yknot

Nope, there was no comment with his down vote on one of my posts. I've also had bizarre personal messages from folks on here who do not respond if you ask them what they meant. We've got a lot of varied viewpoints and opinions on here. It's clear that perspectives, approaches, and beliefs vary greatly based on unit, region, religion, whatever. But we're all supposed to be friends in scouting and I hope I've always been respectful in my comments, that someone will call me out if I unwittingly am not, and that they will be respectful in return to me if they disagree with my comments.

That sounds like a great and ambitious project and one that many scouts in the area would benefit from. I know many scouts who travel some distance to find good mountain biking trails. It makes sense to reach out to other troops to help, especially if it was on request. If the SMs didn't follow through on what they suggested, then it's their Eagle feathers that are drooping. Someone on another post was talking about down votes and their use on the board. I think we all need to remember that it is OK to air personal/parental frustrations and opinions on this forum among friends. Better to get something off your chest here and then be able to turn a calm face to your son and your local scout connections. We are losing places to do that. Good luck to your son!

I like Troop or Scout Advisor. This is not so much a reaction to current events but as I posted earlier, I've never liked either term. It has a hierarchical, military ring to it to me as well as the whole weird "maaathsssterrr" vibe. It's something that needs updating along with uniforms and certain aspects of the program. Cyber Chip as currently designed, for one. Tenderfoot is another name I'd be happy to see gone. I'd combine Scout into Tenderfoot with a cut out for cubs who had earned AOL. I'd get rid of Tenderfoot and call the combined rank Scout.

That's funny because I've never liked Scoutmaster or Cubmaster. I always thought the titles were weird. For an organization trying to distance itself from youth abuse issues, it always made my skin crawl. So maybe one good thing to come out of this. Although before people immolate me with flaming brands of scout horror, I completely respect that others have a different opinion.

One day, a meteor hit the earth, and all the little amphibians and moles that were left poked their little heads up and said, "Wow. Things sure are different around here." It seems like about once a month, this is about how I feel. However, I am lucky enough to be human which, aside from viruses and cockroaches, is probably one of the most adaptable species ever to grace the earth. So, each time a meteor hits, I try to gather up all the young ones and figure out how to help us all learn how to navigate the new landscape because no matter how much things change it is still a beautiful world with good things and people in it, one of which is scouting.

I am Conservative and I am Catholic. I just don't believe my views need to be part of a youth community organization to which all are welcome. Or should be.

When you've been a stick in the mud, if not an actual dam in the mud, regarding other issues like girls in scouting or differently gendered kids in scouting, it is hard to have credibility when addressing things like racism. BP was a flawed individual, but what he showed through his actions as he evolved through time is that he was always youth first as best he understood that to be. Scouts lately has not been youth first. It's been church first, special interest first, rank first, Eagle scout first, adults first, politics first, or money first. It needs to get back to youth first. And outdoors first. Otherwise it's not relevant.

Do you have any parks you can meet in? Will the school or CO let you meet in a corner of a parking lot or on outside bleachers? If not, would another community business or organization that is closed in the evening allow you to use their lawn or parking lot? Or just go around and ask for a one time use and do different things -- a bike rodeo in a parking lot, a hike in a park, once. I also keep eyeing all the vacant office and warehouse space in my town, which would allow plenty of social distancing although I'm sure there are liability issues.

I think states and districts are attempting to work out plans but if the case spikes continue the reality will be more distance learning in the fall. Our district for example can't figure out how to safely distance teachers from students. Meantime, we're told budgets will be cut so no funds for split session teaching or busing.

Somebody mentioned that OA is the scouts All Stars. I think that's a good thought. For that to be true, though, you are talking about one or two kids out of maybe 15=20. The top ten to twenty percent. To get away from Native American imagery, but to still keep it focused on an outdoor related symbol that does not impinge on Eagle, what about Order of the Oak? Strength, durability, service, endurance, honor, liberty, faith, virtue, and camping and the out of doors...

Completely agree.

It's tragic when any kind of public art or history is destroyed or censored because it represents something offensive from the past. It is true that BP, like many historical figures, held views that are offensive today. To destroy or remove his statue though just erases a piece of history and serves no point.

Why we do this. And not because he got Eagle. Because he's just a great young person being his best self because of scouts.

Totally agreed. Also, anyone who is an advocate for the out of doors needs to pay attention to what is and may well be happening in the months and years ahead. BSA and scouts are not the only ones looking to unload properties or cut budgets. Universities, private institutions, churches, and county and state park systems are all potentially facing financial issues. The first thing on the block is generally valuable property currently used for environmental or other outdoors related access purposes as well as the budgets that allow them to remain accessible. We are going to be in a real fight in the next couple of years to retain access to outdoor spaces for many of our youth. Let's be careful with how we manage these precious scout properties. Even if no longer sustainable by us, we can at least attempt to try and put them in better hands.

These camps were often gifted or earned through blood, sweat and tears of prior generations. Their loss is incalculable. Frankly, a better steward would have found a way to make sure the property remained close to its original use. There are plenty of opportunities to work with conservancies, land trusts, or government agencies to recoup some funds but still keep the property accessible to the scouts or the public or at least keep it from being developed. Our scout LNT or OE directives, even if not explicit, should at least encourage our actions in those directions.

I really don't think it matters what governors say whether they are being sensible or not. I think it matters that we are scouts and we try to do the right thing no matter what everyone else is doing. In this case, a lot of people would say it's more important to protect grandma. That's my opinion. I recognize not everyone agrees but I applaud and thank anyone who is being very cautious and not selfish because their actions are helping to keep me and our remaining matriarch alive.

I wish I were.

You are proving my point. For the most part, routine national travel for business or pleasure has not resumed. Businesses other than local are not sending their employees across the country. People are not traveling to weddings and graduations, and college students are not returning home from school because they are already there. People so far have not resumed vacation travel. And we've been relatively OK. A trend to send people farther afield from one region into another will likely paint a different picture.

From an epidemiological standpoint, having a lot of people travel from places like NYC and MN to NM -- higher transmission areas to a lower transmission area -- is not a good idea. Asymptomatic is not the same as non-infective. Also, you don't need a camp to be trained for contact tracing. I'm doing it online. It's very similar to BSA online training.

NM seems to be one of the few sane states. It makes no sense to have kids coming in to your state from other geographic regions. This thing isn't knocked back yet. The focus needs to be on getting them back in school in the fall.

I assume this is adults? I don't think that limit applies to kids. We can't do any school or sports stuff at the moment either. As far as adults, most people I know aren't even doing work meetings in person. They are even zooming between offices in the same building lol.

Never. And that's why that argument makes no sense. People join because it gives their kids something they can't get elsewhere. But they will only put up with it or seek it out if it's affordable and not too stressful to belong.

I appreciate your enthusiasm but need to point out it is illegal is most states for kids to ride in the back of a pickup on any public road. It is also disallowed in GTSS on lands public or private. For good reason I think? All of the times I have been in the back of a pick up truck have been just one click away from mayhem and maiming lol. Instead of a plaque for the kid who did 300 hours of service (very impressive) what about small donations in his honor by his buddies to some of the recipients of his service? I'd rather have that than a plaque. If the kid is that driven to help others, that will mean more to him as well, right? The note card explaining the honor and perhaps listing the donations could be buried in a pillow case of cheap gag or fun gifts as someone else suggested. A rolled up certificate as well.

Has anyone asked West Virginia residents, especially those in Fayette County where Bechtel is located, whether they want all these people coming in from other parts of the country? Despite a recent spike in cases, West Virginia remains one of the lowest transmission areas of the country. Are they seriously going to allow participants from the Northeast, one of the highest transmission areas, or other places, to travel to this facility? That is opposite of CDC recommendations, which I thought BSA was following... Additionally, temperature taking is not predictive. A significant percentage of COVID patients present without a temperature.

Scouts is not a particular bargain. It's just as expensive as any activity today, even when you try and do it cheaply. Between me and my kids, we've done just about every youth activity there is and the cost is dependent more on how involved you want to be and at what level. Scouts has got to stop with this inane argument because it's a naval lint exercise used to prevent addressing some of the issues why families are increasingly turning away from scouting. Any parent with young kids involved in multiple things today knows it's not part of the family decision making equation. The local value in scouting is more linked to units that have terrific leadership and access to good local resources and facilities. This is true of any youth activity. Wherever you have a cadre of great scout leaders, great sports coaches, or great mentors combined with safe local places to meet and play and learn, you will find a thriving unit of whatever kind of youth activity. The problem with scouts is that these kinds of units are more time intensive to develop and harder to replicate than other youth activities. Hopefully the bankruptcy related reorganization will help improve some of these issues.