oldsm

As follow-up, here is an editorial that was in The Hartford Courant (America's oldest continuously published newspaper) on Friday, August 1. I just saw it this morning.

Being Too Careful

August 1, 2008

For the last quarter-century, drivers in southeastern Connecticut have been able to pull off I-95 during the busy Labor Day weekend for free coffee and doughnuts, courtesy of local Boy Scout troops.

But this thoughtful community service project has now come to an end, thanks to the ever-vigilant bureaucrats at the state Department of Transportation.

For 25 years, Scouts had set up the coffee stop at weigh stations along the highway in Waterford. They gave out coffee, doughnuts and soda, and collected voluntary donations. Over the years the Scouts have raised more than $75,000 and donated all of it to charity.

But as The Day of New London recently reported, there'll be no coffee stop this year. The DOT, citing unspecified safety concerns, told the Scouts last fall they could not operate at night. They would have to break down the signs, tables, coffee urns and other equipment at 9 p.m. and set up again at 6 a.m. Efforts to change the directive failed. The Scouts said they could not run the four-day event under those conditions and canceled it.

What a shame.

The DOT's position is not irrational, but it is cautious to a fault. The department is worried about increased traffic on I-95 and has a general concern about incidents of untoward activity that happen from time to time at highway rest stops.

On the other hand, the Scout coffee stop, begun by East Lyme Troop 24, has had no trouble in its 25-year existence. The activity is outside. The area is well-lighted. There are two adults there at all times, and usually only two Scouts at night. They all have cellphones. State police check in from time to time. East Lyme first selectman Paul Formica said he's willing to have local police drop in.

Also, one of the reasons to do the stop is to refresh drivers so the highways are safer. The program, Mr. Formica said, "puts a human face to the endless lines of the highway." He and some local legislators are trying to get the DOT to change its mind, and we hope they are successful. We cannot accept that the world is too dangerous to hand out coffee.

Meanwhile, please don't tell the DOT that Scouts are helping little old ladies cross the street.

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-scouts.artaug01,0,2145860.story

On I-95 in Connecticut (which is where East Lyme is located) you can't set up an operation like the scouts do at a rest area. Those are high-traffic areas full of trucks, cars, crazy people, McDonald's, and gas stations. Open 24/7/365. The only possible place on I-95 is at the weigh stations. Not many people drive into them - usually just trucks during the occasional hours that the DOT actually has them open. The weigh stations are large areas and are not heavily traveled. And you can be reasonably certain that they won't be open on Labor Day weekend.

On I-84 (also in Connecticut), I have stopped at a rest area that has vending machines. A scout troop sets up there with free coffee and donuts in the cars-only area. The area is not manned by state employees - the police come through occasionally. I've never seen fewer than 2 adults there, usually with about 6 scouts. One adult told me that several troops take turns with different weekends, and that they make enough in DONATIONS to fund their entire troop operation for a year, including summer camp! I have also seen the same type of welcome break at rest areas (without vending machines) on I-91.

I don't know if the CT DOT is planning to shut down the operations other than I-95.

Scout troops in NY state do the same thing. I frankly look forward to seeing the scouts learning to be thrifty, and having a chance to chat with them for a few moments refreshes me mentally for the next leg of my trip.

Not everyone who stops for coffee needs to sleep. Sometimes you just need to stretch your legs (after about 2 hours) and get rid of the previous cup of coffee!

In the interest of civility, let's cut the sarcasm when we don't know have the facts.

Regarding "The Deed", I would bet that the lighthouse was at the ocean (the only mountain-top lighthouse I know of is at the top of Mt. Greylock in western Massachusetts). The wind is almost always blowing - usually pretty strongly, especially at the top of a lighthouse. Chances are, spit will get mixed up with ocean spray, water that drips off birds and their prey (fish), etc. Seems to me like this whole incident kinda got blown out of proportion.

Next time, give specific instructions that they boys are to spit into the wind.

My council gerrymanders districts with an eye to providing approximately equal workload for the DE's. There's no school boundary consideration. Each town has its own school system, although some have none (they tend to regionalize in some cases). District boundaries are usually based on Town limits, although some towns are split in half.

The boys in my troop identify the topics to be reported upon - usually all of the events since the last COH. They usually tag-team each topic and for the most part speak extemporaneously (some better than others)! They practice ("you need to speak slower and louder...").

They usually need some coaching on upcoming events - seems they live in the present and don't look to the future too well.

The boys are really good at planning the refreshments!

We have a printed program done by me, since I have a publishing background and the TC likes to see consistency - and I can get them reproduced gratis. The program lists the topics and all of the awards and advancements.

It's up to the SPL to run the COH. Adult involvement is mostly limited to a few adult-oriented things (like upcoming parents meetings, FOS, etc.), to act as a "receiving line" to congratulate scouts who advance in rank, and my SM Minute. Awards are handled by the SPL, sometimes with assistance from another Scout.

The boys take care of the opening and closing, and setup and cleanup. We adults are there just for guidance and support.

Come on farther north and east. Camp Mattatuck, a Connecticut Rivers Council camp just north of Waterbury CT is excellent. It is a "traditional" scout camp with a varied program. It is not a merit badge mill. There's an excellent COPE course with a 300+ foot zip line, boating, swimming, canoeing, rowing, archery and rifle ranges, nature, mountain biking, scoutcraft...Excellent food in the dining hall. The staff is fantastic. Oh, yes, the climbing tower: it's the one featured on the cover of the current Climbing merit badge book.

For info, visit http://www.campmattatuck.org/

The scouts in my troop had planned a camping trip for this weekend. When they learned about National Trails Day, they found an opportunity that dovetails nicely. They are partnering with the Forest & Park Association (a private not-for-profit organization - not government) to spend several hours learning about invasive species, then help to remove them from several trails nearby. A great alteration to the boys' original planned program - they benefit, and so does the community.

Yes, the Requirements book is published annually. It's usually February before it hits the shelves in my scout shop - about 4-6 weeks after the new requirements to into effect.

I wish they'd publish it ahead of time instead of after the fact.

Zip-lock is the way to go. Use a standard perfect-bound book ("glued") and keep it in a Zip-lock when not in use. This provides better protection than either the vinyl or cloth soft covers and costs pennies - cheaper than any other solution. This way the books will last from age 10 1/2 to 18. And if an occasional page does slip out, the Zip-lock keeps it from getting lost.

Others have spoken to the disadvantages of the spiral.

My district's spring camporee this year is going to be a merit badge-o-ree. They're offering things like Music, Collections, Railroading, and a few others. Understand that my troop ALWAYS attends district events - we see it as an obligation in order to keep events viable.

This year we're not going. As soon as the boys heard that it was going to be merit badges, they said things like "that's not the way merit badges are supposed to be earned," and "forget it - we want the skills competitions," and so on. So they decided instead to organize a trip to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail.

My boys enjoy earning merit badges, but I have to think that they understand the value of them and the "right" way to earn 'em.

Sometimes we have to start small with the independence thing. Next weekend the troop is going to help run a Cub Scout Gold Rush - day/evening activity for them, although the troop will be camping overnight. I presented one patrol that hasn't done much on its own (an overstatement) with the prospect of camping on the far side of the lake (primitive to non-existent sites) -- sans adults: pack it in, camp/cook on your own, get yourselves out, etc. They jumped at the opportunity. "We CAN?!!" Duh! These are responsible guys 13-15 years old, on council camp property. We'll see where this leads. I can't wait.

When do we let our boys grow up to become young men? We have to learn to trust them and let go a little at a time.

Was it easy to drop off my 2 sons (ages 15 & 16) and two buddies (ages 16 & 18) on the Appalachian Trail in Maine for several days on their own? No. Did they grow. Most assuredly.

My youngest for several years traipsed all over town on his bicycle selling Trails End popcorn the last 2 years. He just had to be home before dark.

Now the older son is away at college. The independence we gave him has helped in so many ways.

Younger son (now 17) volunteers with the local ambulance company as a Medical Response Technician, is active in church and the troop, and drives all over the place being a responsible teen.

They've flown alone, including making connections. The younger had to deal with a missed connection and seek overnight lodging accommodations from the airline - on his own!

We have to let them grow up. In my opinion, the boys generally aren't the problem. The adults are.

Always safety first. As a previous poster stated, it's one thing to put yourself at risk, quite another to put other people's boys at risk. We seldom cancel, but if the actual weather demands it, we will. We've learned not to rely too much on forecasts because they're too non-specific.

Last weekend we did postpone 4 hours. We had a 4-8" snowstorm coming through Friday night into Saturday morning, so instead of leaving at 8:00 a.m., we left at noon -- time enough for people to dig out and the roads to be plowed.

We try to plan menus that can be "saved" until a later outing in case of weather cancellation. Many things can be frozen (even breads). Canned stuff keeps well - even eggs, deli meats, cheese, and OJ if refrigerated. If you plan well, food loss should not be a major concern.

A previous thread began hinting at problems with the kinds of food we eat on scout outings. I agree that, especially when boys plan the menus, things tend to lean toward high-calorie, high-fat foods that are easy to prepare and high on the comfort level. I also believe that we as leaders have a responsibility to help guide the boys toward making good lifelong choices in what they eat. Can you provide some examples of good nutritious food that isn't likely to contribute to the overweight/obese couch-potato stereotype? I'll start.

Last weekend was our district Klondike. Due to the busy activity schedule, our adults volunteered to do the menu planning, food purchasing, and cooking (we NEVER do that - the boys do). Here's what we had:

Crackerbarrel: hummus (chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil - prepped at home)

low-fat multigrain crackers

pepperoni slices (comfort food in case hummus was not liked!)

decaf tea (no sugar)

Breakfast: instant oatmeal

turkey sausage (low-fat brown 'n' serve)

instant hot chocolate

orange juice

Lunch (purchased from event staff): hamburgers

cheeseburgers

hot dogs

kelly dogs

chili (very greasy)

commercial cookies

chips (fried, not baked)

bug juice

Dinner (inter-troop pot-luck). We contributed:

Dutch oven casserole (potatoes, water-packed tuna, peas, mushroom soup, salt, pepper, tarragon)

Sticks/rocks/dirt (no-bake cookies): chow mein noodles, peanuts, chocolate chips

Cracker barrel: graham crackers (low-fat variety)

peanut butter (chunky)

decaf tea

Breakfast: eggs-in-a-bag w/ bell peppers, ham, grated cheese

large bagel (butter if desired, no cream cheese)

orange juice

hot chocolate

The kids enjoyed the food. Most of the hummus disappeared, and the scout who took the leftover portion home emailed me asking for the recipe!

Definitely the worst food was what the staff provided for lunch.

Thank you, Calico. I couldn't have expressed my thoughts any better.

Perhaps, while we're at it, we should have restrictions against those whose egos are too big.

Requirement 5 states:

"With the approval of your counselor and a parent, watch a movie that shows how the actions of one individual or group of individuals can have a positive effect on a community. Discuss with your counselor what you learned from the movie about what it means to be a valuable and concerned member of the community."

I understand this to mean that the counselor and the parent have to approve the movie. The boy has to watch it, then discuss what he learned with the counselor. The requirement does not state that the boy has to research movies before proposing one to watch. In my opinion, requiring that would be adding to the requirement. Perhaps the issue of who chooses the movie was left unstated intentionally to provide flexibility for the counselors?

Given the hundreds and thousands of movies that are available, I think it is unreasonable to expect a boy to locate and read synopses of (potentially) dozens of movies in an attempt to find one that his counselor and parents approve for purposes of this MB. I can conceive of this becoming nearly as onerous as identifying and proposing an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project.

A compromise method might be for the counselor to propose a "short list" of movies for the scout to choose from.

Perhaps we should agree to disagree on this. One of the great things about the scouting program is the wide latitude provided for individual units and counselors to implement the program in the way that works best for them.

As a follow-on to Hunt's comment about having the boys write down their numbers...

Troopmaster has a field where you can record this so you always have it available to you. I make it a point to commandeer the membership cards for new scouts and update TM before handing the card to the intended recipient. Makes life real easy later - well, that part of it, anyway.

Mine are like FScouter's - they've had the same number for years. Not sure how far back, though, because I never paid much attention to them until I was confronted with my first Eagle Scout application where it wanted the youth's BSA ID number on the top of the form.

This is nothing new.

The following article just appeared on the web, courtesy of Associated Press. While we don't know the facts, the way the article is written emphasizes the scouting aspect of this family. Why does the press always have to trump things that probably had absolutely no bearing on an incident?

My prayers for the souls of the deceased, for the accused young man, and for all involved.

==========================

February 4, 2008

COCKEYSVILLE, Md. - Police say a 15-year-old Boy Scout charged with killing his parents and two younger brothers shot them as they slept, then returned a day later after spending time with friends to stage the discovery of their deaths.

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A judge denied bail for Nicholas Browning on Monday, though his attorney cited his strong academic background and lack of a prior criminal record in seeking to have it set at $1 million instead.

"I don't even think he's even been suspended from school," attorney Steve Silverman said. "Quite frankly, it's really quite shocking."

Officials believe the teen had shot his father, mother, and brothers with one of his father's guns Friday, then tossed the handgun in some bushes and left.

Friends dropped Nicholas off on Saturday, authorities said, and soon after, he came out of the house to say he had found his father's body on the ground floor. He then called 911.

"A caller reported to 911 that a 45-year-old male was lying on the couch with blood coming out of his nose. He was not breathing," charging documents said.

Shortly before 5 p.m., officers found Nicholas' father dead in a ground-floor room and his mother and brothers' bodies in upstairs bedrooms. They also found the gun. The victims were John, 45; Tamara, 44; Gregory, 13, and Benjamin, 11.

Police said Nicholas confessed early Sunday and was charged as an adult with four counts of first-degree murder. Nicholas was being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center in Towson in a special section for juveniles.

Nicholas had not been getting along with his father, police said in a news release, but investigators offered no other details. There was no sign of a confrontation Friday at the house, police said.

Silverman said he had been retained by the teen, who contacted his office on Sunday. He asked people not to jump to conclusions about his client, noting Browning had repeatedly denied killing his family during hours of police interrogation before the alleged confession.

Silverman noted that Nicholas was an honor student at Dulaney High School, one of the best in the county. He played varsity golf and lacrosse and was a skier.

Nicholas, who was tall and gangly, was working toward becoming an Eagle Scout, and had built a prayer garden at his church to meet one of the requirements.

John Browning, a real estate lawyer, had worked in Baltimore County's oldest law firm for nearly 20 years. He was a scoutmaster and a church leader.

Browning led camping, rock climbing and whitewater expeditions for his Boy Scout troop. The family also hosted meetings for scouts' parents at their home.

"John was a wonderful man. He and his wife, Tammy, were very much in love. Together they were caring and loving parents to their children," Browning's law partners said in a statement. "John was also a man of much faith. And he so much enjoyed the outdoors."

The killings left co-workers, acquaintances and neighbors in the quiet Baltimore suburban neighborhood stunned. Someone hung a small, silver-colored crucifix on the mailbox at the Brownings' half-million dollar farmhouse-style home.

Jennifer Welsh, who lived across the street from the family and whose son played lacrosse with Nicholas, described Nicholas as "a very polite, well mannered, average teenage boy."

She said her son was upset and confused by the killings. "He's wondering ... how? why? He's trying to digest the whole thing."

Of Nicholas, Welsh said, "nobody knows what goes on in his head and I guess we never will."

The county had 37 homicides last year, compared with 282 in nearby Baltimore. Toohey said there had not been a similar incident in the area since 1995, when a man killed his wife and three children before killing himself.

The requirement states: "With the approval of your counselor and a parent, watch a movie that shows how the actions of one individual or group of individuals can have a positive effect on a community."

The requirement DOES NOT state "Pick a movie...and have your counselor and a parent approve it."

Until and unless a boy has watched a given movie, he will have no idea whether or not it would meet the intent of the requirement. So it is entirely reasonable for the counselor to offer some suggestions to give the boy some latitude as to what is available and what his parents will approve. I think this fits right in with the ADULT GUIDANCE and ASSOCIATION WITH ADULTS part of scouting.

Incidentally, the Citizenship in the Community entry on meritbadge.org has a sizable list of suggested movies for this MB, although it doesn't have the ratings. It does, however, provide links to the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) where you can see plot synopses and find the MPAA rating (scroll down to "Additional Details").

[Edited to correct typos.](This message has been edited by oldsm)

I dropped a group of 4 scouts on the A.T. in western Maine a couple of years ago. They'd planned their own trek (reviewed and approved by me), got parental approval, and I provided the transportation.

Their plan didn't work as they expected. They bit off more than they could chew (it was a particularly tough stretch of the trail), so instead of doing 30 miles over 5 days, they wound up doing a lot less over 3 days. When they realized that their plan wasn't going to work out, they developed an alternative, communicated it to me, and implemented the new program. They had 2-way radios and cell phones for communication, had the trail maps, built fires in the pouring rain at night, and kept their spirits up. It was a grand experience and adventure for them, and it gave them a chance to demonstrate some maturity to their parents.

I'm sure we're all aware of the new requirements vis-a-vis bullying.

I finally got a copy of the 2008 Requirements book from my Scout Shop. It lists the requirements.

All of the Scout Handbooks (and there was a whole shelf of them), were old - no updates to them at all.

How is a boy supposed to meet the new requirements? For almost all other requirements, there's at least basic information in the handbook. Not so for the bullying requirements.

1. Where is a scout supposed to get the information he needs to learn in order to meet the requirements?

2. What resources does BSA make available so that adult leaders can guide the boys toward meeting the requirements?

It seems as though BSA wanted to get the publicity of "Wow, BSA is really on the ball", but has dropped that ball when it comes to implementation. Have I missed something?

Comments and suggestions, please.

A related question: How many units have a Chaplain? That would be the ideal person to mentor a Chaplain Aide. (Hello, church chartering organizations????)

I think that most scouts have some innate sense of religion; however, many families do not practice their religion overtly - witness the frequency with which other activities trump attendance at religious services. As a result, boys don't feel comfortable leading religious aspects of troop life.

We run into the problem of being "interfaith" or "non-denominational", which waters down what most people are accustomed to. Then there are the problems of finding appropriate prayers and readings, and songs that are known to more than 1 or 2 people and are singable without some kind of accompaniment (I can't take my pipe organ on a camping trip - yes, I'm an organist/choir director and son of a minister).

We tout the mantra that religion is up to the scout and his family. If we do anything other than a pure Scouts Own, then are we not potentially infringing upon the "rights" of the family?

Scouts Own is a nice ideal, but unless a scout is mentored in how to lead a true Scouts Own, then he is likely to come up with something that mirrors his own religious experiences and family beliefs. God forbid that we should expose scouts to religious beliefs and practices other than their own.

Sometimes it seems like just too much work to help scouts observe the 12th point of the Scout Law. Done correctly, it takes a LOT of work! (This from a SM whose unit has often been called upon to lead services at district and council events.)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - The president of the Maldives was saved from assassination Tuesday when a boy scout grabbed the knife of an attacker who had jumped out of a crowd greeting the leader, an official said.

Here is a link to the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080108/ap_on_re_as/maldives_assassination_attempt

Skeptic,

The delay in seeing an MD most definitely exacerbated the problem, according to all of the MD's involved. You see, this was no simple infection or irritation: it was a blind spot being caused by a little single-celled parasite that happened to attack his macula. The week's delay in treatment meant that a far greater portion of his vision was lost.

I am not a sue-happy person. I just don't believe that lawsuits are the moral answer to what I consider to be normal life risks. However, an RN should have been alert enough to spot something out of the ordinary. Just look at how quickly we get a camper to the ER over an upset stomach or a little bump or a little cut that probably only needs a Band-Aid.

Did I miss an opportunity to potential improve medical care at the camp? Yes, and I regret it now. But it's probably too late to do anything at this point.