SeattlePioneer

There is good evidence that five adults interviewed one Scout. That does seem excessive. As to the rest, it's third hand guessing and gossip. There isn't enough information to even guess what might have happened. Throwing in the word "bisexual" doesn't change that fact. I support the idea of a quiet Scoutmaster Conference to sort out what might or might not have happened and offer any advice that might be constructive.

What are you figuring as costs for this camp?

Our district has an excellent day camp, and the council has an excellent resident camp. Personally, I'm happy to see younger Scouts attend the day camp, but I'd like to see 1st and 2nd year Webelos attend the resident camp. After attending day camp a couple of times, boys have done that and are ready for new challenges, and resident camp would allow them to earn significant parts of the Webelos badge requirements and make things easier for Webelos Den leaders, is my theory. But financing the $170/Scout $100/adult cost is an issue. How do Cub Packs do that?

Hello Beavah, I'll agree that taxes are a necessary evil. But that means they are BOTH necessary AND EVIL. As a practical matter, taxes are a form of legalized strong arm robbery. You pay your taxes or you expect to be beaten up and have your money taken anyway. But of course that also means it is LEGALIZED robbery. I think we need more emphasis on the robbery angle of taxes, because government these days is all too ready to take whatever they can to fund whatever programs appeal to the special interest groups that put them in power. Just recently, the Washington State legislature adopted a law authorizing King County (Seattle) to add $20 to add funding to the local transit system. The Mayor of Seattle saw that and now has his own bright idea, let's add an $80 fee to the $20 for more city spending! Given a chance, government has a pretty much unlimited appetite for more tax revenue. I don't think citizens have an obligation to fund those appetites. There are some government services that are necessary --- and a lot more that aren't.

Hello F Scouter, I agree with you. What I'm looking for is a way to make it practical for Hispanic families to participate in a traditional, primarily English speak Scout unit. I don't know how to do that yet. I don't think its a big issue for the boys --- most of them speak English. But you need ways to communicate with parents, keep them involved and make them welcome. My brightest idea to do that is to appoint a bi lingual parent as a Scout Parent Coordinator, and make it their job to stay in touch with Hispanic parents. This Hispanic group could also be called upon to help with unit programs when needed. I'd like to see if something like that could be made to work.

> A LOT more work, to provide a quality program. But you are going to get a program clearly superior to that of the typical summer camp. A troop I volunteered for briefly had a tradition of doing their own summer camp in a wilderness area. That was fine but they didn't have the leadership resources to carry it off so boys did no summer camp, a leading reason the troop failed. A conventional summer camp experience is far better than an excellent program that doesn't actually happen.

I have to point out that all those condemning the actions of the troop leadership are operating on the basis of gossip themselves. Also, no one knows if the Scout in question did something that merited his being questioned about it. We do know that five adults went behind closed doors to interview a Scout. That seems excessive. A Scoutmaster conference with the boy might have been appropriate. You probably need a second adult within hailing distance to meet Youth Protection rules.

If "the people" don't want the Congress to engage in politics with policy, I guess they elected the wrong people to office this time. In the last Congress, the Democratic majority in the House was politically impotent against the minority Republicans in the Senate. In this Congress, the majority Republicans in the House are calling the tune for the Senate and President. In other such situations we have seen much hand wringing about political "gridlock." Not this time. Frankly, the Republicans have been making monkeys out of the Democrats. I wonder how long that will continue?(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

Interesting questions! I am personally interested in discovering how more Hispanic families can be attracted to traditional, mostly English speaking Scout units. One method I've been thinking about would use your bilingual pack leader as the central contact for other Hispanic families. That person would be responsible for staying in contact with other Hispanic families and seeing to it that they are informed about the program and get their questions answered. That web of Hispanic families could then also be given pack leadership assignments as a group ---- organizing the Blue and Gold dinner might be an example. I'd have a sample Spanish Den Handbook at your recruiting night, and have Spanish application forms available as well. Seating Spanish speaking families together might be a more sensitive issue, but worth considering. The reverse side of a lot of recruiting literature is blank, and can be used to list details of your program, or a welcome in Spanish. Good luck with your efforts and I'd appreciate it if you would post on the means you use that you find are effective.

> It seems plainly ridiculous to me that in training someone to survive in the wilderness you demand that they follow artificial "leave no trace" constraints. That's nuts.

I believe the Scoutmaster is paid by Scoutreach funding and that he serves as Scoutmaster during the year.

Is this any different than Scoutmasters who re organize the patrols in their troop?

Hello Kelcema, The video game night was designed as a recruiting night, although it was on a regular troop meeting night. The Scouts and the new boys had a good time, but the new boys had no discernible interest in a regular Scout program. When I do recruiting in schools, I often ask boys if they are interested in going camping --- most raise their hands enthusiastically. When I ask how many are willing to do without video games for a weekend to go camping, a lot fewer hands go up.

Hello Beavah, Could be an adult visitor or volunteer or staffer, too. Suppose someone with one of these authorizations decided he needed his dose of medication during the evening campfire?

Hello skeptic, You have some amusing stories! I've tended to get some pretty good leg cramps when I did a mile swim when I wasn't in good condition for swimming. No problem when I've been swimming regularly.

Hello Engineer 61, Nothing like the prospect of drowning to provide an incentive to do your best!

Hello Shortridge, While medical marijuana SOUNDS like an ordinary health issue, it isn't. Physicians don't write out a standard prescription. As a practical matter, marijuana stores have sprung up widely and provide referrals to health care providers who are known to write authorizations for marijuana after cursory examinations for pretty much anyone who cares to hand them a line about the intractable pain they suffer or whatever. Not surprisingly, it's a racket. I was interested in the Guide to Safe Scouting references prohibiting medical marijuana. Presumably the medic I talked to hadn't heard of that.

Do Scouts and Scouters have an obligation to support government spending programs which profess to help other people?

Hello JM Hawkins, At Camp Pigott week 3 which you were at was at the camp's capacity. I was there for week 4 last week with about 300 Scouts and adults. I was one of three Camp Commissioners. Camp Pigott has been pretty much rebuilt from scratch in recent years due in large part to genrous gifts by the Pigott family (Pacific Car and Foundry and Weyerheuser I believe. The Camp is named for Charles Pigott who was President of the Chief Seattle Council in the 1950s. His Grandson Tom Pigott is the current Council President. I heard a story that the council property shared by Camp Pigott and Camp Brinkley (Cub Scout resident camp) was owned by the Pigott family and donated to Scouting decades ago. I don't know if that is true. This week (week five) will be the last week of Boy Scout Camp. The Camp Brinkley resident camp operates for seven weeks. I visited there and found every Scout and adult gushing with enthusiasm for their program. Camp Brinkley is pretty much flat. Camp Pigott is built on the side of a hill and you are pretty much climbing or descending pretty much anywhere you go.

In Washington State we have faux state legalization of marijuana through "medical marijuana." Of course marijuana remains illegal under Federal law, and the state laws don't have actual prescriptions, but permissions of various kinds available from various "health care providers." In practice, anyone who wishes can receive permission by being referred to a compliant "health care provider" through a referral from someone selling marijuana. It's a fake and dishonest system ---- a back door legalization scheme. Anyway, I asked the medic at Scout Camp if he had seen any medical marijuana "prescriptions" and what he would do if he got one. He said he hadn't seen any, but if he was handed a prescription for marijuana by a Scout he would approve it as a matter of routine. How should Scouting treat this kind of "medical marijunana" issue?(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

Here is a video of greetings to the Scouts at Camp Pigott (Chief Seattle Council) posted while I was a Camp Commissioner at the camp last week.

Ummm. I just got back from a week as Camp Commissioner. All the troops but one did creditably. The one that didn't was a soccer and scouting troop that combines a soccer and a Scouting program. Thursday was a troop dining day when troops were supplied food and had the responsibility of preparing lunch and dinner. The soccer and Scouting troop lacked the skills to make a fire to cook their dinner and went hungry --- except for eating watermelon. They didn't have the concept of tinder and kindling down ---. The wood they tried to burn was too big. This morning they were the most dilatory troop in the camp in getting up and breaking camp, leaving a not particularly neat or clean camp and a smelly kybo. They would have been sitting pretty had a carload of moms showed up to pack up and clean up their camp for them. I'm hoping their marksmanship was better on the rifle range than in the kybo. Some Scouts failed to make the dime club there... One Scout did capably in the camp triathlon, and mostly they seemed to get along OK during the week except for the weaknesses I described. Kind of a disappointment. The Scoutmaster was a young adult Eagle Scout probably being paid by Scoutreach funds to take the troop of five Scouts to camp, and a couple of older Scoutreach staffers were at camp a couple of days each. Apparently the troop has about ten boys, five of whom attended camp. A couple of the older Scouts had attended Philmont type high adventure trips. I'd say the Scoutreach program was making a determined effort to make a troop program work for these boys, but several of the boys were a tough sell. They seemed to be doing pretty well early in the week but the stress started getting to them later in the week.

Are there too many council camps? Should more councils close their camps and encourage Scouts to attend camps for neighboring councils? Perhaps councils could pay neighboring councils a subsidy to take boys from their council. Mighn't this allow camps to be used more intensively, reducing costs per person or allowing a better program? How about renting non council owned facilities and setting running a Scout Camp in some state or provately owned camp or park? Anyone see this kind of thing being done?

Now that you know the proper techniques, be on the lookout for other people you can ask to help you with tasks that need to be done. A good leader is someone who can take charge and do something that needs to be done. A truly EXCELLENT leader is someone who can get other people to do tasks that need to be done.

Ummm. I've never been to a Scout camp that had a pool. The Chief Seattle Council has Scout camps with lakes except for Camp Parson which is on Hood Canal, and inlet off Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. That can be rather chilly I understand. The lakes are usually a pleasant swimming temperature.