On a chilly Oct. 8, Minsi Trails Council held Cubmobile races in the parking lot of Whitehall-Coplay Middle School to recruit young Scouts.

Around 30 Scouts, many from Pack 32, attended the event, with a few new recruits joining them. They worked together in groups of three or four to complete a distance test, agility course and an overall speed race. Older Scouts assisted by timing events and recording results.

Pack 32 meets at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Whitehall and is the only Cub Scout pack in Whitehall-Coplay School District. Years ago, there were six Cub Scout packs in WCSD. This issue is not only affecting younger Scouts; older Scout troops decreased from nearly 15 to just three.

Pack 32 is a coed group, where boys and girls earn badges in different areas. Scouts are separated by gender after reaching age 11; however, female Scouts are still able to earn merit badges and become Eagle Scouts.

The Boy Scouts of America organization teaches its participants about leadership, citizenship, community, religion and more.

Scouts, especially those wishing to achieve the Eagle rank, complete a multitude of projects across the township. Because of this, the township and chartered organizations have a “vested interest” in seeing the troops grow and succeed, according to Whitehall Township Commissioner Charles Fisher.

“We are trying to rebuild the synergy between the township and the Scouts,” he added.

Fisher said he hopes to get the older Scouts involved with future township events, such as the Adopt-A-Highway initiative.