RememberSchiff

1. Reminder Annual Report due to Congress April 1. From our Congressional Charter as stated recently in https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/15dbaff5-5871-4ffd-a73c-0395915da442_8647.pdf Section 8. That on or before the first day of April of each year the said Boy Scouts of America shall make and transmit to Congress a report of its proceedings for the year ending December thirty-first preceding. * Section 9. That Congress shall have the right to repeal, alter, or amend this Act at any time. Approved 15 June 1916 Woodrow Wilson *As amended August 30, 1964, Pub. L. 88-504, 78 Stat. 636 2. Regarding Section 9 above, though it is a statement of the obvious, I could NOT find that section in any online reference of our Federal Charter? https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/36/subtitle-II/part-B/chapter-309 https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title36/subtitle2/partB/chapter309&edition=prelim Title 36 U.S. Code Chapter 309 - Boy Scouts of America has eight sections not nine. 3. IMHO, there should be some consideration now as to what new definitive financial (e.g. Trust account) and Youth Protection information should be included in future Annual Reports to Congress regarding the safety of Scouting. These new reporting requirements should be stated in the approved "plan". My $0.02,

May, 2011: LEOMINSTER, MA — When considering Eagle Scout project possibilities, Ross Reynolds knew he wanted to do something to make Memorial Day services in Leominster more aesthetically pleasing. Reynolds, 16, has been a Scout since the third grade and, along with other local Scouts, participates in Memorial Day exercises to honor veterans every May. “I thought if I could help out, I kind of feel honored to do it,” said Reynolds. He approached city Veterans Agent Richard Voutour to learn which veterans’ properties needed fixing, and Voutour pointed him to the rear side of the Veterans Center on West Street. A garden along the wall had become overgrown, and telephone poles laid down to retain it were rotting. What was supposed to be a peaceful reflection point for public use looked “very bad,” according to Reynolds. Beginning with demolition last October, Reynolds, his father, and fellow members of Troop 477 of Leominster, rebuilt the garden. It took several hundred dollars, which Reynolds raised, and a number of community donations, but the teen was able to plant a new garden, build a new cement retaining wall, and install lattice work behind it. The result is a crisp, green, manicured garden of perennials that’s the perfect backdrop to benches overlooking Rockwell Pond.... Reynolds, who had no prior landscaping experience, is proud of the way it turned out and is eager for the public to see it...hopes the site will be a “better place for people to come down and visit,” but the project is also helping him to achieve Eagle Scout status, which is something a minority of Scouts attain. https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2011/05/25/scout-puts-some-polish-on-leominster-veterans-center/ March, 2022: Captain Ross Reynolds, U.S. Marine Corps photo by Capt. Katrina Herrera/Released Four Marines were killed when their Osprey aircraft crashed in Norway during a NATO training exercise, Cold Response. The four Marines, all with Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 261, were Capt. Matthew J. Tomkiewicz, 27, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Capt. Ross A. Reynolds, 27, of Leominster, Massachusetts, Gunnery Sgt. James W. Speedy, 30, of Cambridge, Ohio, and Cpl. Jacob M. Moore, 24, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky. Captain Ross Reynolds, 27, of Leominster, MA, served as an MV-22B Osprey pilot. He joined the Marine Corps on May 13, 2017 and earned decorations including the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2022/03/20/4-us-marines-killed-in-osprey-accident-in-norway-identified/ https://www.wcvb.com/article/marines-pilot-capt-ross-reynolds-killed-in-norway-osprey-crash-was-a-native-of-leominster/39485562 https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/broken-hearted-family-mourns-mass-marine-killed-in-norway-nato-training-exercise/2674437/ Scout Salute and Farewell.

Good article in WP “It’s sad that we have to make these,” she said. “But this could make a difference, if we get all these boxes out to Ukraine.” The kits were designed by Dan Olesnicky, a trauma surgeon who is a Ukrainian scout, and many Plast chapters have been filling boxes with them in recent weeks, shipping them overseas to Plast Ukraine along with other aid. On Saturday, the Bethesda school cafeteria echoed with the sound of mothers calling to their children in Ukrainian, the buzz of vacuum-sealers closing the filled bags, and the screech of duct tape being pulled and torn. Some tape was used to seal filled boxes of first-aid kits, some was wrapped around small pieces of cardboard to add to the bags to help craft a makeshift splint or stretcher, or other emergency medical aid on the ground.... More at source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/03/19/ukrainian-scouts-first-aid-kits/

Community reacts to plans to close Camp Trexler Both former campers agreed that closing the only Cub Scout overnight camp in the area, will further worsen recruitment issues. “The Cub Scouts won't have a place to go anymore. So, they're gonna have to build a whole other camp just to support the Cub Scouts," said Biichle. “They have a really serious problem at the Cub Scout level, and that's where recruiting happens. Very few kids get involved at age 12 or 13. They get hooked when they're seven or eight, and they continue with it," said Mira. https://fox56.com/news/local/community-reacts-to-the-plans-to-close-of-camp-trexler

From OP, let's stay on topic. Thanks RS

The Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization compiled emergency medical kits. Supplies include Band-Aids, gauze, Tylenol, latex gloves, duct tape and other basic goods. The kits will go to an organization in New Jersey, to be mailed to Western Ukraine. Then, scouts in Ukraine will receive the kits and distribute them across the country. ...the scouts ended the day packing between 1,000 to 1,500 kits to be shipped to Ukraine. The Ukrainian girl and boy scouts will be back next weekend and encourage more people to participate. More at sources: https://www.mymcmedia.org/ukrainian-girl-and-boy-scouts-make-emergency-medical-kits-in-bethesda/ https://www.localdvm.com/news/maryland/ukrainian-boy-and-girl-scouts-pack-medical-kits/

My guess, the loan will be connected to the sale of the camp, i.e., the buyer will self-finance or co-sign loan as part of a sweet purchase deal. I would like to know where the $4.5m will go. Perhaps to finance the missing infrastructure at the remaining camp? Maybe yet another STEM/Council Scout Center? My $0.02,

Minsi Trails Council is selling 900 acre Trexler Scout Reservation property in Monroe County, PA (Poconos) to help cover its $2.6 million conribution to the Trust. "The council said it will take out a $4.5 million loan to help cover the debt and operations." Starting in 2024, all Minsi Trails camping will occur at Camp Minsi on the 400-acre Stillwater Lake in Coolbaugh and Tobyhanna townships. “Respectfully, this is quite possibly the most horrible decision that council leadership could have made,” Matthew Miles of Palmerton posted in a Facebook response to Minsi Trails Council’s post. “Thanks to the donation of the land by General Harry C. Trexler a century ago, scouting was given a chance to grow and flourish in Eastern Pennsylvania. Now, because no one wants to explore all options, or think outside of the box, this land will be gone. There is zero chance of getting this land back.” “We were told nothing was going to change with the camps,” Peter Felton said. “To consolidate into one camp is ridiculous. It will require infrastructure. [Trexler] has two dining halls, a pool and an area built for the Cub Scouts, which Minsi would need to put in. This camp has been here since I was a child and it’s a legacy going away.” In the last ten years, Council Boy Scout membership has declined from over 10,000 youth to 4,500. Minsi Trails Council will also sell/relocate its Service Center and Scout Store. https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-trexler-scout-reservation-closing-20220317-724t6mcsnnf5xf5qasshfjby6y-story.html https://www.minsitrails.org/document/mtcstatement/208688 https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2022/03/local-boy-scouts-council-to-sell-poconos-camp-to-pay-for-sexual-abuse-settlements.html

Agree with others. Delegate to someone who knows. IMHO, just heat water for whatever - tea, hot chocolate, coffee,... For summer camp, I bring a pour over brew cone, filter cone, and my own ground. Otherwise, I bring Folgers coffee crystals.

Scouts for SDG Sustainable Development Goals . 17 goals are listed. 1. No Poverty 2. Zero Hunger 3. Good Health and Well-Being 4. Quality Education 5. Gender Equality 6. Clean Water and Sanitation 7. Affordable and Clean Energy 8. Decent Jobs and Economic Growth 9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure 10. Reduced Inequalities 11. Sustainable Communities 12. Responsible Consumption and Production 13. Climate Action 14. Life Below Water 15. Life on Land 16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions 17. Partnerships for the Goals -

SCOUTS SUPPORT REFUGEES AND FAMILIES FLEEING UKRAINE ACROSS BORDERS "My Scouting service for past few days has taken on a different dimension. I feel that I am doing what I should be doing - it's such an inner urge to act and help as much as I can!” said Albin, a young Scout volunteering with Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (ZHP) in the bordering areas. https://www.scout.org/fr/node/643051

As I understand, Cape Cod & Islands Council is its own district. https://www.scoutscapecod.org/

Amazing video, here is a snapshot. “The preservation is beyond imagination,” Bound told NBC News by phone on Wednesday, adding that the ship’s name could still be seen emblazoned across the stern. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ernest-shackletons-ship-endurance-antarctica-sea-106-years-1915-rcna19264

"A team of adventurers, marine archaeologists and technicians located the wreck at the bottom of the Weddell Sea, east of the Antarctic Peninsula, using undersea drones. Battling sea ice and freezing temperatures, the team had been searching for more than two weeks in a 150-square-mile area around where the ship went down in 1915." Enclosed and crushed by Antarctic ice and sinking in Nov, 1915 Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/climate/endurance-wreck-found-shackleton.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endurance_(1912_ship)

...it is no surprise that the mass tort trial lawyers are now in position— consistent with their sketchy shakedown playbook—to hold up the proceedings in exchange for a massive payday, that the costs of the proceedings themselves are skyrocketing, and that there is now a real risk that all of this will dilute the money available for the original victims whose claims were the impetus for the bankruptcy filing in the first place.[13] For example, recent reports are that the bill for the Boy Scouts’s professionals and those hired by the official creditors’ committees will be more than $205 million, which is approaching the size of the trust for survivors that has been part of ongoing settlement discussions. Experts have noted with alarm that the bills for lawyers and others in connection with the fraught proceedings are on a path to being more than 40% of the Boy Scouts of America’s self-reported assets, whereas in past mega-bankruptcies the fees are more like 2-3%, and certainly less than 10%. Source: The Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy , March 7, 2022 Corporate Bankruptcy Gets A Shakedown From Mass Tort Trial Lawyers by Lawrence A. Friedman https://www.harvard-jlpp.com/corporate-bankruptcy-gets-a-shakedown-from-mass-tort-trial-lawyers-lawrence-a-friedman/ Also recommended commentary: Bankruptcy and the Boy Scouts by Michael Krauss https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkrauss/2022/03/08/bankruptcy-and-the-boy-scouts/?sh=314fea805093

During the pandemic, IMHO the most relevant merit badge became Public Health. Now with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I would add Citizenship in the World. From requirements: 3. Do the following: a. Pick a current world event. In relation to this current event, discuss with your counselor how a country’s national interest, history, and its relationship with other countries might affect areas such as its security, its economy, its values, and the health of its citizens. b. Select a foreign country and discuss with your counselor how its geography, natural resources, and climate influence its economy and its global partnerships with other countries. 4. Do TWO of the following: a. Explain international law and how it differs from national law. Explain the role of international law and how international law can be used as a tool for conflict resolution. My $0.02,

Those links are very informative. Thank you. ~ RS

I have read accounts of scouts collecting clothing and food. Please post more. https://www.lincolnshireworld.com/news/scouts-organise-collection-for-ukraine-3597126 Members of the Polish community in Munster, many with links to the Irish scouting movement, hope to dispatch over a dozen carloads of sleeping bags, thermal blankets, hot food flasks, and medical and sanitary supplies from a warehouse at the Ballycurreen Industrial Estate in Cork to Gorajec on the Poland/Ukraine border, where thousands of refugees have crossed from the Ukrainian city of Lviv since the Russian invasion began last week. Mia Skowron, the secretary of the MyCork Polish Association, and chief scout of Polish Scouting, said for Ireland’s Polish community the humanitarian effort is deeply personal. https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40818597.html UK’s National Polish Scouts Association (ZHP) has put out a list of items they need. Already donations of clothing have been vast, so they are now asking people to concentrate on items that can be used for children and babies, and wounded civilians. These include blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, tents, backpacks, thermos flasks, flashlights, prams and child seats, children’s clothing, painkillers, tourniquets, diapers, sanitary napkins, toilet paper, cleaning products, mineral water (small bottles), dry food, and formula milk. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/perthshires-polish-rally-collect-ukraine-26354418 Helping others at all times,

Back in the day, my patrol attempted to modify our middleweight Columbia and Schwinn bikes for riding in snow. Our idea was to wrap manila rope around tires to improve grip in snow. This did not interfere with the rear Bendix brake which operated by back pedaling. The fenders had to be removed for clearance and rope diameter was limited by the forks. Our swing chains could not clear forks. In scouting, we learn from our failures - knot tying, fire building, Klondike sled building, and so it was with our bike snow tires. Plan B, wait for snow to melt. 😄 And this morning, I found this! This is the way. The Leatherstocking Council received a grant from the Edwin J. Wadas Foundation to purchase a dozen new snow bikes, three dozen mountain bikes and safety equipment for Scouts visiting Camp Kingsley. The snow bikes or “fat tire” bikes will be used year-round so Scouts can navigate snowy ground and rough terrain ideally suited to these types of bikes. The bikes are instrumental to helping the Scouts to complete their biking merit badges and for exercise with their units when they camp for the weekend. ... More at Source: https://romesentinel.com/stories/grant-helps-scouts-make-tracks-all-year-long-leatherstocking-bsa,130441

interesting letter to the editor from a selectman and a former selectman which begins: “From a Cub Scout’s first hike in a local park to the thrill of our High Adventure bases, from our backyard to the backcountry, our outdoor ethics guide us to be responsible outdoor citizens — protecting our natural world for generations to come and being considerate of other visitors. Scouting has a long, proud tradition of conservation service to the nation.” — Boy Scouts of America ... The directors of the Connecticut Yankee Council have a duty to protect the fiscal health of the organization, but they also have a duty to protect the organization’s basic mission. Again from the Boy Scouts of America website: “Since its first appearance in the 1955 printing of the Boy Scout Handbook, the Outdoor Code has reminded Scouts to be conservation-minded.” Source: https://www.ctinsider.com/shoreline/article/Readers-write-Protecting-Deer-Lake-is-part-of-16977604.php

... the Outdoor Code

Update 03/02/2022: Trust for Public Land (TPL) Plans to make a Second Offer for Deer Lake http://digitalpub.chron.com/publication/?i=739966&article_id=4224364&view=articleBrowser&ver=html5

Update: 3/01/2022 Deer Lake to be Sold for Private Development. In a surprise move that shocked many town and state officials, the Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts of America announced last week that it had accepted an undisclosed offer for its Deer Lake property, effectively paving the way for development of the entire 250-plus acre parcel. Though the council did issue a statement that would leave open a window until March 31 for consideration of a “superior offer”, most town and state officials have said that the selling price, which is speculated to be twice the appraised value of the property, is unlikely to matched by an offer. ... Trust for Public Land made a bid in mid-February for $2.4 million, which was rejected by the Connecticut Yankee Council, and, according to statements from the council, it has conditionally accepted a bid from Fortitude Capital, LLC for $4.6 million. According to a spokesperson for the council, the CEO of Fortitude capital is Margaret Streicker, who is also a member of the Connecticut Yankee Council’s Board of Directors, further muddying the issue of whether the council was and is negotiating with the town with full transparency. From Connecticut Yankee Council’s website: Reshaping Our Camp Properties to Fund Scouting's Mission: To serve the young people today- and in the future- our Council volunteers and professionals have been evaluating every aspect of our program and business to set Scouting up for success in the 37 communities we serve. While we’ve changed greatly in the last 18 months, more change is necessary to succeed. This can be painful but is necessary, especially when looking at the situation we are in. Our Council is not exempt from the nationwide declines in membership organizations like the BSA have experienced. This, coupled with challenges over the past several years, means our Council needs to make major changes to survive. To make those changes, the Council needs to secure funding and right-size our portfolio of properties to a level we can maintain. Simply put, we own too many properties for the membership we have today. While the outdoors are critical to delivering Scouting’s mission of preparing youth for life, owning property is not. This has been studied by the Council Executive Board for the past year as well as the Board’s Properties Committee. On February 17, the Council Executive Board made the difficult decision to sell Deer Lake Scout Reservation. This decision wasn’t taken lightly and was done with the Scouts of today and tomorrow in mind. While we are divesting from Deer Lake Scout Reservation, the buyer is allowing the Council to lease the property for at least the next three years to operate it as a camp. We recognize the passion behind preserving the outdoors and have had discussions with organizations committed to such while encouraging them to submit a competitive bid that can be accepted by the Board. To that end, the Board has negotiated for a specified window in which it can consider superior offers to the one currently being pursued, and any such offers would need to be received by March 31. The net proceeds from the sale of Deer Lake Scout Reservation will be reinvested into Camp Sequassen and Hoyt Scout Camp to both improve and expand the facilities, programs and infrastructure. As a Council, we’re continuing to evaluate how to best serve the youth of today and prepare us to serve the youth of tomorrow and appreciate the work our volunteers, families and supporters do daily. Rudy Escalante Council President Mark Kraus Scout Executive/ CEO https://www.zip06.com/news/20220301/deer-lake-to-be-sold-for-private-development https://www.ctyankee.org/council-news/reshaping-our-camp-properties-to-fund-scoutings-mission/

Last year, Pachulski Stang helped disseminate an email from another plaintiffs’ lawyer that violated Chapter 11 voting rules. Pachulski’s founder has called the incident an ‘extraordinarily serious error’ That law firm has struck a proposed $2 million settlement over that improper email sent to victims to allegedly dissuade them from voting for the restructuring plan. More behind paywall at source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/boy-scouts-victims-law-firm-strikes-2-million-deal-over-improper-email-11645143922