ScoutOne

I am not aware of a commercially produced maps covering both 52G/4 and 52B/13. The simplest option is to splice and mount both maps. You could also use a service that offers custom maps such as http://www.mytopo.com/. Essentially they print a scanned version of the maps you already have. LobTree Maps can produce a really neat custom map of your trip (17" X 11" print for $30). Northern Tier is a retailer of this service, however, I do not know if they cover the Crown lands. http://lobtreemaps.com/

Northern Tier has a strong background in delivering programs to Scouting units. It is actually the oldest BSA National High Adventure program, older than Philmont. Noticed I used the term "program" and not "outfitter". Northern Tier delivers a program to the youth participants before, during, and after their voyage experience. Part of their method is providing a trained staff member during the trip called an "Interpreter" who will mentor your Scouts on the skills they will use and deliver the Scouting program. Philmont Scout Ranch, like Northern Tier is a program. Instead of going to Philmont you could go backpacking next door to the ranch in Carson National Forest. However, why would you do this? It's because you go to Philmont for the program! Also remember Northern Tier has three bases offering more options and degrees of remoteness: Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base (Ely, Minnesota) for the Boundary Waters and Southern part of Quetico; Donald Rogert Canoe Base (Atikokan, Ontario) for Northern part of Quetico and the Crown Lands; Northern Expeditions (Bissett, Manitoba) for Atikaki Park. If you have Scouts who have already gone to Philmont and Sea Base they can also receive the "Triple Crown Award" after their Northern Tier voyage. http://www.holry.org/triplecrownaward.php'>http://www.holry.org/triplecrownaward.php Be sure check out Northern Tier's alumni association Website and their "Essays & Articles" page at http://www.holry.org/

I would hope you could first try to resolve outstanding issues without leaving a council. Moving to another council is certainly not something you can do quietly and is very sensitive as it involves a professional loosing a unit. The number of units chartered reflects upon their career performance. The receiving council likewise may want to avoid getting involved. It is my understanding the chartering organization needs to physically be located in the council but does not need to be your regular meeting location. I believe you cannot simply "transfer a unit". You would need to establish a new unit in the new council and complete a "Transfer Form" for each youth and leader.

Brent, Unfortunately it sounds like you had a knockoff pair of Altama as the damage you describe symptom of cheap boots glued together. Its the third time I have heard about this in a year. There is a Chinese manufacturer that has been making black-market boots with a very similar branding. In ten years using Altama footwear I have never heard this happen except with knockoffs. For this reason I tend to only purchase direct from them. If the boots are not knockoffs, Altama customer service should be willing to replace them. Chief Decorah-- Northern Tier does not demand jungle boots. What they advice is that the shoe should have full coverage and provide ankle support. Some had have success with low cut boot designed for water use or "fly fishing" boots available at sports shops. Not taking footwear with ankle support or full coverage (to protect you from glass, sharp rock, fishing lures) puts you at a much higher risk of injury -- thus potentially wreaking the trip for the rest of your crew. Mafaking-- You can do a great trip with a group of scouts of any age. Northern Tier allows you to determine your own route. If your crew is younger you can adapt your route to your crew's abilities. For some crews this many mean you will not get as remote and will see more people. However, they will still learn and have a great time.

johnnylaw101, All major agencies that offer life guarding certifications are recognized. Having taken both, the base Red Cross certification does have a greater emphasis on life guarding at a facility but does not differ very significantly from BSA Lifeguard. However, the certifications are not the same and different techniques are used. The Red Cross offers a separate module for waterfront life guarding that is not available in all areas. Someone who is Red Cross or YMCA certified will also not familiar with BSA policies and should obviously take Safe Swim and Safety Afloat. Having a life guard who is current in their skills is far more important than if their original training covered life guarding on a waterfront. This can be difficult if someone is certified but does not use their skills on a regular basis. For employment a council can require additional requirements such as becoming BSA Lifeguard. This can easily be accomplished during in service training.

Like mentioned, I would highly recommend a quality boot with ankle support and toe protection. Some choose to save money by using a hiking boot. However, these do not drain and will likely be forever damaged. Northern Tier used to primarily use Altama boots, but now uses Wellco jungle boots. The Wellco jungle boots are fine and of good quality costing about $20-30 less than Altama. The only down side is that with Altama boots you were sure you were getting a shoe with speed laces (not a big deal if you don't paddle a lot). You should wear your boots (with PFD) when swimming as the rocks are sharp and there is plenty of glass, metal, and fish hooks in and out of the water. For camp shoes be sure to bring something with sole and toe protection (no sandals). You can purchase the Wellco boots at an Okay price. Their price has increased so you might be able to find a slightly cheaper price elsewhere. It is more economical if you purchase the boots in one order as a crew. Web site: http://www.northerntiertradingpost.org/

John-in-KC: "ARC PREMISE: No one does open water swimming anymore." This is not really the case, these skills are part of the Waterfront Module training. It's not offered as much since it makes the course longer and requires another exam.

This year will probably not be as bad as next year. Those already planning are more likely to still participate. This is more so true in middle to upper-middle class areas. There is a delay, as when the economy turns down people will hold off planning future trips. Next year will be especially worse as national programs tend to run on a jamboree cycle. The slowest years are when there is a jamboree as councils do not bring contingents and units do not plan trips as a few of their scouts may go to the jamboree. This will be combined with a expected downturn in 2010 Sea Base and Northern Tier reservations, and there is still time to pull out of already made Philmont 2010 reservations. If the anticipated new national high adventure base opens (sorry, I have not been following the details on this) many units may choose to go there instead of Sea Base, Northern Tier, or Philmont.

WildernesStudent-- The American Lifeguard Association actually teaches the Red Cross course. The Red Cross actually has additional certification modules such as Waterfront and Water park lifeguarding. If I remember correctly, these modules do not 'expire' but you would be practicing the material regularly during in-service training anyway.

Beavah, I am sorry you do not like some of the guidelines. It is very easy for someone to rationalize one thing because of another. The Guide to Safe Scouting does a good job at communicating the ("da") guidelines for youth protection and maintaining leadership standards. Most of the guidelines are common sense and there are no "ifs or buts". If you do have questions about the guidelines, I encourage you to contact your District Executive. You may also consider reading the section in the Guide to Safe Scouting or taking the offline youth protection course so you have a chance to address your questions. (This message has been edited by ScoutMKE)

Beavah writes: >>Nuthin' wrong with cooking with beer or wine (several scouts I know do a great bordelaise) --- The Boy Scouts of America prohibits alcohol in any activity involving participation of youth members. There is no exception if you are cooking with it. Beavah writes: >>ScoutMKE shows how hard it is to write a single policy that makes sense about this stuff, eh? His has several holes in it, too, like 17- and 18-year old crew or ship members who are fellow high school seniors sharin' a tent is just fine (and might be necessary sharin' a berth on a long cruise), or when there's a large single bunking hall and yeh have to mix genders. And then yeh get into siblings, like a brother and sister sharin' a tent with dad. Oi! --- I am not sure were you are going. 17- and 18-year individuals are not allowed to share the same tent. As mentioned single bunking arrangement would be inappropriate for both genders. jblake47 writes: >>18 year old Scouts can be the second adult in Scoutiong and Cubbing but not Venturing.--- An 18 year old may be the second adult in all BSA programs, including Venturing. You may find the "Youth Protection & Adult Leadership" section of the Guide to Safe Scouting helpful. This applies to all BSA programs. http://www.scouting.org/HealthandSafety/GSS/gss01.aspx

Bottom line: Anyone under 18 is considered a "youth" in terms of "Youth Protection". In Venturing and OA, the term "Youth" is only for the purposes of delivering the program. There are additional guidelines established for the purpose of these programs. For example, a leader should not be fraternizing or establishing close relationships with youth. (This is for obvious reasons and the fact the individual will no longer be regarded in status as an adult leader by the youth participants.) For the purpose of participation in programs, a participant 18 to 20 may be considered either a youth or adult. For example, an 18-year-old "youth" participant may be the second 18 and over adult on a trip. While genders must be separated for sleeping/dressing purposes, both adults and youth of the same gender may share a sleeping area (in a single room or dormitory type setting). However, there must be accommodation for privacy for sleeping and dressing (such as a blanket or sheet). ("Adults must establish separation barriers or privacy zones such as a temporary blanket or sheet walls in order to keep their sleeping area and dressing area separated from the youth area.") Participants under the age of 18 should never share a tent with someone over 18. The only exception would be if there is a legally recognized marriage or the adult is the legal guardian.

The cutoff is normally under 18. Special needs scouts who have been determined so for purpose of advancement usually can participate in youth programs. However, I would recommend you to go the source by calling the National switchboard (972-580-2000) and ask to talk to someone regarding this. Request they mail or FAX you a letter regarding their position. Your council must follow National's guidelines but may not be aware of them.

What is occurring is just a technology change. The "look" may be a slightly different but the content won't be changing much at all. The National council is moving to a commercial enterprise content management system. This allows managing the content of the Web site though a Web browser. Basically the layers of design, technology, and content are separated. This allows stakeholders to more directly maintain the Web site. The current (old) Web site was maintained for many years in-house. It is my understanding the person who ran it left sometime last year to peruse other opportunities. The new site was likely initially setup by consultants from the company that makes the content management system purchased. This is standard practice since it would take a lot of overhead for an existing IT department to get everything rolling. As for the technology change from Java to ASP.NET, it's not a big deal. I've worked with Java and .NET for a few years. In this case there will be no significant difference as the new and old site used JSP/ASP for relatively static content.

http://www.scouting.org/cgi/councils/all

There are plenty of press release examples online. Here is one example: http://www.prwebdirect.com/pressreleasetips.php Basically use a simple format (don't use those fancy Microsoft office templates!): Contact Information, Title, Release Body, End (###). Keep your press release short and to the point. The media will contact you if they want more information or photos. I would not necessarily use the examples provided by your council marketing committee. In the past I have seen some REALLY bad material and examples.

This is not the best place to discuss such a delicate matter. I would strongly recommend contacting your county mental health services. Most have staff with experience in handling this. Alternatively, most schools or school districts have a school psychologist 'on call' during the summer. Eventually people will find out something happened and the information may not be accurate. It is more respectful to have accurate information for those who ask early on instead of facilitating rumors. The unwillingness to discuss such tragedies is just another example of our society sweeping depression and suicide under the rug.

You are referring to the Triple Crown Award that is offered in conjunction with the Sommers Alumni Association and the Boy Scouts of America. You must attend a program at all three bases to qualify. Recipients may order both the 3" uniform patch and the large 6" patch emblem. http://www.holry.org/documents/triplecrown.pdf