[at-l] Falling Tree at Pine Grove Furnace

[Slyatpct at aol.com (Slyatpct@aol.com)]

In a message dated 6/7/2004 1:17:27 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
daveh@psknet.com writes:

> Does anyone know that is true, or if it is the tinyurl 's own site is
> harvesting info.
> 

In a message dated 6/7/2004 1:17:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time, TrailR@aol.com 
writes:

> Sorry, I don't read stories I have to fill out personal info to get  to.



Geez,  All they want is your zip, age and gender......  here's the story.




Falling tree kills Cub Scout in tent

Father, another boy injured at Pine Grove Furnace 
Monday, June 07, 2004BY CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Of The Patriot-News 
A Camp Hill first-grader on a Cub Scout camping trip was killed yesterday 
morning when a tree fell on the tent in which he and his father were sleeping. 
Owen R. Lentz, 7, of Beverly Road, was part of a group of 11 Cub Scouts from 
Pack 51 of Camp Hill on a father-son weekend outing who were camping in the group 
tenting area at the west end of Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Cooke Twp. 
?

According to Kenneth J. Boyles, the park manager, Owen and his father, Lee, 
28, were sleeping in their dome tent near the perimeter of Camp Site A when a 
40-foot pine tree snapped off about eight feet from the ground and fell on 
their tent shortly after 1 a.m. Owen was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause 
and exact time of death have not been determined, according to Todd C. 
Eckenrode, Cumberland County chief deputy coroner, who said an autopsy is pending. Lee 
Lentz, who was struck on the left side of his head, was treated at Carlisle 
Regional Medical Center and released. A second Scout, Christopher Carey of 
North 26th Street in Camp Hill, was hurt when the tree struck the tent in which he 
and his father, Charles, were sleeping, next to the Lentzes' tent. 
Christopher, who suffered a broken pelvis, was in stable condition last night at the 
medical center, a spokeswoman said. "It was about the freakiest accident I've 
ever seen," said Boyles, who has been a park ranger for 32 years. "It played 
against all odds." Boyles said the weather was calm, with fog and drizzle but no 
wind or lightning. The tree, which was diseased, was outside the area where 
park officials routinely remove trees they feel might pose a hazard to campers, 
he said. According to Boyles, park officials inspect trees in the campgrounds 
every spring and fall, removing any damaged or diseased trees they think might 
be in danger of falling on campsites. "If we believe it could fall inside a 
camping area, we remove that tree," Boyles said. "This tree was beyond what we 
thought could reach the campsite." Boyles said the two tents that were struck 
were on the perimeter of the quarter-acre clearing in the pine plantation. 
There is no line or fence to mark the border of the site, he said. "Everything was 
done according to the book as far as I know," said Jack Carr, executive 
director of the Keystone Area Council. "This was a freak accident of nature; very 
tragic." The fatality is believed to be the first serious camping accident ever 
suffered by Pack 51 or its affiliate, Boy Scout Troop 51. The troops are 
among the oldest continuously active units in the Keystone Area Council and among 
the oldest in the nation. Pack 51 has existed for more than 69 years, said 
Ward Adams, a pack official. Adams said the Boy Scout troop is more than 78 years 
old. Carr said it was the first fatality or serious injury suffered by any of 
the council's Scouts on camping trips in the five years he has been director 
of the council, which has more than 9,000 Scouts in about 300 troops and 
packs. Boyles said the fatality was the first at the park in his five years as 
manager. The park's last fatality he could recall was a drowning "about 15 years 
ago," he said. Gretchen Leslie, press secretary for the Department of 
Conservation and Natural Resources, said she could not recall any deaths caused by 
falling trees in her 11 years with the department. Leslie, who lives next door to 
the Lentz family, said Owen was "a wonderful child who brightened the lives 
around him." "He was a very, very special kid," Leslie said. "A very bright, 
smiley child who was a really good big brother to his 3-year-old brother and his 
8-week-old baby sister." A first-grader at Camp Hill's Schaeffer Elementary 
School, Owen "was a model student and a friend to everyone," said his teacher, 
Kelly Collingsworth. "He was a teacher's dream. He loved learning. He was a 
great kid," said Collingsworth, who has two daughters, one of whom is in a 
different first-grade classroom at Schaeffer. "If you have daughters, you'd have 
been thrilled if some day they had brought home Owen Lentz." Christopher Carey is 
a second-grader at Schaeffer. Counselors will be at the school today to 
assist students and teachers, according to Paul Healey, the district's director of 
education. Healey said Joy Grant, the district's elementary guidance 
counselor, school psychologist Anne Bennett and the district's student assistance team 
would meet with teachers before school this morning and be on hand throughout 
the day for students. Carr said the Cub pack plans to have a psychologist, 
clergy and other experts present tonight for a special meeting for the pack's 
families. CHRIS A. COUROGEN: 975-9784 or ccourogen@patriot-news.com