Leaderboard

Yes, they had lots of other volunteers...and later our county was one of the first locked down in the state, and now has the third highest number of cases in the state. My line in the sand was the CDC guidelines. They were there for a reason...

I'm looking for similar suggestions!! I've done a few Zoom meetings, and son is currently doing an online merit badge session. Here's what I've found so far: Zoom (and Skype, etc.) have a small lag time, and it's harder to read body language, so there's a lot of talking over each other, then stops and starts. It's hard to accomplish anything in a decent amount of time. I don't see this ever working well for den or patrol meetings, but not sure there's any other option. The merit badge session is a webinar. The counselor is live on the top of the screen, and he has a PowerPoi

"inextricably intertwined"...You may be correct. In the 3/30/2020 consent order, the Court labels local councils and charter organizations as "BSA Related Parties" and not "separate entities" as these councils and charter organization are also defendants (Schedule 2) with the debtor, the BSA in the Pending Abuse Actions" listed in Schedule 1. Here's the 3/30/2020 consent order link: https://casedocs.omniagentsolutions.com/cmsvol2/pub_47373/810262_54.pdf On Pages 5-6, after the Whereas's After due deliberation and sufficient cause appearing therefor; THE COURT FINDS AND CON

Dates are coming on when payments need to be made, so not sure when all the worlds collide. Also the troops getting the fees will be problematic as all units are not meeting. Lots of moving parts and as the current "social distancing" will not be lifted until maybe May 1 (+/- a few days) that only leaves 5 to 6 weeks to get everything in gear. That means staff disengaged from Schools etc and on-hand for camp, maybe completion of hiring the staff, filling staff holes with folks that were going to but due to circumstances but will now not be able to be there, etc etc etc. Also camp schoo

Strangely, I find NOT touching my face more challenging than I would have thought. A doctor said on TV the other day that if a mask does nothing else, it keeps you from touching your face. Barry

Frankly, I am happy it didn't work out. This is pretty scary stuff.

This could mean the court will also deny Nationals move to have the court view the councils as separate entities for purposes of the overall litigation. Better go take some nice pictures of the camp you grew up with...it could be gone in the near future...

I doubt it. This is an unprecedented situation so it's hard to say what the future holds. Councils will wait until they have to make that decision. Lets take my home state of Ohio for example: This is the latest model from University of Washington: https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections This is assuming our state continues to have the discipline to stay in the very deep shutdown we are in currently. Ohio has been one of the nations leaders in aggressive response tactics to the virus. We're also fortunate as "flyover" country, that we haven't had as many travelers to spread the virus

Thanks for your description of how the online class format worked. My council is also pushing online merit badge classes, and I am a little skeptical. On the other hand, my daughter started a new merit badge. Spent an hour conversing one-on-one by phone with the merit badge counselor who is an older adult who lives in our neighborhood. It looks like it is going to be a really good experience. (Because of YPT she put the phone of speaker phone, so I could listen in.) Of course there are a couple of steps that she won't be able to finish until the quarantine is over, but a grea

I'm working on the hiking merit badge with one son. It was started with a group of scouts from the troop, but can't be finished together at this point. That's going okay, and we (I was in as a second adult and advancement chair, much to my son's dismay, lol) just finished up a Zoom meeting with the counselor for all the boys that began the badge. That was okay, with only six scouts and the counselor. But the same son also started an online merit badge class with Central Florida Council... My impressions of that are varied. This particular one is Sustainability, and son needs a coupl

Update 3/30/2020: Judge halts lawsuits against local Boy Scout Councils Federal Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein has granted a request by the Boy Scouts of America to halt lawsuits against local Scout councils as the BSA works on its bankruptcy plan to set up a compensation fund for thousands of men who were molested as boys by Scout leaders. The Boy Scouts initially sought to halt all litigation against local councils for six months from the date of its Feb. 18 bankruptcy filing. The agreement forged with the creditors committees calls for the lawsuits to be put on

Thanks guys! The little guy is on the mend.

*sigh* Let's go back to that old saw, the Scout Law. " Thrifty: A Scout is Thrifty. A Scout works to pay his way and to help others. He/she saves for the future. She/he conserves natural resources. He/she carefully uses time and property."" The idea is the Scout, by themselves, thru their Patrol and Troop/Crew/Ship EARNS their way. Sell things. Do things. Get pay for effort . This is not the "Good Turn" or "Service Project (which is at base a REALLY Big good turn)". If the local Council , thru it's efforts, provides campgrounds and recognitions, all to the good. That's wh

Some advice from the National Park Service:

Let's just be friends.

Fred, I love you. From 6 feet away.

I certainly agree that the important element is for the scouts to be at home, sheltering in place — since that is what is important for containing this as best we can — and that is fundamentally what I am worrying about, even in asking this question. In our (admittedly small) troop and in the larger troop linked to us, we have been looking for ways some scouting activities can be continued under these conditions. For kids that are likely to be cooped up for weeks most likely, our view was that at least attempting to continue Scouting could be part of giving them a structure and making “doing

I guess the point is to keep the certificate of your current rank in your wallet along with your membership card. Just in case you're out of uniform and need to vouchsafe your rank. What is special about the pocket certificates, IMHO, are the signatures. They don't prove anything beyond what's already in the scout's book and unit records. Years later, however, pulling those cards out of the shoebox in the attic and seeing the signatures of SPL, SM, and CC while your kids fiddle with your sash and loose patches can bring back fond memories. They might remind you of a story or two that you

For crying out loud, we have more things to worry about than scouts getting advancements with made up community service projects. The best community service is to stay home and help your family.