Baloo's Bugle -- May Issue

The May issue of Baloo's Bugle -- Wheel Into Summer -- is now available, just in time for Roundtable. You will find the PDF and Microsoft Word documents, and the web pages at http://usscouts.org/usscouts/bbugle2006-2007.asp . Get some great resources for your Den meetings, and also for your Pack meeting.

Andy McCommish

It's April and "The Usual Suspects" have arrived again! Couple of curmudgeons stonewalling Eagle candidates, a District Commissioner who "retired" but hasn't told anyone yet, one more troop messing with The Patrol Method, and so it goes... And some new stuff, too, like some sensible questions about Eagle projects and money, a small forum on Scouts with food allergies, some thoughts on the meaning of "Scout spirit," and three different questions about merit badges (plus one about sashes), and more! Good stuff this month. Points to use... points to ponder... points to wonder, "What planet are they on???" Enjoy --

Andy

Andy McCommish

There's a brand-new post... a new column... and it's up right now. Take a moment. It's a short one. It's called "Service above self," and it has to do with current events.
Andy

Campout Ideas

Looking for ideas for a new and innovative Troop campout? We are delighted to share with you a guide and write-up for a Character Campout contributed by Assistant Scoutmaster Roger Claff, Troop 1570, Herndon, VA.

• Guide
• Write-up
  

International Scouting Updates

WORLDSCOUTING.ORG UPDATES

We have just recently updated our http://worldscouting.org website to include new content and links. Our "First Stops!" area is now a pretty comprehensive directory to international Scouting sites of interest. We also feature links to many international Scouting events that your Scout unit may want to attend like the 2008 Michigan International Camporee and the 2008 Hi-Sierra International Rendezvous.

BONUS - INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL NEEDS LINKS

While visiting http://worldscouting.org, click on the link to Scoutbase UK Fact Sheets and then scroll down to special needs. Scoutbase has over 40 separate fact sheets on how to work with special needs Scouts - one of the best collections in the world.

Tell us about your favorite BSA Camps

We are just weeks away from that wonderful time of summer when hundreds of BSA Camps open across the U.S.A. What is your favorite BSA Camp? What experiences have you had? What scout camp properties do you recommend to other scout leaders?

The U.S. Scouting Service Project has a full interactive database of all scout camp properties, everything from those mega camps that host thousands of scouts each summer to those 40 acre plots of land that every council seems to have at least one of for primitive camping, complete with a picnic table as the one improvement in camp.

We invite you to search & explore all of the camps in your area, recommend new places to camp (even non BSA camps) and tell us your experiences where you have been. Let our ScoutCamp.org database become your "Where to Go Camping" resource!

We welcome comments from Camp Staff members as well. This summer marks my 27th on BSA Summer Camp staffs and this will be my 9th council camp property. I still look forward to this and hope you have at least one week marked on your calendar for this wonderful experience!

Ed Henderson
Webmaster - ScoutCamp.org
U.S. Scouting Service Project
Camp Administrator - Will Rogers Scout Reservation - Cimarron Council, Cleveland OK

Court Rules Boy Scout Jamboree to Go Forward

The Boy Scouts of America issued a statement yesterday announcing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit's dismissal of the ACLU lawsuit against the Department of Defense for supporting the National Scout Jamboree. PRNewsire Story

Site Not Found? - Tip for Alternate Address

If you have tried to reach MacScouter.com or NetCommish.com only to get a site not found message, it isn't your browser or computer that's at fault. We are hearing from a number of visitors that this happens and we are working with our host on a fix. In the meantime you can reach these site with alternate addresses. Try:

MacScouter - http://usscouts.org/macscouter/
NetCommish - http://usscouts.org/commish/
Ask Andy - http://usscouts.org/commish/askandy.asp

Andy's First April Column

It's April First and my first column of the month is up! Right there at the usual //netcommish.com