dScouter15

While I think that this situation warrants further action by your troop's adult leaders, I think that bringing in the drug sniffing dogs is not the way to go. If we assume that the scout in question is in fact planning on bringing some illegal substances with him on this trip, I would be surprised if he were to pack it in a pack to be left at a meeting site like you're planning. I don't know why you think pot is "too bulky" to be carried on one's person, but I can assure you that considerable quantities of pretty much any drug can be concealed on one's person (I won't go into examples for th

Hi - I've been involved with my council's NYLT program for 10 years now. Before 2004 or so, the NYLT program was called "Junior Leader Training Conference" or JLTC. Our council ran the new NYLT program for the first time in 2005. Both program were very similar - week long, resident camp setting, with leadership skills sessions and other activities. However, there were differences between JLTC and the new NYLT courses. The JLTC course was basically divided into "leadership sessions" and "scout skills sessions." The leadership sessions were very theoretical, and did not always obviousl

I'm a bit confused by this hypothetical situation. Some things to consider: - What kind of "drugs?" I'd be surprised if, while on a high-adventure trek, a scout would have adequate privacy to administer most illegal drugs, and not be observed "under the influence." What kind of trek is this? - Why would the scout in question pack illegal drugs in his pack and leave them at the meeting place overnight? Why not just keep them on his person? - How credible is this anonymous tip? Are your own observations of the scout's behavior consistent with this anonymous tip? - How wo

In regards to the thread that this is spun from, I've been contemplating the role of "the law" in Scouting. As Beavah and I both alluded to in the other thread, it seems like Scouters have a tendency to refer to various "state laws" and such, with little regard as to whether such a law actually exists, and how it (doesn't) apply to the situation being discussed. I would agree with Beavah that a lot of Scouters like to come across as sounding knowledgeable and authoritative, and spouting off legal "mumbo jumbo" is a good way to create that impression. A technique I've been using when I'v

It sounds like a good setup you have going with your Tenderfoot and Webelos programs. Have you considered approaching other troops in your area and cooperating on such a program? It sounds like your program is pushing the limits of your troop's resources, and continuing to grow in popularity! One other thing you could consider is operating such an event at a district level, in cooperation with several troops. You would essentially be running a camporee at this point. While the politics and red tape at the district and council levels can be aggravating, you might find you appreciate the ad

Hi - Just wondering if anyone is interested in sharing their troop's traditions for closing a campfire. I believe that the close of a campfire has the potential to be a spiritual, memorable and inspirational moment, if the right focus is applied. My troop has developed a tradition of singing Scout Vespers, and praying the "May the Great Master..." prayer. Each scout is invited to spend as long as they wish in silent contemplation and reflection in front of the dying fire, and then retiring to their tents for the night. What traditions, if any, has your troop developed?

Unfortunately, this also recently happened to a neighboring troop. Other area troops were able to donate some equipment, and we also lent some equipment to the troop on a per-campout basis. Like others suggested, avoid parking the trailer in an open parking lot. If you don't have a volunteer leader with enough space to keep it at his/her home, consider approaching local businesses or industries with secured yards. For several years my troop was able to keep the trailer in a section of a locked lumber yard at no cost. In return our scouts would do a trash cleanup of the yard once a yea

Ed - HIPAA more accurately applies to the health *insurance* field, but you are right that it has limited applicability to the BSA. I wonder why people keep bringing it up? scouts-a-lot - Perhaps it would be worthwhile to speak directly with your council professional staff for advice. If you still can't get a concrete answer from anyone, I'd recommend holding a meeting with the parents of the scout in question, your SM and CC, and any other concerned adult leader whose responsibilities may reasonably include assisting this scout while camping. Let all parties raise concerns and suggest

Seems like this topic comes up about once a month or so... Personally, I feel that the suggestion in the G2SS does not adequately address today's hyper-medicated society, where a huge percentage of the scouting population takes a variety of medications, that can be very sensitive to missed doses, over doses, etc. The strategy I've adopted while serving as the medical officer at a council level week long youth training course was to keep all meds stored in the health lodge, and develop a master list of the names of scouts who need to take meds, and the time they should take them. Med

Neal - I think you're right - but the same could be said for any topic, right? Clearly there must be some common ground between all possible opinions.

My council's scout shop sells beads like that, I think - maybe check with your scout shop? Even if they don't carry the beads you want, they might be able to put you in contact with some suppliers who carry what you want.

I've been reading the Scouter.com forums for a few years now, and actively participate off and on. I notice that there are a handful of topics that come up again and again - for example, - converting a troop from "adult run" to "youth run" - making good use of the patrol method - discipline issues (appropriateness of, suspension/expulsion, etc) - how to handle misbehaving adults A long time hobby of mine has been computer programming, and I also frequent numerous computer-related message boards, often to seek help on some computer programming problem or question. An approac

The Three Fires Council's Camp Big Timber is located near Elgin, IL, and offers both tent and cabin camping. Some of the cabin buildings have nice kitchen facilities, if that makes a difference at all. Plus, its located near the Metra train line, so you could all take the train down into the city if you want - fare is only a couple bucks a head. Camp web page: http://threefirescouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

My troop has had good luck running a "sink a scout" dunk tank at either a town carnival or church picnic the past couple years. We generally make $700-$1000 after the cost of renting the tank. There's not much planning that goes into it, but here's some advice based on our experience: - Obviously you want a location on the "midway", but make sure its near a water supply. Also, allow a couple hours to fill the tank from a normal garden hose. - Close access to changing facilities is a plus, so scouts can change out of their wet clothes if they want - we've been able to arrange access e

NE-IV-88-Beaver - I've not been made aware of any legal issues with this setup - could you point me towards the resources that led you to suspect potential legal trouble so that I can review them with my council staff and physician medical director? Of course, all "rescue" meds (epipens, inhalers, etc) would be kept on the scout's person at all times. I apologize for not clearly stating that. Again, I am a paramedic, and am quite familiar with why it is essential for these rescue meds to be immediately available to scouts with life-threatening allergies, asthma, etc - my apologies again

I'm a paramedic, and for a few years now have volunteered as the "medical officer" for my council's week long NYLT program. The method I've used for medication handling is to instruct all participants to bring their medication to camp in the original bottle, and to bring only the amount needed for camp. At the start of the week, we do our "medical checks", where I briefly meet privately with the scout, his parent and one other member of the course adult staff. We review the medical form, and significant medical conditions/special needs/etc, as well as medications. I confirm that time of da

jeff-o - I've had campouts like that - where you learn that it can rain, non-stop, for at least 72 hours. For our troop, anyway, we've found that type of weather occurs most frequently when the SM picks the date for the campout ;-) wingnut - in warmer weather, I'd recommend a "rainy weather obstacle course". Some of our older scouts came up with one on a campout afflicted by an afternoon rain storm. They basically just raided the troop trailer for some spare equipment which could get wet, and came up with something off the tops of their heads. They had stuff like a balance beam made f

Hi - With spring and summer camping season getting ramped up, I thought I might share our troop's solution to how to effectively handle rainy weather on camp outs. Up until a couple years ago, our troop had a problem when rain would occur on camping trips - scouts would tend to congregate under the dining fly and sulk until the rain storm ended, or hang out in their tents and play cards/electronics/whatever. This clearly made for poor morale on camping trips. One of our more outstanding youth leaders was SPL about two years ago. We had come back from a particularly rough camp out where

HIPPA stands for the "Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act" -- It mainly has to do with accessibility and portability of health care coverage when loosing/changing jobs, setting up unique identification numbers for health care providers, and protecting against insurance fraud. Only a small section of the law refers to privacy, and that section refers only to the insurance industry, and health care providers that engage in specific types of electronic transactions. This last category generally refers to procedures for securing electronic storage and transmission of health care inform

"If-" by Rudyard Kipling If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two imposters just the same

For those of you who poo-poo (I love that word) the legal side of things - the biggest stumbling block I'm having to understanding your point of view is that, to me, I realize that certain things are illegal for a reason. As a medical professional, I understand the dangers inherent in preforming certain procedures, or administering certain medications. I also realize why the law requires a certain level of medical training, education and proof of competency before allowing a person to perform certain procedures. I read posts where the moral of the story seems to be that untrained scouter

Ed - you do realize that sometimes, when somebody gets sued, its because they actually did something they weren't supposed to? In all of my posts pertaining to this topic, I've tried to focus on the medical side, rather than the legal side, as that's where my relative "expertise" lies. But, there is a lot of overlap... For starters, I believe this thread was focusing on OTC meds. Personally, Ed, I feel you're correct on the minimal risk regarding the administration (depending on how we define "administration" of Rx meds to scouts who have that Rx. OTC meds are something completely

GaHillBilly - I agree with the gist of what you're saying. However, as I alluded to in the other thread, there is a bigger issue here than the legal and CYA issues. Take your pulse oximetry example - you're right, it is really simple, and works beautifully 90% of the time. But, do you know what your pulse-ox device is actually measuring? What external (environmental) conditions might alter the pulse-ox reading? When might a person have too little or NO oxygen in their blood, but still read 100% on the pulse-ox? Like giving a tylenol, if you distribute it to youth, you might never have a

Beavah - as far as I know, it is illegal in every state to administer someone's prescription medication to another person. But, as you point out, you may not be prosecuted - but that doesn't mean its not illegal. I realize that when you're out in the woods facing a life or death situation, "you gotta do what you gotta do." And, as a healthcare provider myself, I wanted to give information as objectively as I can about what I understand of both the medical and legal aspects relating to this topic. I figure that the important thing is that we all know the objective information, and then can

jblake - what do you want me to tell you? If you find yourself in that kind of situation, and you have someone else's EpiPen handy, you need to decide what to do. No one can tell you what you should or should not do in that situation. I can tell you that it would be illegal to do that. I can also tell you it might save someone's life. But, its still illegal. So that's a decision you need to make. However, this is a completely different question that what WildernessStudent asked when she started this thread.