RememberSchiff

I don't know what new policies came from the National Meeting but I hope there will be more-effective and parent-reassuring Youth Protection policies. Safety is job one. Hardly a week goes by when there is not a new story about a recent abuse and always the BSA is pitted against the victim. Oh there are still stories about abuse that occurred 10, 20 or more years ago. 1. Stop withholding information. No lame excuses. Turn over all information to law enforcement, let them investigate. 2. Get on the side of the child in legal proceeding. Some school districts have succeeded in doing this in cases of teacher abuse of students. 3. Publicly lobby FOR child safety and protection at both the state and National level. (See NY article below). The Atlantic Journal published this after the National Meeting. It will only be freely available for a short time. http://www.myajc.com/news/local/sex-abuse-cases-boy-scouts-forgo-transparency/T8jGnO4FWXfvFhsf6sA2TJ/ In sex abuse cases, Boy Scouts forgo transparency “One thing we’ve found, when we look at all the Boy Scouts cases, is a constant fight against releasing any of the documents,†said Emma Hetherington, director of the University of Georgia Law School’s Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic, founded to assist the survivors of child sexual abuse. They’ve even fought some of the files that have been released publicly from being used in court cases. In doing so, Hetherington said, the Scouts have maintained their interest is in protecting the victims. Disclosure would only discourage people from reporting other abuse because the Scouts could not guarantee confidentiality. “No one is asking them to release the names of the victims,†Hetherington said. “They’re protecting themselves, not the children.†“If you really want to protect more boys, you release the names of the offenders,†she said. “It’s about holding them accountable and holding the Scouts accountable. This is an organization that led the public to believe their child would be in one of the safest places they could be if they were in Boy Scouts.†... Defense lawyer Natalie Woodward, who represents Robb Lawson along with Dunwoody attorney Esther Panitch in the case against Fleming Weaver, said she thinks the Boy Scouts have made some calculations that, while morally questionable, may be strategically wise. “The Boy Scouts have taken the same tactic in all of these cases designed to make it as long and painful a process as possible,†Woodward said. “And if you don’t have the file, you don’t have a case.†From a public relations standpoint, they appear to have concluded transparency would hurt them more with the public than obstruction, Panitch said. “They may be doing the smart thing, but it’s not the right thing,†she said. Smart? Not as far as recruiting goes. Switch to New York over the weekend. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/lovett-boy-scouts-fighting-n-y-s-child-victims-act-article-1.3203068 Abuse survivors rip Boy Scouts for hiring ex-state senator to lobby against Child Victims Act ALBANY — The Boy Scouts of America has hired a former state senator to lobby against legislation that would make it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice as adults. The Boy Scouts this year are paying Dentons US $12,500 a month to lobby on three bills, including against the Child Victims Act. Former Sen. Craig Johnson, a Long Island Democrat, is a principal for Dentons’ public policy and regulatory practice and one of two people from the firm registered since February to represent the Boy Scouts in Albany, according to filings with the state ethics commission. In an email, a spokesman for the organization confirmed Johnson was hired to work “on a variety of legislative matters in New York that impact youth-serving organizations†— including the Child Victims Act. The spokesman did not respond to a followup email asking why the scouts are fighting the legislation. The organization is said to oppose for financial reasons the push to create a one-year window to revive old sex abuse cases that can’t be pursued under current law. Online records dating back to 2011 show that it is the first time the Boy Scouts have had a lobbyist registered in Albany to work on the issue. The group has had lobbyists for other issues in the past while the Catholic Church has led the charge against the Child Victims Act. ... “An institution like the Boy Scouts should be more concerned with protecting young children from sexual abuse than protecting their interests by fighting legislation that protects kids and exposes sexual predators,†Robb said in an email. “After all, they call themselves a 'values-based youth development organization,’ one would hope they value the safety of kids, truth and justice!†Added Michael Polenberg, of Safe Horizon: “So often, an abuser may first pretend to assume a caring or mentorship role in a child's life in order to build trust. Safe Horizon believes that exposing those who sexually abuse children allows parents and organizations to best protect the children who are entrusted into their care — it's deeply disappointing that the Boy Scouts think otherwise." We could have a great inclusive, adventure program but if the BSA is not transparent about abuses and not proactive in legal protection of children, our membership will continue to decline. My $0.02

"girls, cars, and jobs" Not seeing that. What I see is College, College, College. Many weekends of test preparation and taking (usually multiple times). Nearly all are tutored for tests (AP's, SAT's, ACT), even the BSA had a discount from one company. Does it help? From our experience - YES! Summer pre-college weeks for high school students! I strongly encourage my scouts to explore those opportunities. Usually we have two or more scouts "dual enrolled" in high school and a local community college. Those seeking to graduate from both, need to fulfill the requirements of both and so become no-show scouts. Fall college visits, spring college visits. Saving for college once meant getting a job but more it is about cutting expenses not directly contributing to college - goodbye $$$ treks. But surely sports? IMO, if colleges did not offer sports scholarships, high school football would be gone as school districts could not justify the expense. Look at the high commitment programs - sports, band, FIRST robotics, they all have a big scholarship carrot in common. Should the BSA promote and extend their scholarship offerings? Should BSA restore the value of Eagle in college admission? My $0.02

Agree. IMO, raise the bar with the same rules and requirements for all.

An impressive first post @@John the Xcar , thank you and welcome to scouter.com.

http://wtkr.com/2017/05/25/11-year-old-north-carolina-boy-bitten-by-copperhead-at-birthday-party/ A North Carolina Cub Scout was bitten by a copperhead snake at his 11th birthday party. “I was running from my friend who had a water balloon and … I guess a snake jumped and got me, I was scared because some snakes are very poisonous.†Now the Cub Scout wants other kids to know what to do and what not to do. “Something I shouldn’t have done I went straight to the bathroom and checked it,†The Scout said he should have called for an adult right away. Luckily a family friend and former EMT was nearby to help, calming him down and relaxing the scout to slow down the venom. “It was already starting to swell and he was in severe pain,†the EMT said. I'm glad the former EMT was there.

IMO, the discussion to have is that Scouts are the helpers. How should Scouts respond? Help other people at all times.

Welcome to scouter.com Around here some merit badge counselors use various internet worksheets, but as far as I know there are no BSA "official" meritbadge worksheets. You are correct about the blue card as stated in the Guide to Advancement http://www.scouting.org/Home/GuideToAdvancement/TheMeritBadgeProgram.aspx#7003 7.0.0.2 About the Application for Merit Badge ("Blue Card") It is important to note the “blue card†is the nationally recognized merit badge record. It has been updated from time to time and carries the information needed for proper posting and for evidence and reference as needed later. I

Simsbury, CT Boy Scout Troop 175 is the first BSA troop to visit Cuba in 57 years. Brad Mead, the troop's Scoutmaster, said the trip is part of Troop 175's mission to take the Scouts to unique places. "We are a rather unusual troop," Mead said. "We go all over the world. We've been up Mount Kilimanjaro twice, we've been deep in the Amazon jungle, we've been rafting down the Zambezi River, we've been to Alaska a couple of times." Mead said the idea for a trip to Cuba came about when travel between the United States and Cuba was reinstated a few years ago. "When they opened up for special visas, I thought it would be a fun trip," Mead said. "We've been the first troop to do an awful lot of stuff, so it seemed like something to do before somebody else did it." Wow sounds like ... ADVENTURE! More interesting details at source link http://www.courant.com/community/simsbury/hc-va-simsbury-boy-scout-cuba-0525-20170524-story.html

And if a LOCAL COUNCIL did it, they would get in trouble.

Is "Officially Licensed" the same as an "Endorsement"? https://www.buckknives.com/collection/bsa/

Yes. It was not long also that BSA websites only worked with IE. I am not a pdf expert but having read this https://www.foxitsoftware.com/blog/acroforms-vs-xfa-forms/ I wonder if the Eagle workbook should be recreated as a pdf with an Acroforms format instead of the current XFA format?

The tools which I have tried fail to read the 27 page Eagle workbook a create the infamous 1 page "Please Wait...", as shown below. Found this explanation from http://www.quickpdflibrary.com/faq/if-this-message-is-not-eventually-replaced-by-the-proper-contents-of-the-document.php Question Why do I receive the error message below when I try to open specific PDF forms? Please wait... If this message is not eventually replaced by the proper contents of the document, your PDF viewer may not be able to display this type of document. You can upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Reader for Windows, Mac, or Linux by visiting get.adobe.com/reader . For more assistance with Adobe Reader visit helpx.adobe.com/support.html This happens when I try render these PDF files using Quick PDF Library, Foxit Reader, Nitro Reader and numerous other PDF viewers. I can only open the PDF using the latest version of Adobe Reader. Why? Answer Certain PDF files (dynamic XFA forms) created in Adobe LiveCycle can only be opened in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat. When you try to open these files in an alternative PDF viewer, then you will see this error message. Unfortunately, it's not easy remove this message and modify the PDF so that it can be opened in alternative PDF viewers. The person who created the original form must re-create the form using options that do not restrict which PDF viewers can open and display the file. Adobe has made the decision that since very few non-Adobe products support these special PDF files, that it is better to show this message -- and require the user to download Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat -- than it is to let the PDF viewer try to render the document. We strongly disagree with this decision that Adobe has made and will work to try to convince them to reverse this bad policy, which just causes needless confusion for users of PDF.

cutePDF - is a free print utility which I use to extract pages (Word, pdf,...) into a pdf file. PDF escape is a free online PDF editor that I have used mostly on old pdfs. Disclaimer: I am not a fan of Adobe "Always need to Update" software.

Back in the day, I typed my one page Eagle Project report on my Dad's typewriter. As I recall it was my first and only use of carbon paper as I needed two copies. I am a hunt and peck typist, still it was faster than this pdf stuff.

Struggling to add information to Eagle Scout Service Project pdf without negating the existing fillable entries. For example, Proposal Page E is the signature page. The signatures were handwritten, so I would like to scan that page, create a pdf, (no problem) and then insert/replace into the Eagle Scout Service Project pdf (big problem). I would also like to insert photos and drawing pdf's into Eagle Scout Service Project pdf, I have tried a few free pdf tools without success, the closest was a merged pdf but the form fields were non-functional. Any free pdf tool advice?

Assign a National guy to my unit and I'll have him volunteer to handle all the medical forms while I'll handle all the Tour Permits/Plans.

If ... they spent THEIR vacation time.

The cost of what I am trying to protect is priceless. I can name at least 3 scout camps where firearms have been stolen in the last 2 years. I am certain there are more. There's a problem.

Well at least the firearms were locked up, unlike http://scouter.com/index.php/topic/26813-shotguns-stolen-public-youth-shooting-program-and-bsa-at-risk/page-2?hl=+rifles%20+stolen Maybe the BSA could re-assign their squirt gun police to firearm security. I hope Bechtel Summit down the road is more secure.

Lone Ranger Creed Green Lantern Oath Code of the West

Times change. Remember when your SM one-liner was "Being a scout looks good on your college application, Earning Eagle gets you a pay grade bump if you enlist." ?

From FB A SCOUT IS TRUSTWORTHY. The picture taken below is of the Rifle Range shelter at Camp Mountaineer. Sometime between Sunday night May 14th and last night, May 16th, an individual or more likely individuals broke into our Rifle Range building and stole one of our Sentry Safes (crap - RS) filled with 10 .22 rifles and 4 pellet rifles. Here is a description of the guns stolen: Savage Mod Mark 1 G 22 Long Rifle single shot, birch stock with serial numbers: 1171782, 1280641, 1280644, 1280645, 1280646, 1280647, 1280648, 1280649, 1280650, and 1280653. Each rifle was blue finished metal and birch wood stocks and open sights. The pellet rifles were Crossman 508 Olympic Sights Target pellet rifles with hard sided rifle cases in black and aluminum. If you happen to see any of these guns on facebook, craiglist, yard sales, flea markets, etc. please notify us and the West Virginia State Police. We intend to push for prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. We will be working over the next few weeks to repair the damages, install more security measures, and replace the stolen equipment. Any help you can give to make sure our Scouts continue to get a great program despite this disappointing setback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! My advice, 1. Do not store firearms at an unattended, remote site. Pry bars, chain saws, winch on an ATV all make break-in easy. 2. Store in a real gun safe, bolted to concrete floor, with dehumidifier. A good one (e.g. Fort Knox) will cost about twice the cost of those rifles stolen, that sheet metal Sentry safe used probably cost 1/10. 3. Alarm system with battery backup and cameras. 4. Store ammunition separate from firearms. 5. Off-season store securely off-site - local gun shop, police department. What are the requirements for firearm storage at summer camps? My $0.02

Welcome to scouter,com My understanding, BALOO training is for Cub Scout overnighters. An overnighter may or may not be a campout, e.g. museum overnighter. Usually Cubs just visit a camporee during the day, while Webelos (older Cubs) might camp overnight with a Boy Scout troop.

Welcome to Scouter.com Is the old SM available? How many Assistant Scoutmasters are there in your troop?

A tone of liberation from the LDS scouts?