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SiouxRanger

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Everything posted by SiouxRanger

  1. The UMC must see some way clear to continue involvement and drastically minimize the liability exposure. If they have a plan, I hope it is shared with the other CO's who may be on the verge of walking.
  2. And so, what is camp staff liability for failure to find the cameras? Will camps have to swap out (apparently) clear or translucent hand towel dispensers with opaque or metal ones? Will that even solve the problem if those can be tampered with in some fashion? Does looking for hidden cameras become a new NCAP standard? Do NCAP teams get trained on this now? And what of the liability of the NCAP assessment team that fails to find them? A number of adults and youth had their privacy violated. And there's the bad press to handle. And a camp that is reported to be one of the largest in the country serving 6,000 scouts now has its reputation besmirched, perhaps adversely affecting attendance. Like BSA needs more problems. Fortunately, he did get caught.
  3. “This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.”FRED THOMPSON - as Admiral Painter The fuse has been lit; the die is cast. I agree with CynicalScouter-there are tons of ways this can go wrong. Might as well try to control an avalanche with a trowel.
  4. And the problem of a "Parents of" organization is that you are potentially liable even if you are NOT on the campout where an alleged incident occurs. As a principal in the sponsoring organization, not incorporated or having some other liability shield aspect, even 1,000 miles away on a business trip, you are potentially liable, and a Defendant. Lawyers "leave no stone unturned." Everyone gets named as a Defendant-"Let the Judge sort it out."
  5. Heavens. Would I, as a parent want to take on liability the likes of which the BSA with its millions can't cover? I know the parents in my unit. I see them for an hour and a half once a week. Around a table, and sometimes at a weekend campout, but other than that? And I am to bet the farm on that slim knowledge base? Do I need to go into the insurance market and procure a policy for myself? That's crazy. Parents won't do that. Now that the BSA has shown us the nightmare of this all. The best thing a lawyer can do is keep their client away from the courthouse. And just behind that, avoid any need to TALK about anything. (Even if you win, or it all goes away quietly.) Talk is NOT cheap.
  6. As near as I can tell, BSA has blocked disclosure of Hartford's policies and the amount of liability Hartford may face. If I am incorrect, someone please educate me. But, if that is true, it boggles the mind that the BSA and Hartford would seek approval of a settlement at $650 million without the benefit of knowing what is being given up. The answer may be buried in all the pleadings.
  7. I think that the bankruptcy stay prevents new lawsuits from being filed until the stay is lifted. If claimants could file new suits now, high volume filings might persuade insurers to soften their bankruptcy stance instead of facing a demonstrated onslaught of new cases. Since new cases cannot be filed, insurers can only speculate what they might face. The idea of "onslaught" has to be tempered with recognition that filing a case which is outside a statute of limitations is not only pointless (a hollow threat) but probably legally unethical on the lawyer's part.
  8. Now that the LC's are apparently "all in," time to look for a sheet. And yet not a peep in my Council about the effect of National's bankruptcy.
  9. Just spotted this: STATEMENT OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE OF LOCAL COUNCILS IN SUPPORT OF THE RSA APPROVAL MOTION Document 5756, filed 7-26-21, page 3: "As of the date of filing of this Statement, virtually all Local Councils have returned letters of intent agreeing to pay amounts that, in the aggregate, will meet the amounts required under the RSA. Additionally, the Ad Hoc Committee is confident that, by the time of the hearing on the disclosure statement, it will have secured letters of intent from all Local Councils to contribute the amount requested of them by the Ad Hoc Committee. As required under the RSA,6 the amount of each Local Council’s contribution – and its breakdown of cash and property – will be included in the disclosure statement."
  10. When I enter information in my Profile "About Me" tab, who can see it? And there are other features like articles, reputation, etc. How and where-how does this work? I am new and probably missing what everyone else knows. I don't understand how "reputationa' works and if I should be up liking or down liking posts and all of the mechanics of this forum. Perhaps there could be an introductory response to newbies like me to introduce them to the basics of the forums. (And I may have missed this entirely.) And if I am totally lame, just throw me from the bridge. Thanks.
  11. And so it has all changed. In my day, our patrol met once a week, no adult supervision, and worked on scout skills.
  12. Gee. May 6 was a busy day. All posts in a single day. There are no posts after May 6. Is there a reason? It is difficult to follow the discussion at points as there seem to be allusions to information not posted. I need to read this thread again. This is an important, if not critical thread. The issues raised here address the crux of the relationship between the LC's and the bankruptcy of National.
  13. My experience has been that I rarely see a scout with a phone. And to the extent those observations are at summer camp, most units seem to have a strict no phone policy. And enforce it. At our unit meetings we have a plastic tub into which scouts place their phones, to be retrieved on the way out the door at meeting's end. We don't always use it, just when scouts seem to be using them.
  14. I truly suspect that there would be no debate just two folks on the same side. Many adults just can't be away from their employment responsibilities and need some degree of contact with work. or they can't be at camp, jeopardizing scouts' attendance at camp. My unit sends 8 to 10 scouts to summer camp. Not a big unit. We have a tough time lining up enough adults to provide two deep leadership for a week. Some years an adult or two stay the entire week. Other years, maybe one stays the whole week and the second position is filled by two each staying half a week, or 4 or 5 covering parts of the week. It gets done, but nothing seems easy anymore. We do have some parents who know nothing of scouting and are there as a placeholder. They tend to be on their phones. (Our camp is fairly remote, so service is spotty.)
  15. I am normally pretty steady, but those using the uniform rules of National (in my estimation seeking to elevate their own importance within the program over trifles), affect an attitude that any trivial or minor deviation from National's "rules" constitutes a point of attack against the alleged offender. So if some scout or adult offends National's rules on Eagle Scout Pins (Mom, Dad, Mentor), what are we to do? Those pins are revoked? Eagle Scout status is revoked? I have been the fortunate recipient of several Mentor Pins. Each was presented to me as a complete surprise. They were awarded at an Eagle Court of Honor. I participated at the Eagle Court of Honor IN UNIFORM, and the Scout's pins were pinned to my uniform. I wear only my Eagle knot, and nothing else.
  16. "Nothing to be gained..." Except that the child sees their parent proudly wearing the child's token of affection to their parent and feeling accepted thereby. Dang, hopefully Scouting does not promote a child's love of their parent. (See, William Proxmire, Wisconsin Senator). Were that to happen, everyone might love one another. And there would be no war.
  17. "As Tom played a red 7 on a red 8, there was a knock on the door-it was the Solitaire Police.'
  18. At our camp, we have instituted Wi-Fi for the sole reason of allowing adults to connect to work and family so that they could keep in touch and feel comfortable being at camp. In fact, just a few years ago, in the adult training center building at my camp, there was a single duplex outlet for ALL adults in camp that week to charge their phones. Maybe 60 adults had to wait in line for one of two plus-ins. Noting that deficiency, our camp installed charging stations which could charge 6 phones at a time at every program area with power, so now, there are 90 plug-ins throughout camp. As an adult follows a scout group about the camp, the adult can charge his or her phone anywhere the scouts go for program (with a few exceptions which are located between charging stations). Just a dumb and simple improvement, but the Number One most favorable comment on adult evaluations of summer camp. No phone charging stations = No Adults = No Camp. And the invasion of power has not stopped there. We have run power to at least one campsite. At first blush, sounds ludicrous, but many adult leaders now use CPAP machines at night and they need power, so to accommodate their needs to permit them to attend camp, we have run power to at least one campsite. Several more campsites are likely to be so outfitted.
  19. Well, now, I may need to back up-how I hate doing that. I need to check with a fellow volunteer to determine if the COR's voted at a "Council Meeting" or an "Executive Board" meeting. I don't recall any particular differentiation, but I may need to stand corrected. I will update after my investigations.
  20. And, there it is. I am not sure, and nearly certain, that my Council does not invite COR's to Executive Board meetings. Nothing of consequence happens at District meetings that a COR would likely have interest in. (Like allowing a U.S. Senator to vote at local sewage district meetings.) The nuance of COR's being invited to and attending an Executive Board meeting is more intriguing. Executive Board members are generally selected from professional and business elite. Some have Scouting backgrounds, many don't. Primary goal is to flatter them and obtain donations: the pay-to-play model. Many invited to the Executive Board are flattered and happy to build their "community involvement" resume. But many know little of Scouting. (I saw this pattern time and again on my Council's Executive Board.) Most telling, in my humble opinion, is that about 20 years ago, my Council (and perhaps all, or many?) switched Executive Board meeting frequency from monthly to quarterly. This drastically restricted the information flowing to the Executive Board members, and diminished its influence. By contrast, the Executive Committee (of about 4 or 5 senior volunteers-largely hand-picked by the Council Executive) made all the important decisions. The decisions of the Executive Committee were unlimited and unrestricted with the sole exception that the Executive Committee (of 5 or 6) could not countermand a decision of the Executive Board (of about 45). Sound like "good governance?" Well, for the Executive Board (big) to control the Executive Committee (small) the EB had to ANTICIPATE a future action of the EC (impossible, mostly), or the EC (small) would beat the EB to the punch and the few would prevail over the will of the many. (I'm placing a mat here in the dining room because Junior will spill his cereal here in 4 days.) Trustworthy...
  21. The result of this analysis may be different from state to state as the not-for-profit corporation law may well be different.
  22. At one contentious Executive Board meeting some years ago, COR's voted and there were no objections. My understanding is that COR's were voting members of the Executive Board, at least 20 years ago. I don't recall reviewing any documents from National or the Council that COR's were voting members of District committees. (In my state, I believe that COR's have the right to walk into the Scout Office, and as a matter of right, be entitled to see any documents in any file cabinet then and there; not-for-profits are not privately held corporations. (Good luck getting that done, however.)) May have changed. Having served on the Executive Board for some years, I don't recall a single COR appearing, except at that one meeting. The district and council bylaws are rather "stock" and "legally infirm" in my opinion. Not custom crafted for District and Council operations and practices and therefore ill-suited to permit balanced governance. In fact, they seem designed to preserve control to professionals.
  23. Yep. The news broke first on Channel 43, Comedy Central. (I laughed aloud when I first read the post and will chuckle for days to come-thanks.)
  24. Ever been permanently removed from your scouting membership though reinstated to full membership?
  25. And by "Scouting Friends" I mean everyone who is a Scouting Abuse Survivor on this Forum.
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