RememberSchiff

Could be deer eggs.

A 43 page guide for OA elections? Was this guide written in Florida? I did not see a step where the "eligible" scouts were asked if they were interested in joining. Back in the day, we (my troop) was courteous enough to ask scouts rather than pressure them in front of troop to join. And in this day and age, parent notification and permission should be obtained before the elections. My $0.02,

Enjoy your family vacation.

I understand your situation and concern. I wish misconceived traditions like this were uncommon. It is okay for you or your son to say "No thanks". As always talk the situation through with your son and do what you think is best for him. I'm hoping he says "I'm with you Dad."

The OA is suppose to help mentor scouts in camping and outdoor skills. Discuss outings ideas. The OA lodges around here used to publish an informative Where to Camp guide which was very helpful for yearly planning. I see little of this now. OA weekends are at council camp and why would any loyal scout want to camp elsewhere. There is also the free labor aspect for council camps and that is a major reason for drawing in dads who have and can use power tools. Some of our scouts join OA but within a year they usually fade away due to the time demands. Our SM has stated he has no use for OA as their campout weekends often conflict with ours. He wants his older, experienced scouts with the troop. When our troop camps at the council camp, we ask the ranger what work needs to be done and serve accordingly. My $0.02

Most useful a scout can earn: either Public Health or Safety. I recommend both to my scouts..."Safety First" particularly as the older teens become more carefree dudes. Most useful that I earned: Lifesaving (1968?). I earned Public Health and Safety as well, but I rescued 3 swimmers as a lifeguard later. Back then in my community, Lifesaving MB was earned by completing the Red Cross Senior Lifesaving course at the town pool. For me, it was also the hardest merit badge to earn though Personal Fitness with its pull-ups was close. First Merit badge while useful was mostly review. My $0.02

IMO it appears the 2016 requirement changes are an indirect admission that more (exercise, service, camping,...) is better scouting than quicker (FCFY...).

Less structure, more fun. Try incorporating some of your ideas into a fun group activity, say like Hunger Games. For example for survival, have a collection of items (useful and not) and give a group of scouts x seconds to grab only y items. Oh and make it a surprise. They should have no idea what is coming next. No pins for being there. Best group wins the golden pine cone. My $0.02 P.S. If you Yawned, they will too.

The ones that are school-like (keep a log, notebook), chore-like/tedious, out-dated, not fun...i.e.,the ones that don't interest a scout. Communications Emergency Prep Cooking My scouts will choose a 10 mile hike in a cold rain over keeping a log/notebook every time.

There is more crime, noise, trash, and unruly people in state parks here. Yes we use the buddy system and I may stay up to keep watch. Our past bad experiences have been frequent and severe enough that we rarely camp or hike at state parks and when we do it is early or late in their season. We camp at scout camps, National Parks/Forests ($$ prevents riff-raff), or private property. Safer. Well it was.

Well that is pretty much the situation here, the summer safeguards of scout camp drop to the state park level in the off-season. Yes it concerns me.

I guess you awoke a sleeping bear. I thought scouter.com went into hibernation.

I am seeing more cabin upgrades at area scout camps. Where once cabins were rustic with just a wood stove if that, now they are becoming insulated with secure doors, electricity, lights, heat, and indoor plumbing! The thinking is that these upgrades will increase year-round bookings and the public is welcome to make reservations. Scout and non-scout groups could be at the camp at the same time. My concern is safety. I have asked Council if these outside groups have had the same YP and background checks as us and I get either a non-response or a buck pass "It is the responsibility of the renting party..." At the same camp during the summer, non-scout campers all wear ID's as do scouts. At the least, I think camping BSA unit leaders should have a roster of all groups, scout and non-scout, in camp that weekend... Is there more safety consistency elsewhere?

Not all who wander are lost.

Some New England Councils have placed their camps in land trusts.

Mike's funny response to an idiotic New York Times 27 point guide on being a Modern Man http://mikerowe.com/2015/10/otw-mansman/ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/fashion/mens-style/27-ways-to-be-a-modern-man.html?_r=2 Here's some examples NYT: Before the modern man heads off to bed, he makes sure his spouse’s phone and his kids’ electronic devices are charging for the night. MR: A Man’s Man knows that self-reliance is born of experience. He encourages his kids to look after their own stuff, and suffer the consequences when they do not. The wife is another matter. NYT: The modern man has no use for a gun. He doesn’t own one, and he never will. MR: A Man’s Man owns at least one firearm. He knows how to use it, clean it, and store it properly. He understands it’s importance, and sees it for what it is - a tool that can protect him and his family.

One of the first things you should do is decide just what you mean by “Scout-led troop.†Huh? Sounds like more lip service, either your troop is scout-led or it is not (but hopefully getting there).

Our Klondike Derby was once this way and was annually, the most attended District Event, but then adults could not leave a good thing alone.

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/30290940/boy-scouts-rescue-injured-hiker-in-new-hampshire Seven Boy Scouts from Weymouth’s Troop 9 found an injured hiker on New Hampshire’s Mt. Monadnock on Saturday. Linda had climbed to the summit with her girlfriends, but slipped and twisted her ankle while descending the mountain. Linda initially declined the boys’ offer to help, but, when she realized she couldn’t walk, she reconsidered. “They started pulling out their kits, and that’s when I realized they were Boy Scouts,†Linda said in a phone interview with Fox 25 on Sunday, as she recovered at her Framingham home. “They were just great. They just went down with me the entire time for four hours, and I could not be more thankful that they were there, because there was no way I could have done that by myself.†After Linda was taken to the hospital, her emergency room doctor told her she could have suffered a fracture, had it not been for her rescuers and their impressive work. “He couldn’t believe it,†Linda said. “He’s like, ‘Who did your splint?’ I’m like, ‘Boy Scouts. Troop number nine from Weymouth.’†Check above link for scouts' account of rescue and video. Good story to start week.

Well that's a problem - who do you pay for a reservation!!! Cape Cod & Islands Council, which does NOT own the camp but will gladly take your money. Many units and mine included are reluctant to pay money to this rogue council. https://www.scoutscapecod.org/camp/camp-richard.html OR The Camp Richard's Camper's Association on Nantucket, whose website appears offline www.camprichard.org/ OR Nantucket Civic League, the owners Note entertaining article on page 3 about court proceedings... http://www.nantucketcivicleague.org/assets/ncl-notes-summer-2015.pdf First, the Judge asked who paid the staff at the Camp. Flum-moxed, Cape Cod (Council) Inc.’s lawyer had no answer. The Nantucket District’s lawyer stood up and said there were few staff costs because Nantucket volunteers do staff work, but any payments were made by the Nantucket District through the Camp Richards Campers Association Next, the judge asked who paid for insurance for the Camp operation. Cape Cod Inc.’s lawyer said the Camp was covered by Cape Cod’s Inc.’s blanket policy. The lawyer for the Nantucket District again rose to correct him, and Cape Cod Inc.’s lawyer added sheepishly that the Nantucket District had bought and paid for its own insurance until it was told the Camp was covered by the blanket policy, whereupon the Nantucket District instead made a “donation†to Cape Cod Inc. in an amount equal to the previous insurance payment. So much for “covered†and “bought and paid for. Finally, the Judge inquired as to what exactly Cape Cod Inc. had done over the years to rein in the “out of control†“rogue†Nantucket District. Cape Cod Inc.’s lawyer answered that the policy was “to not confront†the Nantucket District. At this statement, the eyes of Judge Nickerson could be seen to roll very slightly toward the top of his head. The Nantucket District lawyer then pointed out that Cape Cod’s Inc.’s policy “to not confront†the Nantucket District was apparently so strong that no one from Cape Cod Inc. ever bothered to formally notify the Nantucket District that it had met its demise, been dissolved by Cape Cod Inc. and had long ago simply ceased to exist….

Our scouts decided NYLT was a waste of time 5+ years ago. When the annual signup notice arrives, there are no takers. The old course notebook comes out and scouts see little they don't already know. Even though the last attendees have aged out, their summations remained "Learned some games and songs. Stayed in campsite and mess hall the whole week. Why am I here? Clueless teaching the more clueless." SM supports their decision and has his own criticisms of the course. He tends to view NYLT and WB as a remedial course for troops with weak programs. Whether you are a scout or adult, a good start is read the Scout handbook and learn by doing with your buddies (fun). Fail, learn from it, read some more, ask for help, or watch youtube videos, and try again. Succeed and teach others (old JLT). Leadership skills develop naturally as you work as a group on common objectives - building a fire, cooking meals, planning a campout or hike. My $0.02

http://www.n-magazine.com/scouts-honor/ "...Other calls and pleas for help to well-connected, senior members of the Boy Scouts of America organization about Camp Richard went unheeded. But that’s probably because this type of thing is happening all over the country. As Nantucket’s Boy Scout leaders researched their predicament, they quickly learned that Camp Richard was just the latest example of the Boy Scouts of America selling off land previously donated to the organization for big bucks. A 2009 investigation by Hearst Newspapers found that regional Boy Scout councils all over the U.S. had “reaped tens of millions of dollars from selling decades-old campgrounds and other properties — including some previously given to them with the intention they be used for outdoor recreation…†Mike Reilly is the Cape Cod Council’s “Scout Executive†who receives $119,644 in annual compensation according to the group’s most recent non-profit tax filing with the IRS. Reilly himself answered the phone when I called the Council’s Yarmouthport headquarters last month. He politely referred all questions to Robert Chamberlain, an attorney and one of the Council’s directors. Chamberlain, whose law firm is representing the Council in the Camp Richard case, never returned the voicemail I left for him. But their side of the story has emerged in court filings and affidavits..." I wonder what the legal costs were for Cape Cod Council in this matter.

Beads or Balls. I choose Balls.

http://www.summitbsa.org/programs/scout-camp/ Council Adventure Partnership Price Varies by Local Council The Council Adventure Partnership serves as an older boy adventure program for a local council camp. Scouts begin and end their week at their council resident camp with their unit. However, rather than participating in that camp’s program during the week they are transported in a council contingent for Scout Camp program at The Summit. Interested groups should encourage their council Program Director, Camp Director, or Scout Executive to contact The Summit about taking advantage of this opportunity. More info can be found here [link to Council Adventure subpage] Note: This program does not include open access to high adventure venues (ie- The “Big†Zip, Barrels, Rocks, etc). Groups interested in Council Contingents for the Paul R. Christen National High Adventure Base should visit this page [link to PRCHAB Council Contingent info]. Huh?? Sorry this makes no sense to old Schiff. Well unless this is a step towards requiring units book through their local council (who take their cut) to attend Summit.

Hurray! Scouts and Nantucket 1, Cape Cod and Islands Council and developer 0 (Oct. 13, 2015) A Superior Court judge has ruled that deed restrictions intended to ensure Nantucket's Camp Richard remain a "campsite for the scouts of Nantucket" are valid, and the property must be transferred back to its original owner, the Nantucket Civic League, if it is used for any other purpose. The ruling, handed down last week by Judge Gary Nickerson, effectively ends a bid by the Cape Cod & Islands Council of the Boys Scouts of America to sell a portion of the 100-acre property off Lovers Lane to a private developer, Atlantic Development of Hingham, Mass., which has proposed a sizable 40B affordable-housing project on an adjacent property. According to the ruling, ownership of the property remains with the off-island council, not the on-island Camp Richard Campers Association, but under the terms of 1955, 1971 and 1972 deed restrictions, it can only be used as a camp for island scouts. http://www.ack.net/CampRichardruling101515.html