SoDakScouter

As a former Criminal Defense Attorney, I would agree that you probably don't want to be asking questions about the incident while it is pending before the Court. I am think legal grounds and leadership grounds here. The legal grounds have been touched on and very jursidiction to jursidiction. But the leadership grounds are pretty universal. In Scouting, no matter the level, Cubs, Webelos, Boys, Venture, etc., we are working with children. During this process, we, in part expect respect and trust from our charges and their families. However, these must also be earned. We constantly talk with the boys and get to know them and their families. We are there as a resource for them. We sometimes are "parent in locus" in many outings and meetings. Sometimes, in times of need, these kids turn to us for advice, somebody to talk to and help. We give them advice, punish them for misbehaving and reward and recognize them for good deeds. Sometimes, we are the ones that the kids feel the most comfortable to talk with regarding problems, concerns, etc. If word gets out, that a Scout Leader knows about the activities of the Scouts that is accused of a crime, and Law Enforcement tries to get information from the Scout Leader about what the boys has said to him, and there is no privilege in the Scout Leader/Scout relationship, puts the Scout Leader in a bad situation. Generally, the State Laws say you need to tell Law Enforcement what you know. But now, you have breached the confindence with a Scout. He could have been looking for direction or help and made a decision based upon that or followed the advice of his parents or attorney in dealing with the Criminal Case. We want boys to come to us with their problems and if they think we will breach those confindences, they might not. I know this opens a whole can of worms, because what if they come to us because they are being vicimized or abused. Leaving that at the side for the moment, the boys need to trust us on a lot of things. The boy in question here will need to face the consequences of his actions. It could be a juvenile disposition, it could be being denied an Eagle, it could be loosing other things, ie. sports or other school associate activities. I don't think anybody here is saying throw the boy away, but a question on how an Eagle Scout should be preceived and how Scouting will look if they award this boy the highest honor in Scouting. Unfortunately, there are Eagle Scouts that get into trouble after they have been awarded their Eagle Scout, does that diminish the award? In my opinion, the award should focus on the boy and his actions and accomplishments. Most juvenile cases are resolved fairly quickly, unless it is a major felony. I say support the boy and be a resource for him and be there to help him through this. You don't have to condone his actions, but you can support the learning and rehabilitation that comes with the consequences of his actions. I would contact the parents and tell them that the grapevine says he maybe in trouble and what can you do to help him. It appears the decision on Eagle can be postponed, I would worry more about the boy than the award.

We attempt to get boys to have their AOL earned by the Blue & Gold. This year, it appears none of the Senior Webelos will make it. (Example of parents that want to run a Den by Committee, instead of one strong leader! Probably should be a whole different thread on this!) In the past, we always had the Senior Webelos stay with the Pack after Blue & Gold, until March or April, depending upon the boys' preference. We then hold a separate Cross over Ceremony at a Pack Meeting. It also allows the Senior Webelos to compete in the Pinewood Derby at Scout-O-Rama, but the Seniors never seem to win the Pack Webelos competition, so they walk around and check out Boy Scout Troops to see if they missed one that might be of interest. That way, some boys were able to continue earning their Arrow of Light.

This just goes to show that I should read the new version when we get it. Last Century, when I was a Bear Den Leader, we did count unused achievement points in Achievements that were used for Bear Badge. I was doing that now, again. Now I find out that I am not supposed to do that. Guess the boys will learn another growing up fact of life, admit when you make a mistake.

First, I am not in OA, neither is my oldest son. I hope that he will receive that honor someday, but that will be up to his troop. Most of the Indian Ceremonies I have participated in and observed have been in Cub Scouts, as a Cub Scout Leader for the last 9 years. My youngest is in Bears. (big transistion when you spend 6 months with Boy Scouts and then go back an take over Tigers!) I am in Rapid City, South Dakota, gateway to the Black Hills of South Dakota. Anyone care to think of a more conterversial place when it comes to American Indian/U.S. Government? All of the ceremonies that we use, show the journey from being a boy to young man to manhood. The members of our Pack that are also members of the various Lakota, Dakota & Nakota Nations participate in these ceremonies. I have asked them, in private to let me know if there is an offense, and they have all said that these are kids and the ceremonies are fun for them. The stories used are great stories to teach kids about some American Indian lore and some good morals. Some of them have made suggestions that made the story more fun for the kids. One of them has said that it is great to see an effort to expose kids to other cultures that are around them. Most American Indians object to people coming in and "being Indian" or "wannabees". I try very hard to use these ceremonies to teach kids about the trail of growing up. Today, we are competing with videos, video games, movies, television and the such that glorify killing, sex, drugs, defying authority, running from the police, mistreating women and a host of other things; these simple ceremonies help to show kids something they can identify with locally that stress good choices. I guess if somebody wanted, they could come up with Norse lore that does the samething, or Scottish or Celtic or Gaelic. But American Indian Lore is local to us and is a part of many people in this area. People will always be offended with whatever you do. I think we do our best and if the PC police bust in, hopefully they have a warrant.

The Supreme Court rarely comes out and says "Farmer Smith vs. Butcher Jones is hereby overrulled." They usually say that the reasoning behind Plessy is no longer working and has created an unequal treatment based upon race, therefore, we now conclude that separate is not equal and schools should be balanced. The Kello Decision has really sparked and motivated local governments to pass local laws saying that they won't do that. Interesting, the current bill before the South Dakota Legislature doesn't apply to the State, but applies to counties, citys and housing departments. Interesting note on the "Law of the Land" comments, prior decisions are the law of the land, but can be excepted in one circumstance, then another, until the exceptions swallow the rule!

The former camp director was killed in a tragic car accident on or about December 2, 2004. His name was Kip. A drunk driver crossed the medium on the Interstate and hit him head on. The drunk was in a vehicle that had a snow blade on it. Kip died instantly, the drunk walked away. The drunk got 15 years, the max on the charge. Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Venture Crews lost a wonderful leader. You can see how that lost has effected our Council. The Camp was a great place to go, now it has a director that has evidently left a bad impression in several troops from other districts, which hurts the camp and the ability to obtain good staff. If you already sent a complaint to the district, then I hope they act up on it. If you haven't please let me know some specific complaints and incidents and I can take them to the appropriate people. I believe that Medicine Mountain is a great pristine camp. That it works well for troops that want to camp and cook the patrol method.

Being from the Black Hills Council, it is never nice to see a negative post about your Council's Camp. I was there in June for Cub Scout Resident Camp and it was 100 % better than the year before. Since my oldest son went to National Jamboree, he didn't go with his troop. We were there the Summer before (2004) and it was not as good as I had hoped. Medicine Mountain is a primitative camp. Like many camps, probably better toward the beginning of the Summer. We use Medicine Mountain year around and will be there the weekend of the 20th -22nd of January for Klondike. I hope that specific complaints were made to the Council about Medicine Mountain Camp, so that steps can be made to improve it. I know there was a problem with staff a couple of years ago, and when they cleaned house, made it difficult to get new staff members in for a bit.

I would say that after 6 pages, we have beat this dead horse quite a few times! I think the overall point is that we don't like outside groups or people telling us how to run our programs. Pretty natural reaction for most organizations. PETA is particularly a hot topic, because of the tatics of some its members and affiliates. PETA is not popular where I am at, but then again, neither is Osam Bin Laden.