Important Changes to the BSA Youth Protection Policy

Youth safety is the No. 1 concern of the BSA.

To increase awareness of this societal problem and to create even greater barriers to abuse than already exist today in Scouting, the Boy Scouts of America is implementing several important changes to further enhance its Youth Protection policies.

Effective June 1, 2010:

Youth Protection training is required for all registered volunteers.

New leaders are required to take Youth Protection training before they submit an application for registration. The certificate of completion for this training must be submitted at the time application is made and before volunteer service with youth begins.

Youth Protection training must be taken every two years. If a volunteer's Youth Protection training record is not current at the time of recharter, the volunteer will not be reregistered.
To ensure these policies are fully implemented, please take the following steps:

-- If you have not taken Youth Protection training within the past two years, please log on to MyScouting and take the training. Be sure to have your member ID number. The number can be found on your Boy Scouts of America membership card.

-- If you do not know your member ID number, contact your unit leader or committee chairman. Your council can also assist.

-- A person does not have to be a registered volunteer or have an ID number to take Youth Protection training. To take the training, log in to MyScouting and create an account. From the MyScouting portal, click on E-Learning and take the Youth Protection training. Upon completion, print a certificate and submit it with an application or submit to the unit leader for processing at the local council.

-- If you have taken Youth Protection training online but did not input your member ID number, please log on to MyScouting and input your member ID in the My Profile section so the training will be linked to your records.

-- If you have taken Youth Protection training within the past two years but did not take the course online, log on to MyScouting to ensure your records are up-to-date, or contact your council for verification that your Youth Protection training records are accurate.

-- Finally, please share these important changes with other Scouters.

To find out more about the Youth Protection policies of the Boy Scouts of America and how to help Scouting keep your family safe, see the Parent's Guide in any of the Cub Scouting or Boy Scouting handbooks, or go to http://www.scouting.org/Training/YouthProtection.aspx.

Thank you for your commitment to our nation's young people and to Scouting.

Sincerely,

James Terry
Assistant Chief Scout Executive

Camp Rainey Mountan

Another summer has passed and the boys at our troop have put another summer camp under their belts. Camp Rainy Mountain is located in northern Georgia and was the destination of our scouts.

This year there was a change to the usual arrangement of reaching a summer camp which used to be an entire day on a train straight there. The scouts took a bus to the summer camp and ended up staying a night in Atlanta. While there they visited the Coca Cola Museum where, that’s right, they tried a variety of different brands of coke and when they left they each received a souvenir glass coke bottle. After leaving the museum the scouts arrived at a large camp nestled within the mountains containing a very large lake.

There were many merit badge classes available at Rainy Mountain but the class they were renown for were their water activities. To put that lake to good use Rainy Mountain has merit badge classes for excellent fishing, sailing, canoeing, and swimming. The merit badge counselors there have been reported to have been great at executing classes and getting along with the scouts.

A special shout out to the scouts of the Falcon Patrol who participated in the Gold Rush High Adventure activity. The Gold Rush is an activity where the scouts stay the week in a separate part of camp doing their merit badges but had to reenact a year in the 1800’s while doing so. Some of these reenactments resulted in the scouts learning how to blacksmith and other interesting activities. Congratulations Falcons!

Thank you Christine Boldt for organizing this event.

Northern Tier

Northern tier, the Boundary Waters, or what ever you call it can best be described as a breath taking place that should be explored if the opportunity shows itself. Located in northern Minnesota, bordering Canada, the Boundary Waters is one of the largest groups of lakes in the continent and maybe the world. Stretching for miles, it contains miles of unexplored wilderness, lakes and rivers.

Two groups from our troop decided to embark on a nine day journey into the Boundary Waters and, yes, everyone made it back. To begin our journey, the Chupacabra and Rattlesnake patrols arrived at the airport at a very late time of four A.M. in the morning. Arriving in Minnesota later that day, we spent the night at a ski lodge (There was no snow sadly). The next day, we arrived at base camp in the late afternoon and began to pick up our gear and acquaint ourselves with each group’s guide.

The next morning we “hiked” from the mess hall toward the docks carrying our gear which consisted of three 60 pound whale bags, two 70 pound food bags, a 65 pound kettle bag, and three 40 pound canoes. Once we got the canoes in the water and loaded our gear and ourselves into them, we paddled into a windy first day with waves crashing onto our canoe.

A warning to all that would like to partake in this trip the next time it occurs is that the first day will always be the worst. You will not be used to the canoeing and getting into the habit of setting up camp takes a little while to set in. Our first day made us all want to load the canoes and paddle back to base camp. In all our minds we were thinking the same thing, “Nine days of this?”. Of course the trip was something completely different.

From paddling in mist so thick that it blocked out the sun to paddling in cold rain, we experienced it all. We paddled into lakes big enough to qualify as small seas to ponds that required us to abandon the canoe and pull it toward deeper waters. Portaging was another activity that was part of canoeing. It’s when we have to carry all of our gear through a trail into the next lake, so imagine carrying a 70 pound backpack for a quarter mile in rough terrain and uphill tracks.

At around 1 P.M. everyday we would pick a camp site and stay there the night. Camp was a different experience in Northern Tier than in a regular camp with the troop or a summer camp. Lunch was either crackers, cheese, and a piece of salami or Hudson Bay Bread, a piece of butter and peanut butter mixed together that contains 800 calories in a piece as small as your palm. After lunch we set up our tents and then had the day to our selves. Camp life basically consisted of making the fire, sitting around the fire, fishing and swimming in the lake.

After our third day, our propane stove stopped working so we actually became dependent on a fire to even cook dinner. No one really minded though, gathering wood was something to do and the fire was a natural insect repellent. Dinner consisted of a type of meat, a type of noodle, and a vegetable. Always in a pot, always eaten in a bowl, and usually cooked on the fire. After dinner, we would either linger around the fire until we heard the buzzing. To clarify, the buzzing is the sound that a swarm of hundreds of mosquitoes make when they begin to descend on the camp. We would retreat toward our tents to escape their onslaught but no one would ever be unscathed. The swarm would always be so dense that one could not look out the tent because they blocked the entire tent door.

On the last day, time slowed to a snails pace. Once we returned to base camp we just wanted to do two things, shower and lay down on a mattress. I had never felt so deeply satisfied in a shower in my entire life but it was glorious. The trip ended with a campfire in the base camp with the guides and a much delayed plane trip back home.

Thank you Mike Perse for organizing this event.

Timothy Austin B's Eagle Scout Project

My Eagle Scout Service Project took place at Matheson Hammock Park on June 5, 2010. Due to the exorbitant amount of volunteers and work hours we were able to finish a substantial sum of beneficial work.

We were able to remove many dump-truck loads of invasive plants from the native mangroves in the park. Furthermore, a multitude of green button woods and mangroves were planted to revitalize the freshly cleared hammocks.

Finally, many renovations took place to picnic areas in the park, such as: altering three benches to American Disability Act standards, cleaning barbecue pits and improving the signage along the nature trail.

I would like to thank the volunteers which made this project a possibility. Many scouts and parents spend their Saturday mornings and afternoons working extremely hard to ensure the scope of work, and much more, is always fulfilled.

The Parks and Recreation team which provided the heavy vehicles, such as front loaders, was, in no small part, crucial to the completion of my project.

The Urban Paradise Guild members were there every step of the way to help educate myself, and my designated leaders, on environmentally friendly stewardship techniques and pointing out invasive species. These under-appreciated volunteers provided countless hours for no pay to ensure a safe, beautiful and flourishing community. Once again, I would like to thank them all for their support at my Eagle Scout Service Project.

Finally, I would like to thank both of my parents as well as the park manager and the enviromentalists.