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RememberSchiff

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Posts posted by RememberSchiff

  1. McCalister, 79, had been a scoutmaster for about 45 years. More than 240 scouts with Troop 285 in North-Central San Antonio achieved the rank of Eagle Scout during his tenure. He spearheaded fundraising for a scout lodge that now bears his name on the campus of Coker United Methodist Church on the North Side.

    He fought the allegation made by an anonymous accuser, who said the abuse occurred in the early 1990s. One day shy of the year anniversary of receiving the letter, McCalister sued the Boy Scouts of America, Alamo Area Council Inc. and his accuser — only known as John Doe — for defamation. 

    On Jan. 12, McCalister's nearly two-year legal battle ended when state District Judge Marisa Flores granted his request for partial summary judgment, declaring in a written order that he is "hereby completely and fully exonerated of any allegations of abuse by John Doe." She was told the accuser had recanted.

    That same day, McCalister received another letter — this one welcoming him back to the Scouts. Boy Scouts of America CEO and President Roger Krone, who leads the National Council based in Irving, told McCalister that he had been in reinstated as a volunteer leader.

    "The BSA regrets the anguish you endured from this process and these procedures, which are designed to make the safety of children in our Scouting programs the BSA's top priority," BSA President and CEO Roger Krone said in his letter.

     

    More details at source:

    https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/scout-leader-exonerated-18615122.php

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  2. 21 minutes ago, Eagle1993 said:

    Nothing beyond that screenshot. I would think everything else in the process is unchanged.  I do think this could open up the option of adults having to directly use a third party for the background check.  I have to do that for other youth orgs, get the certificate and then can submit my registration.  We will see ..

    I like that idea. Get a single background check and YP certificate and one is good to volunteer at any youth organization - scouts, FIRST, sports...

  3. On 6/14/2022 at 11:20 AM, RememberSchiff said:

    An announcement on May 16 fleshed out those reports, as The Conservation Fund (TCF) proclaimed its partnership with the Greater New York Councils of Boy Scouts of America (GNYC) to preserve the majority of the land at TMR.

    ...

    The multi-year conservation effort announced by TCF and GNYC will kick off with TCF’s purchase of nearly 6,100 acres of TMR land. A second phase will follow, bringing the total land sold to around 9,400 acres.

    GNYC will keep its active summer camp facilities, an area encompassing 2,100 acres. It will also continue to use the conserved area for charitable purposes under an unspecified agreement.

    ...

    TCF will work in the future with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for the permanent protection of the land, according to the release.

    More at source link below map.

    20220525-103322-MAP_Ten%20Mile%20River%2

     

    https://riverreporter.com/stories/ten-mile-river-conservation-announced,55557

    Update 1/24/2024: Volunteers sought for trail work

    Executive summary: At least 5 organizations - National Park Service, American Hiking Soceity, Conservation Fund, NYDEC, GNYBSA,... are looking for 6-8 volunteer trail workers to move a trail at a former scout camp .

    National Park Service Superintendent Lindsey Kurnath, Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, reported that they were selected as a host site for the American Hiking Society Volunteer Vacations program. National Park Service will be working with six to eight volunteers in September to assist with trail work to re-route the Tusten Mountain Trail, on the former Ten Mile River Boy Scout Camp property.   

    NPS has an agreement with The Conservation Fund to do light maintenance on this trail if NPS chooses. The Conservation Fund purchased a parcel of the Ten Mile River Boy Scout Camp, which also includes the river access, from the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America in recent years. The Fund also allows the NPS to continue providing public river access. 

    The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has also been involved to ensure it supports any work done on the trail, since DEC may eventually manage the site.  

    Kurnath said that the one footbridge over a natural drainage area is unstable, and the plan is to shift the trail slightly north. "I don't think anyone really likes that bridge and if we can figure out how to eliminate it, that is less trail maintenance for everybody concerned," she said. 

    The Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America allows the public to hike the 2.9-mile loop trail.  The popular trail, which is rated "moderately difficult" by Trailkeeper.org, is noted for stunning views of the Upper Delaware River.  

    To volunteer for this project, contact the American Hiking Society at americanhiking.org/volunteer-vacations.

    Source:

    https://www.tricountyindependent.com/story/news/local/2024/01/24/nps-udc-car-upper-delaware-river/72268584007/

     

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  4. There is the Philmont Trail Race on Aug 3, 2024. Runners can register for the Marathon circuit or the Tooth Ridge Sprint (8 miles), Half Marathon, or 50-miler. Online registration opens Feb 2, 2024.

    Reference link for 2023 races:

    https://www.philmontscoutranch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2023-Philmont-Trail-Race-Information-Packet.pdf

    From above packet, map of the 2022 Marathon

    Philmont2022Marathon.thumb.png.b27aed1f0cf5e0d4d19b6f7812fe4109.png

     

    • Upvote 1
  5. On 8/17/2020 at 6:24 PM, RememberSchiff said:

    Though today, numismatics are fewer in number. 

    Link below has a brief history of the Coin Collecting Merit Badge and an offer from the American Numismatic Association

    https://coinweek.com/us-coins/young-numismatists-and-the-coin-collecting-merit-badge/

    :)

    Back to OP,

    This month, the National Advancement Committee revised requirements for Coin Collecting Merit Badge.

    "These are the first major revisions to the requirements since the mid-2000s. These revisions expand a scout’s collecting experience by keeping pace with recent U.S. mint circulating coin series in addition to taking into account older coins found in circulation. Expanded use of the internet is encouraged as well (with adult approval). George Cuhaj led a team that included Tom Dodson and Jeffrey Swindling. These Scouters also worked with Cuhaj on the previous revision and formerly staffed the merit badge midway booth at several past national jamborees. The Coin Collecting merit badge was introduced in 1938."

    New 2024 Requirements at source link:

    https://www.numismaticnews.net/collecting-101/boy-scouts-revise-coin-collecting-merit-badge-requirements

    Related link:

    https://www.numismaticnews.net/collecting-101/bringing-the-hobby-to-younger-generations

    No mention of bitcoins or wooden nickels.

    My $0.02,

  6. 31 minutes ago, curious_scouter said:

    I was amazed recently when reading about Emma Gatewood who thru-hiked the AT at 67 years old in 1955 (and then again two more times from what I understand) with a main piece of equipment being a shower curtain as a tarp.  I thought that sounded so unusual but based on this additional source, maybe it was a common "hack" of that time in history.  Nifty.

    Emma Gatewood was quite Thrifty. Note at 2:28/3:10 comment about shower curtain, wool blanket, and Keds.

     

  7. "As a female Life Scout, my experience with Scouts BSA has offered new perspectives on modern life, including how effective communication and leadership shape today's communities. These valuable lessons can guide teenagers to practice healthy habits and observe the world around them."

    She then details from her experience and perspective, the 10 lessons she has learned in scouting.

    Good read:

    https://www.theteenmagazine.com/10-lessons-i-ve-learned-as-a-bsa-scout

    Scout salute,

    • Upvote 2
  8. On 1/16/2024 at 8:48 PM, DuctTape said:

    Those LitePac diy gear instructions were/are awesome. 

    Yes, but how times have changed. Today, canvas and sewing would likely be replaced with poly (blue) tarp and duct tape and shower curtain poncho with 33gal plastic trash bags. Lighter, mostly single-use yes, durable not so much. :unsure:

    • Upvote 1
  9. Then an 11-year-old Boy Scout, Orson saw an online advertisement from the local luge community inviting local kids to a “slider search” being hosted at the University of Utah.

    “I got into the sport when I was doing merit badges for Boy Scouts,” Orson Colby told Olympics.com. “During that time, they had a checklist of things I needed to do, and they did a thing called slider search for luge.”

    “My mom saw that thing, and she was like: 'Oh, free t-shirt and merit badge.' We went to the event, and I ended up enjoying it so much that they invited me back on the ice up in Park City, Utah to try it. That speed from the luge especially is what I enjoyed the most. The adrenaline rush is something I really like.”

    As part of the event, boys and girls were given an opportunity to sit on a wheeled luge sled and receive basic steering instructions. Then participants such as Orson could take their first trial luge “run” down a small hill.

    The “slider search” served a dual purpose: Would-be young lugers such as Orson could decide if they had an interested in pursuing the sport — and a team of coaches could make initial evaluations on whether a young man or young woman might possess the qualities needed in the highly-technical, physically demanding event.

    “But for me at the time, it was really just an opportunity to check-off an activity required for the Personal Fitness merit badge,” Orson told Church Ball Magazine, laughing.

    More at Sources including photos:

    https://olympics.com/en/news/gangwon-2024-orson-colby-luge-adventure-interview

    https://www.churchballmagazine.com/orsoncolbycb23

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  10. Update 01/17/2024:   2024 marks the end of an era for Catholic Boy Scouts in Hawaii  

    The connection  between the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic parishes and schools in the Diocese of Honolulu officially came to an end Jan 1.

    The decision was made at the start of 2023 when Bishop Larry Silva announced the diocese would be parting ways with the Boy Scouts of America on the first day of the year 2024 due to sexual abuse allegations.

    In a letter released on Jan. 31, 2023, the bishop wrote, “Unfortunately, given the liability issues and our dissatisfaction with the BSA’s cooperation on the issue, we will no longer allow parishes and parish schools to charter a BSA unit, nor will BSA units be allowed to meet in our facilities.”

    “It is important that we continue to minister to our youth in various ways, but continuing our longstanding relationship with BSA has become more of a liability than we judge it prudent to bear,” he said.

    The 10 Boy Scout units sponsored by the diocese. have either found new charter organizations or have disbanded.

    More at source:

    https://hawaiicatholicherald.com/2024/01/17/2024-marks-the-end-of-an-era-for-catholic-boy-scouts-in-hawaii/

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  11. Burlington County (NJ) Commissioner (and Scouter! ) Allison Eckel has been selected to join a national panel that advises the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on environmental policy and issues.

    Eckel was one of 16 new members and 13 returning members who were appointed to serve on the EPA’s Local Government Advisory Committee. The panel was created in 1993 under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to provide independent and objective policy advice to the EPA Administrator on a broad range of issues affecting the environment and local governments.

    In 2024, the committee is expected to provide input on proposed lead and copper rule changes, a draft policy for reducing plastic pollution and strategies to improve community engagement on climate change issues.

    AllisonEPA.png.a2ce3502008a5bd067d0c2085f0e0dd7.png

     

    Prior to joining the (Burlington County, NJ) Board of Commissioners, Allison served as a member of the Lenape Regional High School District’s Board of Education and she has spent more than a decade volunteering as a scout leader, den leader, mentor and Advisor to Boy Scouts of America.  She was honored as the 2019 Women Scouter of the Year by the Garden State Council in recognition of her volunteer service and support for the organization and for bringing the first all-girl Scouts BSA Troop to the Garden State Council. 

    In addition to scouting, Allison’s volunteer service includes work with the Medford Education Foundation and the Medford Township Economic Development Commission. She also previously served as the Co-Leader of the Army’s 561st Medical Company Family Readiness Group. In that role, she helped coordinate support for the unit’s families while members were deployed in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    Her departments are Public Safety, Resource Conservation and the Prosecutor's Office. She is also liaison to Military Affairs.

    Outstanding, Scout Salute,

    More at sources:

    https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2169

    https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/directory.aspx?EID=449

    P.S. She was also a Girl Scout Troop leader and Cookie Manager

    • Upvote 1
  12. On 7/21/2013 at 12:27 AM, Scouter99 said:

    Sold some of our older boys on making Litepac backpacks so they'd be more motivated to come to meetings. There were a few tents, survival kit, mess kit, backpack, etc instructions published by Ernest Schmidt from Schiff then collected in a Boys' Life reprint, which someone has digitized here: http://dankohn.info/~scouts/boys_lif..._equipment.pdf

    Didn't much work in terms of getting them to more meetings; they cut out the fabric then everything sat for 2 months until they took them home to finish (doubt any did). I can't imagine the cost in leather for the packs nowadays, fortunately I had a huge piece laying around from 20 yrs ago. Tents would probably still be pretty cheap.

    1950's Boy Scout Survival Kit list from LitePac Camping Equipment (26-074) reprinted from Boy's Life Magazine.

     

    https://dankohn.info/~scouts/boys_life_reprints/litepac_camping_equipment.pdf

     

    • Upvote 1
  13. In 2023, LaSalle Council (Northern Indiana, Southern Michigan) ranked second of 245 councils in membership growth (Who's on First? I dunno.) with a 21% growth rate of Cub and scouts. Female scouts increased by 7%

    Credit was given to the $1.3M Lily Endowment for keeping scouting costs down, the Marines for building storm shelters and pavilions at Camp ToPeNeBee, and well as volunteers (500 new recruits).

    Sources (good PR release!)

    https://www.wbiw.com/2024/01/15/boy-scouts-lasalle-council-ranked-second-in-the-country-for-growth/

    https://www.abc57.com/news/local-boy-scout-council-has-nationally-ranked-growth-in-2023

    https://buildingindiana.com/boy-scouts-lasalle-council-isnt-just-growing-its-thriving/

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  14. CERT volunteers, Boy Scouts learn how to setup, run emergency shelters

    On Saturday, Rozelle, the Red Cross’ shelter lead for Fairfield and New Haven counties (CT), provided training on setting up, running and closing emergency shelters for Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) from Monroe and Trumbull and Monroe Boy Scout Troop 63.

    ...

    John Goyette, scoutmaster of Monroe’s Boy Scout Troop 63, said his scouts logged service hours, while working toward their Emergency Preparedness Badges. “And it’s good to give back to the community,” he said of their attending Saturday’s (4 hour) CERT training.

    More at source:

    https://themonroesun.com/cert-volunteers-boy-scouts-learn-how-to-setup-run-emergency-shelters/

  15. Georges Remi, aka Hergé, was born in Brussels in 1907. He found joy in scouting, earning the nickname Curious Fox.  Hergé stated, "As I was a boy scout, I started telling the story of a little boy scout to other little boy scouts."

    "His artistic journey began with drawings in scouting magazines, eventually leading him to the subscription department of Le Vingtième Siècle magazine In 1928, as Chief Editor of Le Petit Vingtième, he introduced Tintin and Snowy on January 10, 1929, in Le Petit Vingtième, a weekly youth supplement, marking the birth of an iconic duo."

    "Scouting gave me a taste for friendship, for love of nature, animals and games. It is a good school. So much the better if it lives on through Tintin.” concluded Hergé.

    tintin_scout.jpg

    Scout Salute and Happy 95th to Tintin and Snowy,

    Source:

    https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/topstories/tintin-turns-95-but-remains-forever-young-15-facts-on-herge-s-timeless-legacy/ar-AA1mL3pk

    https://www.tintin.com/en/news/5608/herge-tribute-to-scouting#

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  16. An owner was sorting through a box of her deceased mother’s antiques. Among the items was a 1936 Girl Scout first aid kit which contained two picric acid gauze pads. ... Orovile, CA police were called for proper disposal.

    https://www.facebook.com/OrovillePDOfficial/

    Friday, January 5th, 2024, at approximately 1:19 pm, the Oroville Police Department received a call for service regarding a possibly explosive substance in the downtown area.
    The business owner advised they were going through antique items, which they had been handling for several days, and located two picric acid gauze pads in a first aid kit from the 1930s. The chemical picric acid was used as an explosive in large quantities and an antiseptic in small quantities in the past. If the chemical becomes dry, it becomes unstable and has the possibility of spontaneously combusting.
    As a safety precaution, the bomb squad was called out to the scene, and safety measures were taken. Residents and businesses in the east portion of the block of Huntoon Street and Montgomery Street were contacted and advised to evacuate if possible. The roadway of Huntoon Street at that block was also barricaded to limit vehicles and pedestrians from traveling in the area. Butte EMS were staged as well.
    The bomb squad personnel arrived on scene and, within minutes, were able to collect the two gauze pads without incident.
     

    Source with audio:

    https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/09/old-first-aid-kit-leads-to-an-explosion-of-activity-in-downtown-oroville/

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  17. Article is now posted on official BSA scouting newsroom site (link below).

    Apparently, the BSA sent this important press release to Globe NewsWire earlier which Google Search found first posted at a Chinese (Hong Kong) news website and then later on Yahoo Financial where I linked and backtracked to authenticate.  Odd to me.

    Anyway,

    https://www.scoutingnewsroom.org/press-releases/bsas-new-ceo-visits-the-national-center-for-missing-exploited-children/

    Reference:

    https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/press-release-distribution

    • Upvote 2
  18. Members of Baton Rouge EMS Explorer Post 912 attended Winterfest last Jan, 2023.

    From the Baton Rouge The Advocate 

    They got to showcase what they know as part of a four-member team from Baton Rouge that competed last January (2023) in Winterfest. The Explorers program is an offshoot of the Boy Scouts of America, but members don’t have to be scouts to participate.

    Winterfest is an annual competition sponsored by BSA that attracts teams from across the country, going head-to-head in a variety of disciplines. It was the first time in the post’s 40-year history that it competed in Winterfest, and it came away with a second-place trophy in Advanced Trauma Assessment. Short and Calloni plan to return to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where the event returns Feb. 9 to 11.

    For the Advanced Trauma competition, the Baton Rouge team was presented with an emergency scenario in which they had 10 minutes to administer care to a patient, in the form of a mannequin, and explain aloud everything they were doing. Shorts recalled that carrying out the scenario was “very nerve-wracking.”

    However, Calloni and Shorts say they learned a lot, which is helping them prepare for the next Winterfest.

    “This year, we’re training even harder,” Shorts said.

    Calloni is currently applying to colleges and plans to major in biological science and later attend medical school. 👍

    Shorts said she plans to take a course this summer to become an emergency medical technician and then seek a job with Baton Rouge EMS. She said she’s not sure if she plans to stay in EMS for good or perhaps go to medical school like Calloni.

    “I want to, hopefully, run the Explorers program one day,” she said. 👍 👍

    More about EMS Explorer Post 912 at source:

    https://www.theadvocate.com/louisiana_inspired/teen-ems-explorers-spend-weekends-responding-to-emergencies/article_d888b35e-a4fc-11ee-ab60-d301f3b68ebc.html

     

    But she hasn’t forgotten about the Explorers.

  19. Winterfest is an exciting, fun-filled, and competitive event for Explorers, Venturers, Sea Scouts & older Scouts BSA troops. Winterfest is an action-packed 2-day event filled with competitions, aquatic and STEM events, shooting sports, climbing, sports tournaments and more! Many events are related to various career fields such as Fire Service, Law Enforcement, and EMS.

    Participants can also enjoy snow skiing, shopping, and sightseeing in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee. 
     

    Winterfest is open to all currently registered Venturers, Explorers, Sea Scouts, and Scouts BSA of Venturing age (14+ or completed the eighth grade). 

    2024 Master Event Guide

    Go To Advisors Corner

    Winterfest.thumb.png.90dc7cc3c16ad40c93f36483f777d570.png

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