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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/16/21 in all areas

  1. After over 4 years of working in the field, today was my last day as a Professional Scouter. It's been an incredible ride, but it's time for me to move on and start the next chapter in my life. Thank you to everyone on this forum over the past years who helped me grow as a Pro. If you ever have any questions about Professional side of Scouting, or "the Dark Side", please don't hesitate to reach out. Volunteers are some of the kindest, most selfless people you will ever meet in this world. It was truly an honor to serve them, and I will miss working with them dearly.
    6 points
  2. Really? Not the abusers? And the BSA that, we now have documented proof, failed to protect these scouts and instead covered up? As for trashing lawyers (again), let me remind you and everyone: BSA has lawyers. The LCs have lawyers. The insurance companies have lawyers. Are you OK with the child sexual abuse victims NOT having access to legal counsel while everyone else does? As for "activists", I have no idea what you are even talking about. And what "bureaucrats" are you talking about? Again, no idea what you are saying. You want to lay blame? How about on the abusers? And
    4 points
  3. To be precise, Big Tobacco knew the general use of their product would increase risk (as opposed to generally not using it). I attended Kessler's lecture on the subject while he headed the FDA . It wasn't merely that smokers got cancer (among other things). Lot's of people did. It was that, in company-funded studies, multiple times the percentage of smokers got sick than did non-smokers, tobacco -- especially concentrated nicotine was likely to be addictive, smokers who started as youth were less likely to quit, And the corporate response (documented by whistle-blowers) was to begin ad campaig
    4 points
  4. The IVFs were created in a time when Scouting could effectively deny a volunteer application without causing a stir while openly stating they suspected someone of sexual abuse or homosexuality could have wrecked lives -- many of them innocent. I'm a single male (never found Ms. Right and put too much time into work and Scouting) who simply wanted to give back to a program that I got a lot out of as a youth -- I'm willing to bet someone somewhere "wondered" about me at times and that could have been a career wrecker. The context of Scouting is precisely what made it attractive to predator
    4 points
  5. I feel a need to revisit this. BSA has spent a tremendous amount of money for legal fees and other costs associated with this bankruptcy and they did it for one reason to keep themselves from losing everything. It is probably more then the amount that they want National to put into the settlement trust. White Cassel has made a large bucket of money and will make more the longer that this drags on (which is to their benefit). Who are the activists you are referring to that wants to "tear down another pillar of traditional American society & culture"? The "bureaucrats protecting their r
    3 points
  6. I'd be careful how you phrase this and attempt to make a distinction. In the midst of my abuse during the 70's, when BSA was fully aware of what was going on, the marketing was pretty hot and heavy. I'm not saying the two contexts are exactly parallel, but a clear comparison is easy. (As to Big Tobacco, fill in any product liability debacle. Let's toss that one if you'd like.) The comparison trips out like this: 1) Defect - broad opportunities for access to boys --> predation and abuse; 2) Knowledge and recording of incidents of abuse impacts arising from defect; 3) Failure t
    2 points
  7. Or, as the text from a scout alumnus said, "Oh wow. This website might be the best thing in existence" (Yes, I've kept that in my flip phone for years.) And @MattR, that is precisely where CALTOPO says, "Hold my beer." The ability to add overlays -- or remove all overlays to create a blank map with only your controls -- is priceless. What's really nice is that from the same map you can make print to .pdf's at different scales. You can only save so many maps on their site, but you can download the .pdf's of the one's you like before they expire. A scouter can do a lot with the free
    2 points
  8. My experience is that my rapist raped 11- 13 other young boys. The Boy Scouts knew about it (several letters from Troop Master to local council talking about it. Yes he was forced out out of that troop tried again in a different state and was denied the ability to volunteer (and he got his $2 application fee back) and that local council was told to tell him politely that his services were not needed. Wonder where he went next to get his rocks off? I wonder how many more young boys did he victimize? If he was caught later was BSA culpable because they didn't turn him into law enforcement.
    2 points
  9. Understood and, frankly, envious — runny coffee aside. I was referring to the Seabase captain, not crew captain, i.e., the director of Seabase.
    1 point
  10. We're not doing the sailing adventure. We're doing the out island adventure, so we'll be on the island all week. I found a document that showed they have percolators and coffee. I've often said that the most important safety item in scouting is a properly caffeinated scoutmaster.
    1 point
  11. 4H members can also do high adventure and more outdoors oriented projects depending on the state and county but the process is very different and there is more parent involvement. 4H offers almost everything, so it is a fine slice of the membership pie but then again 4H enrolls many, many more kids than scouting. I think the membership now is over 6 million. Many 4H clubs, regardless of what subject, still camp as part of the experience and also attend 4H camp. When I was young, we camped with an adult leader, but it was generally a group bunkhouse at a camp. You were never really alone with a
    1 point
  12. That's why I said Google yourself for headlines and cases and see what you think. I find very few. Google Scout Leader Sex Abuse and 4H Leader Sex Abuse and see what pops up once you get past the recent mass filing. If cases were as rampant in 4H as in scouting, wouldn't someone somewhere have been filing more cases than the handful that come up? It also was and is a different environment. Before two deep, the whole advancement process in scouting with scoutmaster conferences, sign offs, skills demonstration, etc. created a lot of opportunities for a predator to cut a kid from the herd. In 4H,
    1 point
  13. Same. I was naive in not at all expecting this dirge and shamble.
    1 point
  14. It's a GIS. That would have explained a lot to me. I think the scouts could enjoy it. I went and found a hike I did yesterday. Now I know how long the hike is. I might have figure out the elevations next.
    1 point
  15. Yep. No such files exist there. They did not track occurrences. Either the larger organization was more loose or the nature of the program had weak boundaries with inside / outside the program. 4-H had less occurrences. I don't buy it. 4-H has lots of private opportunities and lots of youth-adult interaction. What I do buy is either the incidents took a slightly different form that people don't interpret as so ugly or the program has suck lose boundaries that people don't strictly interpret it as a 4-H issue.
    1 point
  16. If they're being truthful about August as the trigger point for "headlong into poverty," BSA certainly does. Insurers? Definitely not. Survivors with substantial claims and/or those not wanting an early exit? We can and will be as patient as necessary.
    1 point
  17. Unfortunately, I guess there is no financial incentive to settle this any time soon.
    1 point
  18. Welcome back to the light.
    1 point
  19. Google Earth with USGS topo data overlay. https://www.earthpoint.us/topomap.aspx You can toggle back and forth and get an exact satellite image of the area as well...plotting waypoints and treks is easy...gives you exact distances and elevation profiles on tracks and trails plotted. In Google Earth, you can also go back in time on the satellite shots for some excellent older satellite photos, shot at various times through the year, to make out features better. I also use a UTM grid overlay for those badges needing UTM discussions. https://www.earthpoint.us/Grids.aspx
    1 point
  20. Because it didn’t involve a lot of camping and vulnerable situations that camping brings with it (showers, swimming, changing, sleeping, homesickness). These vulnerable / risky situations happen each month, month after month.
    1 point
  21. Some version of the ineligible volunteers files have been in existence since 1919. They were referenced in the 1930s. BSA long knew it was a particular target for pedophiles. 4-H is also a 100 plus year old legacy youth organization and no such files exist there.
    1 point
  22. I'm sorry, but those analogies do not fly in this context. Did these guys really have to be "determined," at least prior to when YPT began to more effectively implemented, as in not too long ago? No argument that they did can be made with a straight face. The yarn about the bad guys can always find the secret door and slip in the back way is simply nonsense here. The front door was unlocked, open and had a sign out front. Yes, Scouting was attractive to boys and families for it's adventure, but that doesn't mean it was wise to put boys in the woods and homes and private places with men like th
    1 point
  23. I just signed up a scout to join my troop last week and I paid his registration fee out of my pocket ($37.50) and bought him a manual. I just do not want money to be an issue for a scout to join the program and they will have a chance in Sept/Oct to sell popcorn to fund their own program the next year. Many organizations give introductory deals to get membership numbers up and the BSA should also. At some point, scouters like myself will have to give up bailing out national for their bad decisions to keep our troops/packs alive.
    1 point
  24. I rely heavily on CalTopo.com. The ability to customize maps or aerial photos, coupled with a layer of existing trails, makes it a go-to when I need to generate a .pdf for our troop. Not sure if it’s shareable, but here’s a link to one that I train our scouts on https://caltopo.com/m/D202. I’ve added markers for insertion points, geocaches, campsites, and distance radii.
    1 point
  25. @MGinLA, I agree with most of what you said but I did things slightly differently. I still ran the elections. First, I had a couple if scouts that did find their place in the OA and they never would have known about it if I hadn't run the elections. I agree with you that the scouts know more about the scouts than the adults and our elections were much more about character than popularity as the popular scouts took longer to get elected than the quiet, helpful scouts. That said, I can also see certain personalities, if there were enough scouts like that, that would turn it into a popularity con
    1 point
  26. Let me preface my comments by saying that as a youth, I was a Brotherhood member of the OA, and in my senior year was simultaneously SPL of my troop and editor of the Lodge newsletter, so I know from experience that it is possible to do both. And yet.... I confess that as a Scoutmaster I have never held an OA election. The primary reason, frankly, is utter and complete lack of youth interest. I tried promoting the OA in my early years, and often mentioned OA representative as a possibility to older youth seeking a POR. Even had the OA reps come and do a video presentation. Cricket
    1 point
  27. I am betting there is another path. I've interacted ... "worked with" would over state my invovlement ... I've interacted with the local chapter adviser and youth lodge chief. They have much more flexibility than officially published. If the scout really wants to be in OA, that scout should write a polite mail (or email) to the lodge chief and copy the lodge adviser. State that he/she would be proud to be an OA member. Explain his troop doesn't hold elections. Communicate how he fulfills requirements (rank, nights camping, troop involvement, etc). Further state why he/she w
    1 point
  28. I heard this exact thing talking to people at the Induction cracker barrel last night. I am the Scoutmaster of our Troop and I would never think about denying any Scout the opportunity to be in the Order of the Arrow. Very unfortunate for the Scout in question.
    1 point
  29. I have no experience with these companies, but I'd rather rent a Zoleo or Garmin Inreach Mini than a big satellite phone. https://www.skycallsatellite.com/zoleo-satellite-communicator/ https://www.outdoorsgeek.com/product/inreach-mini-rental/ They're more appropriate for backpacking and you can set them to send your location every X hours by text to someone. https://andrewskurka.com/review-zoleo-satellite-communicator-seamless-messaging/ https://andrewskurka.com/preview-garmin-inreach-mini/
    1 point
  30. Depends on your intended use. With ground radios, line of sight is always an issue, particularly in mountainous terrain. You may consider renting satellite phones for your trip https://www.bluecosmo.com/iridium-satellite-phone-monthly-rentals.html
    1 point
  31. I question the need/pressure for new units ... unless they are in areas where there are no existing units. In my area, it seems like MOST of the new unit discussions I have heard of were in areas where there were existing units. I didn't understand it. Why not simply identify a good unit in that area and help then recruit members from the other school. It seems like we spread recruits too thin when we add too many units. Then, there are areas (primarily inner city) where there are no nearby units. I've had parents contact me from the inner city but decide they were not interested as
    1 point
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