KI Junior Rangers are tops

The Junior Canadian Rangers of Kitchenuhmaykoosib are winners of this year’s award for the best Junior Ranger patrol in Ontario.
“They really deserve it, they certainly are the number one patrol,” said Lt. Caryl Fletcher, the officer commanding Junior Canadian Rangers in Ontario.
The award goes to the Junior Ranger patrol with the best participation record and total membership in relation to the size of its community. Kitchenuhmaykoosib has 52 Junior Canadian Rangers who participate on a regular basis in a busy program of training, events and activities.
The presentation was made at Camp Loon, an annual wilderness training camp for Junior Rangers near Geraldton, Ont.
The award is unusual because a number of problems have prevented the patrol from having a regular Canadian Ranger master corporal to run it. Instead, Sgt. Spencer Anderson, the community’s Canadian Ranger patrol leader, has also run the Junior Ranger patrol for the past two years.
“He’s committed to the program,” Fletcher said. “He’s been doing double duty, running both patrols. He’s well liked and very competent and he’s done a great job.”
Chief Donny Morris said he was delighted to hear his community’s Junior Rangers were the best in Ontario.
“The program tries to bring the best out of every individual,” he said. “Until we got the Junior Ranger program nothing was motivating our young people. The Junior Ranger program does that.”
Anderson said the community was impressed by the award.
“Chief and council were pretty amazed and pleased when they heard we had won it,” he said. “When the Junior Rangers brought the award back from Camp Loon chief and council had a group photograph taken with the award and all the Junior Rangers in uniform. We are going to have a special community event to celebrate.
“It’s been a lot of hard work but with this award it’s worth it.”