RememberSchiff

Another report states more damage but that the camp's summer program continues Sunday. A staff cabin, a refrigeration unit and the 10,000 square foot program building known as "the Pentagon" were destroyed. Fortunately, the lodge, tenting areas, cabins, restroom facilities and the trading post were not damaged; and that Council will consider rebuilding once insurance is filed. Source: https://www.chicoer.com/2023/07/18/fire-destroys-3-buildings-at-butte-meadow-scout-camp/

"After extinguishing the blaze, Cal Fire said investigators learned the fire was caused by an issue with a dryer appliance. Fortunately, Cal Fire said nobody was seriously injured during this event. Cal Fire says this incident serves as a reminder to maintain and thoroughly clean your dryer vents. They say regularly inspecting and cleaning household appliances, like dryers, can reduce the risk of fires occurring." https://krcrtv.com/news/local/dryer-mishap-ignites-blaze-at-boy-scouts-camp-lassen

"Starting in 1939, a series of Emergency Service programs were put in place for older Boy Scouts (and Explorers). The idea was to have older boys be prepared to assist in various emergency situations by having them be certified in various skills to earn the right to participate. Insignia was created, both for uniform wear and as armbands, and requirements were set to earn the right to wear such insignia. If a unit had a certain number of members certified in Emergency Service, then the unit was considered an Emergency Service Unit. Thus was the Emergency Service programs created. In the beginning, the program grew out of the general need of preparedness for World War II on the home front and from earlier BSA programs. In the postwar years, the program continued with the heightened need for Civil Defense and emergency preparedness. As part of this program, every Boy Scout and Explorer unit were supposed to have a mobilization plan. Starting in the 1960s, the need for these sorts of programs started to decline, in part due to the beginning of Emergency Medical Response systems in most communities, and the program was apparently dropped in the early 90s. However, in part this program continues in the various Search and Rescue and Fire Rescue Explorer Posts and Venturing Crews. It is unfortunate with the increase in various emergency situations around the country (floods, tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, heat waves, etc.), that the need for these programs is not recognized. Perhaps its the fear of litigation should a Boy Scout or Venturer get injured somehow in performing emergency service work that prevents the BSA from reviving such a program, as well as the increase in profession groups to handle these situations." Source for above quote includes requirements for above patch (many variations over the years https://www.seniorscoutinghistory.org/seniorscoutsite/emergency.html September is National Preparedness Month . How should our scouts help others (victims and professionals) during heat waves, fires, floods, ... Does our insurance cover personal injury during emergency services?

July 15, 2023: Saturday night CAL FIRE, Butte Unit responded to structure fire at Camp Lassen in Butte Meadows. Upon arrival, two shed structures were engulfed in flames threatening a larger 10,000 sq ft structure. CAL FIRE said both shed buildings were destroyed but their firemen controlled the fire in time to spare the third larger building from damage. There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Scout Salute and THANKS to Cal Fire! https://www.actionnewsnow.com/news/cal-fire-crews-respond-to-fire-at-boy-scout-camp-lassen-saturday/article_ccdd78a8-23f8-11ee-9060-d704d5170983.html https://krcrtv.com/news/local/two-buildings-destroyed-following-fire-at-butte-meadows-boy-scout-camp

"It began in 1923 with trips organized by a guy named Carl Chase from the Iron Range Boy Scout council and was at first called Region 10 Canoe Trails. Flash forward to 2023 and it’s now officially called the Charles L. Sommers Wilderness Canoe Base, part of the Northern Tier High Adventure camp network owned and operated by the national office of the Boy Scouts of America. It is the oldest high-adventure camp in the U.S. and has been the base camp from which hundreds of thousands of Scouts have trekked into the wild over the decades — some of them canoeing for the first time, most of them venturing away from roads and civilization for the first time. The numbers are impressive: This summer alone, the camp will send nearly 4,000 kids from across the U.S, into the wilderness, both the BWCAW and Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park that lies just 6 miles up the way. On any given day this summer, the camp will have more than 400 people out on canoe trips. There are 500 canoes (not all are being used) in what’s believed to be the largest private fleet of canoes anywhere in the world...." "Now, the camp is buying dozens of lightweight Wenonah canoes every year, made from Kevlar and weighing just 45 pounds or so. (They use mostly the 18-foot Champlain model.) The Scouts get a good deal from the Winona, Minnesota, manufacturer in part because its founder, Mike Cichanowski, is a Sommers camp alum from 60 years ago, just before he started making canoes." Great article, much more at source along with photos : https://www.echopress.com/sports/northland-outdoors/charles-l-sommers-camp-hits-century-of-sending-scouts-into-the-bwcaw “The Far Northland: A Century of Wilderness High Adventure at Northern Tier” by Dave Kenney

This video is from the excellent Navy Skills for Life - Water Survival Training playlist (5 videos) Note: No belts got wet ,

Well this was an unexpected discovery...but it does further speak to relevance. The only time Jethro actually succeeded in anything is when a group of teenage Girl Scouts visiting the Clampetts' mansion had to jump into the cement pond when they were attacked by ants; Jethro got a "Livesaving badge" for rescuing one of the female scouts. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beverly_Hillbillies

A scout is Thrifty. Borrow a pair of larger pants (easy off, larger float).

How birds adapt to an unsafe world? "Humans have made the world less hospitable for birds in many ways. One obvious and intentional example of this can be found in towns and cities worldwide: anti-bird spikes. The pointy wires you might see attached to roofs, ledges, and light poles are meant to deter urban species like pigeons from landing, pooping, and even nesting where people don’t want them to. But in an avian act of poetic justice, a handful of European birds have struck back. Apparently Carrion Crows and Eurasian Magpies are stealing and repurposing the spikes as a nest-building material..." The nest photos are something else. https://www.audubon.org/news/apparently-magpies-and-crows-are-using-anti-bird-spikes-make-their-nests https://www.hetnatuurhistorisch.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/documents-nmr/Publicaties/Deinsea/Deinsea_21/Deinsea_21_17_25_2023_Hiemstra_et_al.pdf

Yes. While in water, your scout will remove pants, cinch pant legs, trap air in pants, and close waist to hold air. IMHO a rope belt would be preferable...worked for Jethro Bodine

Some questions: Will there be patrol competitions in scoutcraft? How much freedom do scouts have with their time while there?

July 8, 2023, Scout Aims for Autism-friendly Ambulances: "Boy Scout Ricardo “Richie” Navarro went before a room of emergency medical service providers, including ambulance and fire personnel, to both present his Eagle Scout project and equip the first responders with tools meant to help patients with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). ...Richie created “sensory bags” filled with items meant to soothe ASD patients, and those bags were distributed to some of the emergency medical first-responder community during the first base station (911 home base) meeting at Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley on Wednesday, July 5. Richie researched and asked local parents of children on the spectrum what to include in the sensory bags, and with his research he was able to design a sensory bag for local emergency services, according to a press release. The bag includes sound-dampening earmuffs, sunglasses, various “fidget spinners,” and a card that helps first responders communicate with a patient on the spectrum that includes how to assess pain levels." More at source: https://holtvilletribune.com/2023/07/08/imperial-scout-aims-for-autism-friendly-ambulances/ Outstanding, Scout Salute

Officials said late Saturday morning that a Scout died in an accident on Manning Lake (Camp Bell) in Gilmanton,NH on Friday. "On Friday, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Dive Team searched Manning Lake for the victim of a boating accident. The dive team staged at the boat launch on the northeast end of the lake where members and officers boarded an agency boat around 4:30 p.m. and made their way to the far southwest corner of the lake. A person at the boat launch, who declined to identify himself, said he was told that earlier two boats were each pulling a person on a tube when the incident occurred." "We are heartbroken to confirm the death of a Scout yesterday following a tragic accident on Manning Lake in Gilmanton," read a statement from the Daniel Webster Council. "We offer our deepest condolences to the Scout's family and ask everyone to please join in keeping this young man and his loved ones in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time." Sources: https://www.unionleader.com/news/safety/scout-dies-on-manning-lake-in-gilmanton/article_9ee64a1e-3200-5fe1-983f-2eb07cb7055e.html https://seacoastcurrent.com/boy-scout-dies-in-boating-accident-on-nh-lake/ NH State Police Report: https://www.nhsp.dos.nh.gov/news-and-media/three-deaths-new-hampshire-waters Awaiting NH Fish & Game Rescue Report

Marketing... watching this, maybe marketing should be local.

Jambo “Flood Bucket” service project: "The Flood Bucket cleaning kits – consisting of 15 items ranging from rubber gloves and scrub brushes to scouring pads and towels packed tightly into a 5-gallon bucket – serve as essential “first aid” resources that provide flood victims with the practical and emotional support necessary to begin restoration of their homes and personal belongings. Scouts will assemble at least 5000 bucket kits and include a personalized note to the flood victims. The completed kits, valued at $375,000, will be wrapped and transported to a warehouse and then distributed as needed to flooded areas throughout West Virginia." More here: https://world.einnews.com/pr_news/642188785/15-000-scouts-unite-for-flood-victims-national-jamboree-service-project-to-produce-5-000-flood-bucket-cleaning-kits

To meet its $3.5 million settlement obligation, Daniel Webster Council (NH) has listed its former Manchester headquarters for $1.3 million and five-acre Unity Program Center in Sullivan County for $625,000. In December 2021, the council’s board of directors agreed to list both properties but held off until the Chapter 11 settlement was official. Previous to that listing decision, much of the headquarters had already moved to nearby Camp Carpenter (Cub Scout camp) where the Scout Shop is also located. More info and photos at source: https://manchesterinklink.com/daniel-webster-council-lists-holt-avenue-property-for-1-3-million/ https://manchesterinklink.com/daniel-webster-council-board-authorizes-property-sales-to-offset-cost-of-sex-abuse-settlement/

Author: Butch Farabee Available free online: https://butchfarabee.com/download.html 600 pages, Why did Butch write this book? “As a newly-minted Tenderfoot Scout, I nearly froze my butt off on my first night ever camping out. But I was hooked that weekend in December 1953. My parents had borrowed a military surplus Kapok Sleeping Bag, maybe good down to 60 degrees. (They weren’t outdoors people.) That crystal-clear, cold night, I could almost see the full moon through its thin covering. While shivering till dawn, I saw the herd of javelina raid our campsite, not once, but twice. I hadn’t ever seen one, since the Desert Museum was to be built the next year. I would not know it for years, but we were in little King Canyon, which is immediately behind the Museum. “I credit that single experience with Troop 79 and Scoutmaster Jerry Bugglin, for unlocking a whole new world for me. With my seven years in Scouting, I was now off and running, to travel a life of the out-of-doors with all its attendant adventures, good and bad. That Saturday and Sunday, I explored an abandoned mine and ‘discovered’ ancient Indian petroglyphs hidden on the canyon walls. We played Capture-the-Flag on the rugged hillside, and I learned to tie a Square Knot. I gladly ate my cheese sandwich and raw potato. (Did I mention my family was not outdoorsy?) “At 16 and an Eagle Scout, I went on my first search for the three Boy Scouts lost in the Santa Ritas in November 1958. In today’s climate, my parents would be arrested for child endangerment or something, because I was going out there in Levi’s and sweatshirts and stuff...” Much more at Sources: https://tucson.com/news/local/history/tucson-search-and-rescue-history-book/article_b35a793c-0a33-11ee-b734-fb92627161a8.html https://tucson.com/morguetales/tragedy-on-mount-baldy/collection_6454ed2c-c8b2-11e7-b7f6-8b98bb3a7c11.html#3 Death Clouds on Mt. Baldy: Tucson's Lost Tragedy by Cathy Hufault https://butchfarabee.com/download.html

So no kazoo? Junior Buglers Kazoo Call to Post

sarcasm/on This is critical, so much so there is POLICY OF NO POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT (candidates, political groups, parades, rallies, protests,...) in large BOLD font ABOVE Declaration of Religious Principle on all Membership applications! sarcasm/off Ugh nope. Well National should do this, until then it is up to us to educate parents. My $0.02,

..Mr. Hawkins says he loves volunteering for the Boy Scouts and he stands for what the organization does: mentoring young leaders and providing them with the skills they need for when they grow up. “You go out and get a job, and you’ve never had somebody tell you what to do or where to go or how to get there and you think, what’s all that for?” Hawkins said. “But with scouts, you learn that. You learn how to be leaders and how to tell other people how to be leaders.” Even after 75 years, Hawkins says he’s not done yet. “I just got a new knee, a new shoulder, if they can keep putting parts in me I guess I can keep going,” Hawkins said. Leroy "Butch" Hawkins will celebrate his 84th birthday on July 1st. More at Sources: https://www.wowktv.com/news/local/boy-scouts-of-america-honors-scout-in-west-virginia-with-75-years-of-experience/ https://www.wtap.com/2023/06/28/camp-kootaga-scout-leader-celebrates-75th-year-with-boy-scouts/ 65 consecutive summers at Camp Kootaga as a leader and scout with Troop 203! Scout Salute and Happy Birthday

A distress call ... another boat had rescued the passengers but the boat was still on fire, The Sea Scout ship maintained a safe distance, while the Scouts "manned fire hoses, gave directions, and worked together to try to keep the fire under control" until a fire boat from Seattle arrived and took over the situation. More at source along with six action photos: https://katu.com/news/local/cascade-pacific-sea-scouts-help-put-out-blazing-boat-fire-on-first-day-of-summer-adventure

"The incident happened on June 5 at John Barr Lake on the camp property, where staff and volunteers were completing a 550-meter swim to earn their BSA Lifeguard certification. Bruce Otto, 73, an avid swimmer and volunteer adult Scout leader, was among those taking the test when aquatics director Michael "MJ" Todd noticed him slowing down and then floating face-down in the water." Source: https://www.wlky.com/article/where-can-i-cash-a-check-18128372/44227158 Scout Salute,

@ChanL Timely question welcome to scouter.com

How much did a week cost for scouts? A previous minimum of 80 (40x2) adult leaders to now a minimum of 112 (56x2) adult leaders for the week? Sizable increase in adults.

National sent out a Scout Executive Packet last July, just weeks before the fatal shooting, warning of a pattern of failing to follow SOP's as discovered from 30 shootings (13 injuries) at sanctioned scout shooting events since 2018. The new information (including spreadsheets) was included in a memo unearthed as part of discovery in a wrongful death suit. Carvalho family lawyers have requested more details (incident reports?) from the BSA. “The attorney for BSA, Lincoln Ashida, said some of the information is confidential and needs to be protected. Ashida asked for a discovery master to be appointed to review all information requested before it’s turned over.” The judge will appoint a discovery master. More including reporter video at source: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/06/17/boy-scouts-admit-30-shooting-investigations-near-misses-prior-big-island-scouts-death/