RememberSchiff

A North Texas family is grieving the unexpected loss of their son. Reid Comita, 15, collapsed at the Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch in West Teas, where he was at the beginning of a week long backpack trip. The temperature Sunday reached 105 degrees.

His parents are awaiting autopsy results for the exact cause of death.

John Comita said his son loved the Scouts and lived it.

Reid had been on his way to Eagle Scouts status when he died, most likely of heat stroke.

Welcome to scouter.com @@The Black Eagle

Welcome to scouter.com

http://www.fdlreporter.com/story/life/2017/06/13/how-prepared-2017-national-boy-scout-jamboree/393527001/

Editor’s note: This is the first in a trio of columns which will describe a local boy scout’s experience with the 2017 National Boy Scout Jamboree. A Jamboree happens once every four years.

an excerpt:

...

More than 100 scouts attended this year's Shakedown, and the activates were focused on team-building. I usually do not enjoy team-building activities but these were very fun. I participated in a sponge launch, nine-square, “put the bomb in the bucket†game, and a “sharks and minnows†remake.

We also watched videos that explain things on what was going to happen at the Jamboree. We also received our official Jamboree gear such as patches, water bottles, a duffel bag and day pack.

When we go the actual Jamboree, July 14 to 28, the first part of our journey will include visiting the Battle of Gettysburg site, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, touring Washington D.C., going to the National Zoo and visiting various museums.

...

fun to read a scout's perspective

Welcome to scouter.com.   I like when my wife yells "Dinner's ready". Hopefully others will be more helpful scouters.

Google

scout reservation family camp site RV

You will see some. I was under the impression those camps permitted RV's only during family camp weeks/weekends.

Tell us about about the adult rifle instructors and safety officer at the BB range.

 

@@RememberSchiff, Had to laugh at that BSA report.No way any camps we go to are set up for girls.

I'd say their time is running out as BSA camps, maybe your Council plans to sell them.

I don't have an issue of helping an organization like a church, a wildlife area, AT service group, ... etc asking for help.

 

Its when someone is getting paid to do something and wants the troop to do what they were hired for.

This is a common plight for volunteers everywhere IMO.

According to the BSA National Camp Accreditation Program (NCAP), "procedures for separate use of restroom and  shower facilities  by males and females" has been in effect since 2013.

Separate facilities are mostly already done here in Northeast. Many camps book non-scout groups.

Outside Magazine, Jun 12, 2017

The Boys Scouts Should Allow Girls (And Everyone Else, Too)

The BSA's latest policies are a step toward including other genders. Inclusiveness can't come soon enough.

By Wes Siler

I'm an Eagle Scout, a Brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow, a former Assistant Scout Master, and an all-round proponent of one of the greatest outdoors leadership program the world has ever seen: the Boy Scouts of America. But, I’m also citizen of 2017, and someone who acts on the belief that the outdoors belong to everyone, regardless of which gender they’re born with, who they’re attracted to, how much money they have, or the color of their skin. Finally, the BSA is slowly coming to that belief, too.

...

Read that list of famous people who are Eagle Scouts again. While impressive, it’s also homogenous. Do many people today want to become a Scout because Jeff Sessions was one?

...

Find the rest at

https://www.outsideonline.com/2188871/finally-boys-scouts-might-be-dropping-genders

@@Chadamus well done.

Sad update

Twelve year old Scout and skier Frank Carpino has succumb to his rare cancer.

His scoutmaster stated Frank earned his latest merit badge last Monday and passed away just three days later.

Scout salute and farewell,

http://www.wkow.com/story/35640029/terminally-ill-boy-who-skied-at-cascade-mountain-has-passed-away

The Camporall topic started to stray into past camporee memories, and so tell us your thrilling tales of camporees of yesteryear.

Back in the 60's, our District organized 3 outings a year - a Fall Camporee, Klondike Derby, and Spring Camporee. Some were located nearby, but the more popular, were 100+ miles away in other states, definitely out of District and Council. Adventure.

Memories:

I remember at the Hickory Run (PA) Spring Camporee, the dinner cooking fire (wood on the ground) was started.  We told a tenderfoot to fetch a "smoke shifter" from another troop. Off he and a buddy sprinted. Hah, hah. Our SM shook his head but did not spoil our fun. The terrain was such that we older scouts could observe our two tenderfoots going from one troop campsite to another. Hah, Hah, Hah. But our attention was soon redirected to meal preparation when our tenderfoots returned - WE GOT IT!

We turned around to see two scouts holding a large gizmo, what we all assumed was a Smoke Shifter. Our SM shook his head. Never seen a smoke shifter like that. Looks like a moonshine shifter. Whatever that meant. It was all metal - 3 legs which supported a platform with a duct work flue. Now this was some reality check,  All us old scouts knew smoke shifters didn't exist like unicorns and sky hooks but there it was.

Dinner would have to wait. All hands worked on getting this smoke shifter working.  Smoke filled our campsite instead of shifting to Troop 154! Our SM bellowed Open the flue. Well that didn't work either but we were determined. Our SM got out a Coleman stove and started cooking HIS dinner which smelled good. Our determination lost to our hunger. As it got dark, we started cooking Our SM said something about it taking us a long time to start a cooking fire. 

Our tenderfoots returned the smoke shifter. The owners asked did it work ok. Our scouts said no. The owners apologized for not telling them that it only shifted smoke downwind.

I'm more concerned that he is developing skills of initiating a polite call to the counselor and making a plan to meet for discussions on the subject.

..

Our scouts struggle with this. They would rather email or signup online than speak face to face or call an adult MBC, even one known to them.

If our scouts email and receive no response, will they follow up with a another email or phone call? Unlikely. They mistype email addresses and wait weeks or longer before trying again. Same with wrong phone numbers. I'm waiting for the counselor to get back to me.

We have scouts CC all emails to their parents and SM and their informal addressing of adults by first names or abbreviations is frequent.   Maybe they regard email as txtng but with spellcheck?

I had not seen these 3 characteristics together before:

      all Boy and Girl Scouts, any age

      STEM focused

      partnered and located at a University

Certainly much to see and maybe do.

I wonder if any groups decide NOT to cook, rather just bring quick no cook/no dishwash meals...hello MREs.

Good-bye Camporee?

The University at Buffalo will host 800 Boy Scouts June 9 and 10 at a “Camporall†organized to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The 2017 STEM Camporall brings together scouts of all ages and rank – Brownies to Explorers – from the Boy Scouts of America’s Greater Niagara Frontier Council and the Girls Scouts of Western New York.

It will feature a midway where about 50 organizations will set up displays, and more than three dozen STEM-related activities in UB’s engineering labs. The activities, which are designed to engage scouts with fun STEM exercises, focus on clean water, outer space and the internet of things.

Highlights include: scouts talking live at 12:08 p.m. June 10 to a cosmonaut aboard the International Space Station; a demonstration of how bottle rockets work, including launching them 100 feet into the air; and learning the basics of 3-D printing and robotics.

http://buffalonews.com/2017/06/08/scouting-camporall-ub-promote-science-technology/

The 13 page 2017 STEM Camporall Program Guide

http://www.wnyscouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Program-Guide-2017-STEM-Camporall-v6.pdf

Welcome to scoutercom and congratulations to your sons.

RememberSchiff, Stosh - thanks for the welcome!

 

Stosh - I'm working with the moderators to craft a post that doesn't violate forum rules. Until then, I think it has to be PMs.

 

Latin Scott - this is a patch of my own designed, produced by Moritz Embroidery, a licensed BSA manufacturer. Before producing my order they got approval for the design from BSA (the same as any of their patches that includes the FDL or other BSA copyrights.

 

Eph

Thanks for your patience @@Eph .

Scouter.com is a forum for discussing Scouting, not selling items, even if they are scout-related.

I have deleted your separate Baloo patch sales topic.

Good to hear there are no trademark violations.

That all said, I looked at your patch on ebay.  Nicely done.

RS

 

I spend a lot of my time as a youth in the woods and I never saw a tick until the 1980s. I don't know the facts, but I also never saw a deer until the 1980s and now they are a road hazard.

 

Barry

 

In 1930 the US white-tailed deer population was down to about 300,000. Today, estimates of how many there are range as high as about 30 million. That’s a 1,000-fold increase in less than 100 years."http://www.koryoswrites.com/nonfiction/white-tailed-deer-overpopulation-in-the-united-states/

 

Among many other factors, the most notable is that we have turned most of the eastern US into deer heaven. Deer are an "edge" species that thrives along the edges of woodlands and meadow, or as we now call it, suburbia.

 

My understanding.

Ticks first get the Lyme virus from mice and then drop off and find other warm body - another mouse, dog, deer, human. I have read that rodent population is up too - mice, squirrels, rats,..

A lot of deer means more hosts to grow tick population. Deer and other tick-infected species traveling miles to find fragmented food sources spreads ticks geographically.

@@Eph, feel free to share with the rest.

Welcome to scouter.com

Light color clothing so ticks are readily seen, and staying on open trail works thus avoiding brush contact, mostly works for me.

Firewood gathering and making a nature call often resulted in ticks. With stoves there is less of the former.

Be prepared by first being aware.

My $0.02

Yes no shortage of opinions and experience here, but we are always looking for more.

Welcome to scouter.com.