A Scout Is Helpful | Los Padres Press

Early on January 4th, with heavy rains forecast, St. Mark United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara was exposed to harm. Pastor Cynthia Huskey reached out to Boy Scout Troop 26 for help, since they meet at the church. She asked whether the troop might have volunteers who could fill, transport and place sandbags at critical points around the church structures. Scoutmaster Mike Schley put the word out to the troop families that morning, and he led six volunteers who were working that afternoon. While rain fell, some of the volunteers helped Tiffany and Kevin Kishiyama, church managers, to reposition older sandbags that were already on the site, while more Scouts and parents filled a total of 55 sandbags from County sites and delivered and positioned them around the church. This work helped prevent flooding of the church facilities and the preschool classrooms on the premises.