RememberSchiff

West Virginia House Resolution 108 will amend the West Virginia Constitution to say that "any property owned by a nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is youth development by means of adventure, educational or recreational activities for young people and others at a nonprofit constructed facility built with the expenditure of no less than $100 million, where such facility is capable of supporting additional activities within the region or within the state of West Virginia and which is leased or used to generate revenue for the non-profit organization, is exempt from ad valorem property taxation, subject to any requirements, limitations and conditions as may be prescribed by general law." Now goes to State Senate. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x32208166/Two-Constitutional-amendments-await-legislative-action

Update: Amendment to WV Constitution maybe Nov, 2014 ballot? A tax break resolution passed the West Virginia House and now goes to W.V. Senate. If it passes there, next stop is the ballot for voter consideration. The proposed amendment to the state Constitution would give certain tax breaks to the Boy Scouts of America’s Summit Bechtel National Scout Reserve but apparently not to other non-profits. The BSA wants to rent its facilities to for-profit groups - corporations, concert promoters without jeopardizing its West Virginia state tax-exempt status. I wonder how much we are spending on lobbying efforts? http://wvmetronews.com/2014/02/26/boy-scouts-tax-break-resolution-heads-to-senate-following-house-passage/

The homicide was widely reported as the young victim Hadiya Pendleton had performed at Obama's inauguration. Two months later, two suspects were arrested. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/30/hadiya-pendleton-dead-chi_n_2581309.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/28/hadiya-pendleton-suspects_n_2972745.html

During a shooting in Chicago, Scout Lawrence Sellers was shot in the leg as his shielded his girlfriend. Another friend was killed. "Doing the right thing, you shouldn't get an award for it, but I am honored to receive it, of course, I just feel like it's just the right thing," Sellers said. He was awarded the Honor Medal from the BSA. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local/chicago_news&id=9442642 Scout Salute.

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/...ns/trails.aspx Nationally Approved Historic Trails This page is in the process of being updated.

According to that same article, his diocese Cardinal does not agree with Father John De Celles, nor does Pope Francis. I see re-assignment coming.

Decreasing membership, increasing Eagles. I wonder what the equilibrium point will be? Maybe a boy scout membership 4x the annual number of Eagles earned?

Thanks for the follow-up. I recall needing a letter of reference from my pastor for my Eagle application back in the day. That letter was mighty slow in coming, annulments come faster

I'm was talking about boys that we are not taking in and scouts we are not keeping due to policies. Critics, girls, and Cub Scouts are other matters. Over the years I personally have turned away many great boys and their families over the membership form DRP (hated myself too) and seen almost as many older great scouts leave because they were not allowed to take charge (as in no adults) or even do the outdoor things they safely did with their families. This takes a toll on our youth membership numbers.

Maybe some day the Boy Scout program will be an inclusive, outdoor, character-building program, i.e., take any boy who wants to be a scout, teach them scoutcraft and leadership (not management), and then trust them to lead other scouts on outings without adults.

Good Gawd. I wish we would go back to just teaching our Scouts to do a good turn without reward, recognition, or even thanks because it is the scout way of doing the right thing. Instead we have created generations who expect something more for doing the right thing or even just doing their job. What's in it for me, Mr. Schiff?

So far very few TLUSA have started around here - NH, MA. If the theory was that CO's who asked their BSA troop to leave would automatically replace with a TLUSA unit, that is not happening here. The BSA unit finds another sponsor and/or the scouts leave or find another troop. Seems the TLUSA units are being formed by disgruntled scouters who are finding they need to reach out over a larger geographic area for members. Just an observation, it has been less than a year since they started. My $0.02

"(8) No person under the age of 18..." Is a subset of "(g) Camping at authorized sites, cabins or other structures." That is Webelos III camping, not a backpack trip. In New York State you need a permit for wilderness backpacking only when you camp in the same spot for more than three nights, or in a group of ten or more people. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7872.html "Campground" being the operative word here, if the photo of the paved sidewalks and crushed stone campsites didn't give it away. I did call one state park and the weekend guy said, "Well, I don't know of any Massachusetts wilderness age rules, but I wouldn't send them out on the AT any younger than ten or eleven without adult supervision!" My underage New Hampshire backpacking experience is limited to the White Mountain National Forest, where there are no age restrictions. If the term "state park" is too confusing, unsupervised Boy Scouts might stick to National Forests and the Appalachian Trail (AT): Massachusetts has 90 miles of AT trail, Vermont has 150 miles, and New Hampshire has 161 miles. A Note to Young Readers: If your "BSA Trained" adult leaders can not tell the difference between a family campground and a state wilderness trailhead, you might be safer in a campground that requires photo ID! Ok, I misread the NY regulation, though it seems odd that NY of all states would allow any camping without a permit and a $$$ permit at that. So I'll amend my statement - State parks (MA, VT, NH) around here do not allow scout-age teens to camp (at a campground, campsite, primitive site, whatever) without an adult...Never had those restrictions back in the day when I was a scout planning campouts, just typed a letter and mailed it (with cash) to the park ranger, which was my point.

Sorry to hear of the loss of two scouts. What a extremely discourteous thought to think of one's personal benefit at this time of grief. It was his duty to help and the honor was reward in itself. No service hours for serving others in a time of need - death, first aid, natural disasters, emergencies. Service hours are for non-emergencies like building park benches, park cleanup, raking,... My $0.01

State parks around here do not allow scout-age teens to camp without an adult. http://nysparks.com/publications/documents/NYSParksRulesRegulations.pdf No person under the age of 18 will be permitted to camp unless accompanied and supervised by a person 18 years of age or older who has been issued a permit; provided, however, that at such facilities as may be designated by the commissioner, no camping permit will be issued to any person under the age of 21. http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/recreational-activities/massparks-camping-info-generic.html Customers must be 18 years or older to make a reservation. Photo ID is required upon registration at the campground. http://www.nhstateparks.org/experience/camping/camping-policies.aspx A camping permit or reservation shall not be issued to anyone under 18 years old. Minors must be accompanied by an adult who accepts all responsibility for the camping party. http://www.vtstateparks.com/pdfs/rule_current.pdf The designated head of the camping party staying overnight on the site must be at least 18 years of age and is responsible for the conduct of all campers and visitors on the site Add to that, that many parks now use online reservation services which require a credit card. Never had those restrictions back in the day when I was a scout planning campouts, just typed a letter and mailed it (with cash) to the park ranger,

From what I have read of California legal actions and its system perhaps this is a "good start".

In this IRS matter, if the unit does not follow the rules, they are not at risk. The legal risk is borne unknowingly by the Charter Organization and then later by the parents of those scouts with SA's. Blindsided.

Returns are often deeply discounted. At a REI yard sale, I scored a pair of returned Merrell Moab's for less than $13! Like you, I need wide and these were not, but it was the start of an interesting experiment. The fit was tight on the plus side it mitigated my plantar fasciitis pain so I could go the distance, on the negative side colder feet from constricted circulation and inability to wear thicker socks. YMMV.

It's okay to step back or step out. Why not spend more time with your family and son, doesn't have to be scouting related either. This time and opportunity will not come again.

I also find adults struggle with the Uniform method Well, 1. There was no Uniform Method prior to 1982...just 7 methods of Scouting before then. 2. The uniform is still optional. 3. A scout is a scout whether he is wearing the uniform or not. 3. The Aims of Scouting can be achieved without uniforms.

Is Hillcourt's Handbook for Patrol Leaders (1944?) public domain?

No surprise coming from a military man. On the other hand, Seton was more focused on woodcraft and Indian lore than military customs. I have seen photos of Seton wearing functional outdoor clothing of the day, I have yet to see a photo of him wearing a scout uniform beyond perhaps a campaign hat. Perhaps others have. I have wondered about Seton's opinion on uniforming. Seton served as Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of America from 1910 until 1915. As his daughter put it, ‘Seton did not like the military aspects of Scouting, and Scouting did not like the Native American emphasis of Seton. With WW I, the militarists won, and Seton resigned from Scouting’ http://www.inquiry.net/traditional/seton/woodcraft/index.htm http://infed.org/mobi/ernest-thompson-seton-and-woodcraft/. My $0.02

That's the situation now which is not working well. Scouts leave, things disappear (often after a campout which steward did not attend), and then matters quickly go downhill, hence our simple request for storage space from CO.

My garage is a blue tarp.

News to me too. I attended a couple of Seeger's performances in the 70's and enjoyed them. He always seem to have a contagious optimism about him. I appreciated his concern for the environment and cheered his battles with General Electric and Dylan going electric Some other forums that I follow have dissed him as a "commie", so I did some research and surprise! I haven't been that surprised since I read Steve Jobs bio and learned Jobs dated Joan Baez. Strange world. My $0.01 P.S. If I were to judge Seeger harshly on anything, it would be his (and the Weavers?) bringing back Kumbaya. Ugh!