other teachers came from fields ranging from farming to plumbing. “We’ve got 24 very talented people helping us who carry torches,” said Bill Fairfield, who heads a Scouting auxiliary group. “And torches, you pass on.”

Some sessions examined traditional Scouting subjects, such as emergency preparedness or designing a campsite appropriate for the terrain, weather and season. Others, such as cinematography and aviation, were more career-oriented.

“I’ve learned so much today,” said 12-year-old Tyler LeBrun of Camarillo. “It’s been good for me because I can earn some badges right now and I can work on others until summer.”

Event organizer Dave Hedman, a member of the county Boy Scouts’ board of directors, said the roundup allows the youngsters to be active throughout the year. Normally, they would have to wait until summer to get the mentoring they need to fulfill badge requirements.

And that is why county leaders such as Bradbury, retired Ventura County Superior Court Judge John Hunter and Ventura County Municipal Court Judge Herbert Curtis III devoted their Saturday to the cause.

“Scouting is absolutely the best crime-prevention program we have,” said Bradbury, who was assisted by Undersheriff Richard Bryce in his equestrian session. “The principles they learn build character and pride, and that goes a long way toward keeping them out of trouble in the future.”

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Curtis, who was on hand to announce a new crime-prevention award that will be given to Scouts who help keep a lid on crime in their neighborhoods, agreed.

“Ventura County is one of the safest places in the hemisphere, and we want to keep it that way,” he said. “Scouting helps because it gives these kids a way to solve their problems without resorting to violence, drugs or gangs.”

The judges all said helping Scouts now means they will not be seeing the boys in their courtrooms later.

“If everybody was a Scout, we’d be out of business,” said Hunter, who instructed groups on how state and local governments work and why civic participation is important.

According to recent FBI statistics, Hunter said, teens ages 14 to 18 commit more than 7% of murders, 21% of rapes, 50% of thefts and 63% of auto thefts nationwide.

“This [14- to 18-year-olds] is the most crime-prone group in the country,” he said. “Scouting is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to preempt those statistics from getting any bigger.”

Established in 1907 in Britain by Robert Bayden-Powell, Boy Scouts are now found in more than 100 countries. The organization’s goal is to nurture ambition and achievement and instill values of community service and honor.

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Before becoming Scouts, boys must take an oath to be loyal, trustworthy, brave and courteous, among other things.

While the barrage of crumpled newspapers thrown in Hagman’s class may have seemed less than courteous, the Scouts received lessons in trust when the actor had half of the group blindfolded and asked the others to lead them downstairs and around a parking lot.

“Acting is about teamwork and trusting others,” Hagman said.

Lessons like those appeared to have found fertile minds Saturday.

“It’s given me the knowledge for everyday life,” Tyler said before going to a drafting seminar. “It’s really helped me with school and to appreciate my family more.”

Another Scout, 12-year-old Randall Edgeworth of Oxnard, echoed that sentiment.

“A lot of kids just go out and get into trouble,” he said. “But I’ve learned how to be responsible, honest and to help other people.”