ROCHESTER — The Boy Scouts Haunted Hayride event, planned for Oct. 25 and 26, has been cancelled due to the Eastern equine encephalitis threat levels.

The troop used the standards of the Boy Scouts of America Council which has cancelled all camping or overnight events until at least three hard frosts with temperatures of 28 degrees or less have passed and the mosquitos which transmit EEE and their larvae are dead.

“The Boy Scout motto is to ‘be prepared.’ Due to circumstances outside of our control (Mother Nature) the boy scouts will learn how to deal with unwanted events,” said Scout Master Kevin Thompson. The hayride will return in fall 2020. 

Cancelling the event was a difficult decision to make, said Illana Mackin, but the priority has to be health.

“The Scouting program is focused on the educational enrichment of youth. The role of volunteers who work with the scouts is to guide them and keep their safety and the public safety in the forefront of our minds,” Mackin said. 

Instead of setting up the hayride and camping overnight between the two days, the scouts will spend the day in community service at YMCA Southcoast, which will help younger scouts to attain a new rank.

The scouts were also planning to collect nonperishable food for Shepherd’s Pantry in Acushnet at the hayride. They will still hold the collection, with a box at Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library.

Since the Haunted Hayride served as a fundraising event for the scouts, the scouts plan to hold a Morning Movie Madness event on Dec. 21 at Flagship Cinema in Wareham. They will watch “Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker.” More details will be released as the fundraiser approaches.