HashTagScouts

1 hour ago, ItsBrian said:

Oh I’m aware, but I’m just say if the officials deem that x date is when they deem it safe to be in large gathers & all that stuff. 
 

I was talking more so if the  officials said May 30th (Random date) is when it is safe for schools, camps, etc to open and operate. I would assume the council would cancel whatever weeks are before and during that time, then operate after that. 

I would say all planning right now is to open as usual, and have contingencies to cancel week-to-week as necessary.  I don't know about anyone else's camp, but we have work weekends and then staff week to get everything setup, so if that gets cancelled then week 1 would already need to be cancelled to get that done.  The "re-openning" from the pandemic is going to be very regional I would anticipate.

2 hours ago, ItsBrian said:

I’m not sure why canceling the whole summer (if not needed) would be done. Every week is the same, the staff is in repeat mode. If the first 2 weeks gets cancelled, there’s still 5 weeks left. I know some camps are shorter, but the one I work at is 7 + staff week.

Because Covid-19 doesn't disappear once a government official removes stay-at-home orders.  Until there is a vaccine, secondary/tertiary/etc. outbreak is a real threat.  Gathering 250 kids together, with what is a best mediocre sanitation (we all have stories of having to drag kids to take showers) is a scenario that could derail the rest of the summer.  I'm all for putting the efforts at planning, but I would not bank on summer camp happening. 

Trying to setup video conferencing with many folks in nursing homes or rehab hospitals would probably be difficult- big question if the residents have the technology.  Less from an individual "service hours" perspective, but from a group service project, nursing homes and rehab hospitals might be able to setup a smart-TV in a central location (i.e. dining room) that the residents may be able to gather, and you do a group conference with your unit over Zoom, and have the kids take turns sharing pictures they have drawn about what they most are looking forward to doing once the stay-at-home restrictions are lifted, and they can voice-over why they chose that.  Sharing messages of hope right now are valuable, and it so often the interaction that individuals in these places like and need to hear.   

4 hours ago, Thunderbird said:

 

Does this Scout have an approved time extension to continue working towards Eagle Scout rank?  Or has he already earned Eagle Scout rank and has turned 18?

The BSA requires all all Venturing, Exploring, and Sea Scouting participants 18 years old but not yet 21 years old to complete an adult application, criminal background check disclosure/authorization form, and Youth Protection Training.  I believe they require the same of 18-year-olds in troops who have approved time extensions to continue working towards the Eagle Scout rank (although the registration position name and code might be different: Unit Participant vs. Venturing Participant).

If the Scout already earned Eagle Scout rank, then I believe he has to register as an Assistant Scoutmaster or Unit College Scouter Reserve with the troop.  But I would highly recommend that you talk to your council Registrar about this to make sure that you are following the BSA's YPT and registration rules.

For YPT purposes, he cannot tent with a 16 or 17-year-old, because he is legally an adult.

Going by the Guide to Safe Scouting, parents do not share tents with their children in older Scout programs (Scouts BSA, Venturing, Sea Scouts) because they are youth-led programs.  You might be able to get an exception to this rule from your Scout Executive and Philmont, but I would ask and get it approved well before your trip.

 

Correct- the day they turn 18, they should have YPT and submit adult app with background check authorization.  They are an adult at that point.

Considering 1/2 million retail workers from many various companies were put on furlough this week, I would say that anyone who isn't essential right now from National Supply straight on through the National office will also be furloughed.

2 hours ago, Sentinel947 said:

I can't tell if the BSA is arguing that the Councils are separate and should not be sued, or are part of the settlement with National and cannot be sued directly. 

That was my take as well.  it's like they are arguing with themselves.

The likely scenario for some areas is it will come down to local authority as well.  Here in MA, we've had some statewide mandates, but the Governor has given local health agents some flexibility for modification on what is "essential".  Some towns/cities have closed parks, others have not.  The state has closed some public parks, but not all.  There is the other potential that our camps might be able to open, but with some modifications.  Local Board of Health could allow the camp to open but require X # of sinks with hot water to maintain handwashing protocols for example.

Disposal is beginning to become an issue in my area.  Local news and newspapers are ripe with reporting on people leaving used gloves and masks in shopping carts, or discarding in parking lots.  

Our position for the past two weeks was to give everyone a break as we adjust to our new realities, whether it parents working from home that have not ever done that, to schools being relegated to online, etc.  We let scouting not be on their priority list at this point, just gave them encouragement that if they had partials they could work on, they can feel free to do so.  Going into next week, we will have a virtual meeting, but mostly for the scouts and/or parents to socialize for a bit, and ask questions on who the right person to help them with X MB is, which of our older scouts is available to FaceTime or Skype to go over a rank requirement, etc.  I am going to offer a virtual Family Life MB session, as that one is 90% an at home MB to begin with, and where it involves helping their family out with projects, those are going to happen with the weather change anyway so it's a good usage of their time for all the kids at any age to start to work on.   I have voiced my concerns on liberalizing requirements on any badge- life will resume its course in time, so lets not get sloppy right now was basically my message.  When the requirement says "tour", and there is a very credible and complete virtual experience, I can agree the virtual can be a substitute. We had a RT commissioner post something on FB last week that this is a great time to get Scouts to work on Public Health MB- and, being both myself and the SM are counselors for it, we both pointed out that requirement 5 is a "visit", which means in person not virtual, so scouts will not be able to complete that MB during this time, so great if people want to offer it, just don't set expectations to the point that anyone is going to complete it right now. 

Agreed.  The practicality of trying to keep them distanced and not touching each others items doesn't seem realistic.  New York right now is an extreme, but it is the model that will likely be necessary in many other places, at any given time.  Our understandings of this virus are changing by the minute, and secondary outbreaks are going to be the concern going forward.

Please do not go forward with this.  The loss of scouting activities is hard on many of us, but the right thing to do is stay at home and social distance as much as possible.  Areas like NY are now employing extreme social distancing- "groups" no larger than 2, maintaining 10 feet distance whenever possible.  We are in for months of this, especially as more people do not comply. An activity such as what your SM is considering would require sterilizing rake or shovel handles between users, wearing masks, etc.  Then there is the other aspect that for everyone to get there, that likely means using gasoline in your cars, which promotes people going to the gas station more often than may be necessary.  The way we get through this is to stay away from others as much as possible.  We should avoid visiting others, even family members, or having others to our homes.  

17 minutes ago, Jackdaws said:

All activities here are suspended till at least April 1.   

The summer camp we are supposed to go to this year was to have week 4 class registration this coming Tuesday 3/24.   We got an email a couple days ago saying registration for weeks 1 & 2 have now been pushed to April. 

Scouters and Parents,

With the current situation across our country and the world we have decided to push back merit badge registration three weeks. We hope this will allow you time to work with your Scouts virtually, with their parents, in order to get class schedules from them.

Weeks 1-2 will open April 13 at 9AM Eastern

Weeks 3-5 will open April 14 at 9AM Eastern

Our troop is up in the air on making any more payments till we see how this all pans out. 

 

That is a good idea to hold off on payments.  Camps/Councils are going to likely delay any ordering/invoice payment as much as possible until they feel very certain events will take place, so continue on with the discussion and the sign-ups, but money should not be the priority right now. 

Having family and friends in Florida, I know the situation there may not be quite on the same timeline as other parts of the US, and it could change very much very soon.  Stay safe.

The biggest headaches to the process, for me at least, are:

1) the "online re-chartering" was/is nothing more than a form generator, that I have to print and obtain signatures on.  In other words, it might save me some ink in my pen, but it still requires a lot of typing and clicking and so doesn't save me any real time.

2) the biggest one- the processes today assume that the COR and/or IH is daily involved (or at least regularly involved) in the scouting units business.  I feel we've established enough through other threads that this is quite often not the case, and it is the challenge of having to obtain their signatures on everything that creates the most frustration and time spent.  If we would just allow the IH/COR to designate Committee Chairs- whom they already have blessed to be in positions of "authority" to be incharge of financials, etc.-  to sign on the COs behalf (if the CO desired), it would make life so much easier, whether through online process or not.

1 hour ago, desertrat77 said:

If treks are cancelled, it will be doubly sad for some Philmont crews.  Many crews that couldn't go because of the Ute Park fire of 2018 opted for a 2020 trek.  

Then I recall what happened to my dad in the mid 1950s.  Just as he was getting ready to board a bus in Iowa to go to Philmont, his scoutmaster received a telegram stating that Philmont was closed because of a disease (polio or measles, I can't recall).  Life being what it is, he didn't get a second opportunity.     

It would be unfortunate for some that they had the double whammy.  I hold my fingers crossed that we are not all going to be locked indoors through the summer.  If we are, I am hopeful that these kids are going to be so bent on finally being outdoors when this is over that we are going to have them begging to go camping every weekend as long as the weather holds out!

Have you seen the news reports of all the college students who have still showed up in Florida for Spring Break? At some point, major scaling back of services like the USPS, FedEx etc. may have to happen to alleviate the spread from one area to another.  While in many areas restaurants are "take out only", that doesn't end the prospect of transmission, it just lessens it.  Like I say, until a vaccine is developed, this will run a long course until humankind develops an immunity to this naturally.  

7 minutes ago, Chisos said:

We are scheduled for Sea Base for early June.

I'm afraid at least part of the summer will get cancelled.  I hope we can just push back to next summer, as we specifically selected the time to avoid conflicts with members of our crew.

Based on the number of yahoo college students that are still spending Spring Break in Florida, I think the situation there is going to grow exponentially in the next week.  We all need to start putting our contingency plans together with a reality that life is not going back to normal for several months, and it may get even more restricted for a while during that time.  Until a vaccine is developed, there will continue to be flares of this virus in places until our bodies naturally develop an immunity.

1 hour ago, Pint said:

UK Situation update: All Schools +nursery's (kindergarten) to close effective from Monday 23rd March indefinitely across the whole UK

I'm fully expecting that this is going to happen here in the US very soon.  Flattening the curve is the only way we can deal with this virus.  Unless a vaccine can be found and put into mass production, it is going continue to be a pandemic for several months.  Keep safe.

As much I feel strongly that kids gain more in terms of bonding out of spending a week each summer with their patrol/troop members than they do from a handful of weekend campouts, I also appreciate that for some kids it just isn't a possibility.  For some it may be about $, for others it just may be they have other activities that are important to them that they set summer aside for (working at a local Y or town day camp, for example). 

Based on our council membership #, and the numbers we know came to our council camp (and throwing in all the staff members, though some are over 18 and not really counted in membership #s), and estimating generously for those units I know go to out of council camps, I would say only about 60% of our scouts went to a week long summer camp last summer.  

1 hour ago, scoutldr said:

All Council activities here are shut down through April 2.  Schools are in a 2 week state-wide shutdown and one source told me today it will be at least 8 weeks.  No one is talking yet about Spring Break or Summer.  My niece just called and her wedding scheduled for May 2 has been canceled because the venue is owned by a college, which is closing for the remainder of the school year.  Frankly, I think in the coming weeks, Summer Camp will be the least of our concerns.

MA schools are closed through the first week of April, but friends that our teachers and administrators are all telling me that it is expected that a deal will be reached to extend that.  The teachers unions will want some assurances for their members to be considered, etc. Our camps had not been at 100% capacity last year, so I could theoretically see a point in April where it may be announced that the summer camp season will be reduced to the final 3 weeks only and units that normally attend the first 3 weeks will get squeezed into the later.  Here's hoping that by mid-July this is still a possibility. 

While I respect that changing is unsettling, especially with the work and expense that has gone into existing regalia.  Iroquois regalia does give a lot of pretty awesome options though.  Chris from the Wandering Bull has lineage from Iroquois, so you'll find some really great ideas from his website.  Wampum beading, gustoweh's, etc.   

Our Lodge Chief did speak with contacts from Region/National when this February update was released- it was not intended to wipe away the release from last year, but was to emphasize for those who have resisted that they do need to change their regalia to be regionally appropriate or they must go the uniform/black clothing route.  So, yes, it is an order- but, I think some are confused on what that order is and are interpreting they must have a local tribe approve.  They do not.  From the Feb 2020 article (I am highlighting key words):

Alternative Ceremonial Clothing should be used in situations where a lodge (1) does not have a relationship with a local tribe, (2) a local tribe has expressed concern with the use American Indian ceremonial attire for this purpose, or (3) limited resources preclude a lodge from developing historically correct and acceptable American Indian ceremonial attire.

If lodges use American Indian attire, all efforts should be made by the lodge to depict the American Indian tribes that are native to the area. It is recommended that a lodge engage and work with the American Indian community to determine what attire would be appropriate and accurate.

So, it is recommended that you work with a local tribe, but for tribes that there exists a great deal of source material to determine what can be/is accurate, such as Iroquois, it may not necessarily be needed to have the tribe give guidance.  

27 minutes ago, skeptic said:

Somehow I ended up with far more here than intended, and I am unable to figure out how to fix it, as the edit feature is not obvious to me, if it is there.  The only part I was trying to feature was the Screening discussion, not the other material.  If someone can fix that, I would appreciate it.  Or, it can just go dormant on its own I guess.  Thanks.

Curious to what others think: should IH/COR's have access to this database? I would say the intent right now is that new applicants will be screened by the Council office to the National database, but, what is the timeframe for that to occur? Say you have an adult approach the unit to become a volunteer.  They hang around the unit meeting, then fill out an application.  The unit submits the application say a week later to Council, and Council takes a week to screen it.  Conceivably the unit has had this person around the youth for two weeks before you get any notification that this person is persona non grata.  I would say protection of privacy is important, but I feel like the unit should want to get the response ASAP.   

54 minutes ago, SSScout said:

And how were  the Bechtel folks included in all this?   When the Summit was being dreamed/designed/built, the story I heard (files somewhere)was that Bechtel gave (?) $25M to purchase the reclaimed strip-mine site from WbygodV and then another umpteen million for the construction, roads, infra structure etc.   How is this included, or were we misled?  

I would say all the facts were not laid bare is a good way to put it.  The original cost estimates to build the place were way off, and the BSA had put way too much stock into donations being received that had never been guaranteed.  

I hate to disparage the place, especially never having been there, but what they offer looks to be things our scouts can get here in New England (and I would say that is true for most of the US- there are some fantastic mountains, rivers, and zip lines elsewhere, with many guide outfits ready to work with you).  If we were to think about rolling out of New England for a HA base, the Summit would be at the bottom of our list.  

While National and/or Council can't control unit activities, I think it is a good idea that we all consult our local and/or state public health statements.  If the local officials are asking folks to avoid gatherings over a certain size, I would say it is best to not ruffle their feathers.  Not worth staining your units reputation with your local community.

At the time of the release on details of "Scouts BSA", infographics like this were released:

https://i9peu1ikn3a16vg4e45rqi17-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Family-Scouting_Infographic_v11.pdf

As I recall National didn't put out a whole heck of a lot materials and left it up to councils to create their own.  Our council put something similar to the one linked below, but I did not save it: Unfortunately, it was these council created items that ticked GSUSA off and brought about the lawsuit, and the BSA branding guides about how to refer to female BSA scouts.

http://stlbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/GSLAC-Guide-for-Establishing-a-Scouts-BSA-Troop-for-Girls-updated-12-21-18.pdf

similar notice for us, but only through the end of March, with re-evaluation to come for possible extension.  I've suggested to the units they should think about having at least one virtual meeting before the end of the month, just to check in with each other and think about planning for April.  Not sure what they will do, but I'd rather pay for a month of Webex that try and get Skype overloaded with too many users on at once.