Boy Scout Jamboree Takes Day for Grieving

The National Boy Scout Jamboree closed to visitors Tuesday for a day of grieving and reviewing safety procedures after the deaths of four adult Scout leaders in an electrical accident. Three sons of the victims returned home to Alaska, officials said.

“Our hearts go out to the families of these dedicated Scout leaders who gave so much to their sons, their troops and their communities,” Boy Scout spokesman Gregg Shields said, his voice choked with emotion.

The accident happened Monday when the Scout leaders were setting up a dining tent. Officials said the jamboree, which attracts tens of thousands of Scouts, would go on. A memorial service was planned at today’s opening ceremony.

One Scout, Marty Williamson, 13, of Sparta, Wis., said Tuesday that he and his fellow scouts felt safe and “everyone is taking it pretty well.”

Shields said the accident was under investigation and he could not provide details. Asked if a tent pole touched a power line, as photos indicated, he said: “That’s what we’re investigating.”

Rappahannock Electric Cooperative sent workers to the site to make sure it was safe, spokesman Brian Wolfe said.

The victims were identified as Michael J. Shibe, 49, Mike Lacroix, 42, and Ronald H. Bitzer, 58, all of Anchorage; and Scott Edward Powell, 57, of Perrysville, Ohio. Shibe had two sons at the event and Lacroix had one.

Three other adults were injured. One was in critical condition at VCU Medical Center in Richmond, one was in stable condition and another was discharged.

The youths with the Alaska troops -- 80 Scouts ages 13 to 15 -- were moved to an Army barracks where a chaplain and grief counselors were available.

Powell had lived in Alaska for 30 years and ran a Scout camp in Anchorage, but retired to Ohio about 18 months ago, said his sister, Anne Rentfrow, 49, of Mansfield, Ohio.

Powell had returned to Alaska this month to celebrate the camp’s 50th anniversary. “While he was there, they invited him to go to the jamboree,” Rentfrow said.

She said he accepted because he had never been to one.

Bitzer was a retired administrative judge and assistant scoutmaster of Troop 129 of Anchorage, troop Scoutmaster Ken Schoolcraft said.

“Scouting was what he loved,” Schoolcraft said. “He spent many, many, many hours working with Scouting.”

The event is being held on 3,000 acres of the Army’s 76,000-acre Ft. A.P. Hill, south of Washington. Army officials are assisting with the investigation.

The jamboree runs through Aug. 3, with President Bush scheduled to speak tonight.

The event, held every four years, attracts more than 40,000 Boy Scouts, leaders and volunteers from around the world.