There were fewer Boy Scouts than usual attending the Fall Merit Badge Event in Hays.

“About 50 Scouts were here Saturday, mostly from Troop 101, United Methodist Church, and Troop 133, First Presbyterian Church in Hays,” said Troop 101 Assistant Scout Master Steve Urban.

“We know we were competing with football playoff games and pheasant hunting opening weekend.”

Still, those in attendance had their pick of 14 Eagle Merit badge offerings.

Seven of the badges are required:  Citizenship in the Nation, Citizen in the World, Cooking, Family Life, Personal Management, Swimming, and Sustainability.   Seven other are elective:  Art, Auto Maintenance, Energy, Graphic Arts, Scout Heritage, Soil and Water ad Traffic Safety.

The Cooking badge starts with the basics.  Registered Dietician Kristen Angell of the Center for Health Improvement, talked about using knives carefully, whether in the kitchen and around the campfire:

The scouts also spent part of their lunch break practicing the flag ceremony at Mount Allen cemetery on Vine Street.