le Voyageur

5 hours ago, SSScout said:

yeah yeah   let us know how that works out for ya.

It continues to be a fail....

I’ve elected to keep it simple by not wearing any,.....staying incognito and blingless keeps one from getting volunteered....

Without going into details for this question,  what are possible solutions to prevent provisional patrols from morphing into “Lord of the Flies”  gangs?

On 9/18/2019 at 12:07 PM, mrkstvns said:

Any of you folks have knowledge and experience using Lifestraw ?

I've heard a lot of good things about it, but when I look at the specs for it on the REI web site, it only talks about filtering out biological contaminants (like bacteria or parasites).

That's great, but how does it do in waters that may have chemical contaminants or heavy metals?  I do most of my camping and hiking in Texas where quite a few of the waterways where I like to play are listed by the state's environmental quality commission as contaminated with appropriate health advisories against eating fish caught in those waterways.  If the fish can be contaminated with PCB, dioxin, mercury etc., then I assume I don't want to be drinking the water there myself, even with a Lifestraw.

Is there a filtration device that can handle chemical contamination?

Yes....  www.seychelle.com     
 

For base camps.... make my own using Berkey black filters and stainless steel stock pots

Camp Geronimo (Her run amo)has been sold, along with 10 acres  of land from their Heard Scout Pueblo..  Staffed  there in 64 (jr staff).  and went through my Ordeal at Heard. Always wanted to return,  it was an amazing camp located in Arizona’s Mongollon high country near Payson. As Geronimo was a merit badge camp, my focus on directing high adventure programs kept me away.  Maybe next year, provided they do a lease, might see if a Unit is short on the two deep leadership side of the coin...

As a high adventure director I’ve no problems with cell phones. In our environment where there is no cell service the only function left is that of a camera. However, we warn them that we don’t replace cell phones should they flip a boat. It’s up to them to keep their phones dry...

Have my own system. Will only make cowboy coffee using a quart size, light weight stainless steel pot. So, no instant, percolators, or French Presses.....simple is best...

However, can understand the reason for this . Seen too many Scouters toting 5 gallon mugs who thank nothing about draining the pot to the last drop...

On 7/19/2020 at 6:29 PM, qwazse said:

Brainstorming for future reference ... right now is a good time to snatch up 5 gal bottles from office water coolers. Because of restrictions, many suppliers aren’t taking them back. Careful pioneering, some work with stoppers and hoses, and you should have a camp shower.

Suggest for showering using garden sprayers. They are fairly common and come in two sizes, 1 gal., and 2 gal.  We've a small collection, about five or six now.  Here's our setup..

1. Water, 2. Distill Water (for back flashing water filters), 3. H2O + 10% bleach, 4. H2O + Lysol, 5. H2O + 25% citric acid, 6.  H2O + Pinesol

For showering, a gallon of water is more then enough for one shower.  And about half that amount of water for rinsing and sanitizing dishes.    

Appears that NCS is now canceling a number of classes which will impact all council camps.....

Been attempting to impress on the Council that it must be manditory for all campers and staff be pre tested. Additionally, that staff must be quarantine at the close of camp and re tested before being release. It's a wait and see at this time as testing for the general population is currently not happening.

1 hour ago, Jameson76 said:

Camps have been through this prior, will get through this, and there will be panics in the future

Here is an article from 2009 on Swine Flu (remember this was going to kill us all at the time) and Scouts affected at summer camp

https://www.ajc.com/news/local/scouts-may-have-been-exposed-swine-flu/ogtUqoAbFf0Az7pqJWPpHN/

Maybe some additional screening, but most have protocols on Scouts with temperatures.  There will be hand wringing to be sure.  Many "experts" will have opinions.

Pondering a bit .....Currently, no camps have protocols for adult scouters who may be at the beginning phase  of cytokine release syndrome, as covid 19  is specific to lung tissue, and will not manifest at first with elevated temperatures... additionally, added into the mix are scouters and scouts with asthma, or other medical issues such as COPD, and sleep apnea.......I tend to think we are in uncharted territory this time around...

Thoughts on the impact that covid-19 will, or will not have on summer camps

.....don't drum up men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery...

.....holds dominion over people when they understand little, and need simple stories and legends to comfort and explain.  But legends and the ignorance that give them birth are a house of limitations and darkness. Knowledge is freedom, freedom from ignorance and its offspring fear; knowledge is light and liberation. Knowledge that the world contains itself and its origins, and the hope of knowledge again. Dare to know, that is the motto of enlightenment."      A.C. Graying, The Skeptic's Bible....

On 12/23/2019 at 3:44 PM, mrjohns2 said:

Our camps and other events require the BSA medical form. You can't provide another in place of it. 

That may be true of your camps, but there are exceptions....at our camps, for those of us who drive CDL and are tasked with driving rafting crews into W. Va. using 45 passenger buses, BSA med forms do not meet DoT requirements. Should a driver be stopped by a Trooper and unable to present that document, it's a ticketable offense.....

17 hours ago, Eagledad said:

Can random philosophy save the ego! 🤔

Barry

Somewhere or another I recall something about  a philosophical construct centered on "morally straight".   Kinda wonder where I heard that at?

A fact of life is that a million good deeds can be undone by one misdeed....however, it is also well known that arrogance likes to appear humble in public.  As I see it, men and women should share the world as a mutual possession.  Thus, Twain said it best .... "laws control the lesser man....right conduct controls the greater one." 

16 hours ago, mds3d said:

You have misinterpreted this law.  Only a second "sexual battery" offense requires offender registration.   Aggravated sexual battery is a different charge. 

May not be his first offense....

plain as day ....  upon conviction he will have to register as a sex offender, thus his days in the Scouting program ends regardless of the position he holds...

https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-16/chapter-6/16-6-22-1/

Sexual battery is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. A second or subsequent conviction for sexual battery or a conviction for sexual battery against a child under the age of 16 is punishable by one to five years’ imprisonment.

(Ga. Code Ann. § § 16-6-1, 16-6-2, 16-6-22.1, 16-6-2.22.)

People in Georgia who are convicted of rape, sodomy, or aggravated sexual battery are required to register as sex offenders, as are people are convicted a second or subsequent time of sexual battery.

(Ga. Code Ann. § 42-1-12.)

Since our program involves a considerable amount of shooting (muzzle loaders) which parents are fully aware of, we don't have that problem with parental permission. However, it's up to the Scout to decide as to whether or not to shoot.   

As for the medical,  I've never used the BSA med form, but will provide a copy of my DoT med card when asked since it's more comprehensive as it includes drug testing...

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.

He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest
For he’s with you, clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.  1934

3 hours ago, 69RoadRunner said:

We're in Northern, VA and I was wondering if anyone had good experiences with canoe outfitters in the region we could use for Northern Tier training.

I've found some for on the rivers in the area.  There are also some where you can just paddle around like Burke Lake, which isn't much of a lake.

Thanks!

Suggest giving Blue Ridge Mountain Council (Roanoke, Va.) a call, ask for their Reservation Program Director.....she might be willing to release the canoes you need, but no promises here since I'm not aware of any current fees.  If that should occur,  Foster Falls is fairly close, and a run to Allisona  on the New would be a good start....

The times are changing. If it were not for change,  would we still be living in the dark ages thinking we are bloody enlighten as we've a priestclass that tell us what to think being that we can't read latin, let alone even read?  My thinking, time to end the Civil War and move on. And, if it means putting the Southern icons and statues along with the lies and revisionist babble  of the Daughters of the Confederacy on the trash heap of history, and the 900 section of the Library of Congress so be it.