SCOUTER'S DIGEST
Scouting-E-Zine
A Chronicle of American Scouting
Volume 4, Issue No. 05 - March 1st, 2002
Copyright (c) 1999-2002 Honor Publishing Company;    
Scouter's Digest, all rights reserved.
Circulation: 11253 - advertising opportunities

Scouting Is On the Rise

According to BSA 2001 year end statistics, Scouting in the BSA has risen from 4,940,793 youth members in the year 2000, to 5,023,205 youth members in 2001, A 1.7% increase. Most of the increase came in the new Venturer Program with an astounding 18.2% increase, and in the "Learning for Life" program which enjoyed a 6.8% overall increase in 2001. While Cub Scouting suffered a small decrease, The Boy Scout program had an increase of .04% While the numbers show a small decrease in the traditional Scouting program, the numbers are in line with National census statistics that show a decrease in youth for the same period.

~ Quote ~

They That Can Give Up Essential Liberty To Obtain A Little Temporary Safety Deserve Neither Liberty Nor Safety, And Ultimately Will Have Neither.
~ Benjamin Franklin

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SCOUTING IN THE NEWS:
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National OA Conference Scheduled For Summer 2002

More than 7,000 Arrowmen from across the country will gather at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, July 27-August 1 for the 27th National OA Conference, the second-largest national program event. This year's conference theme is "Test Yourself and So Discover."

Training includes topics ranging from OA ceremonies to effective lodge leadership. Arrowmen will also enjoy four large shows, OA Jeopardy, the lip sync contest, various athletic events, outdoor camping displays, ceremonial competition, American Indian events, and more.

Each year, conference attendees return with:

A deeper understanding of the Scout Oath, Scout Law, Order of the Arrow Obligation, and what it means to "live" these words in one's daily life

A renewed spirit, pride, and enthusiasm for Scouting and the Order of the Arrow

Ideas their lodge can use to better serve Scouting in their home unit and council

New program ideas, knowledge, and skills to improve the lodge
Increased leadership skills and a better understanding of how to carry out the work of the lodge

The latest information on camping and high-adventure programming, including how to successfully promote Boy Scout camping

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Scout Training 34 years ago saved his Own Childs Life!

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - As a 13-year-old Midland Boy Scout in 1968, little did Jack Gunter know that the CPR class taught by scoutmaster Richard "Dick" Harris would help save the life of his own baby in the 21st century.

Gunter, who also recently spent two hours in infant-specific CPR training at Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, performed life-saving CPR on his 2-year-old last month after the toddler had wandered off into a backyard swimming pool. "That was the best time I ever spent in my life," Gunter, 47, said of the infant CPR training. His former scout leader was delighted to hear of the happy ending to what had begun as a tragic event.

"I'm really, really proud of Jack and very happy his baby's life was saved," Harris said. "That's the reason why we teach CPR, to save lives. Also, it's very possible that even an elementary-aged child could save a sibling." An army of heroes -- including a neighbor who jumped a fence to initiate CPR before Gunter arrived -- assisted in the rescue and treatment of Gage Gunter. Experts say brain damage and ultimately brain death can occur once a person has been without oxygen for six minutes. "A lot of people think CPR is for the heart, but it's about protecting the brain," explained Tonya Hancock, a health and safety administrator at the Midland-Odessa chapter of the American Red Cross.

"Paramedics can get a heartbeat back instantly, but without CPR, we can have a brain-dead child," Hancock explained. Gunter, who now lives in San Antonio, also urges Midlanders to learn CPR. "Our near tragedy proves the fact that a crisis can happen at any time, to anyone, and if that terrible event occurs, you can save a life if you know CPR, and you can lose a life if you don't."

"The death of a child can weigh very heavily on someone's conscience when you didn't know what to do," Ms. Hancock added. The Red Cross reports drowning is the leading cause of death for children aged six and under. With the water recreation season rapidly approaching, the Red Cross is especially anxious to teach as many CPR classes as possible. While the procedure for performing CPR on an adult is different than that for infants, the Red Cross urges individual citizens, churches and businesses to enroll in classes. "It's not just people who have babies who need to learn CPR. You could be a neighbor jumping a fence or at a mall," Hancock said. The Red Cross goes out to churches, businesses and schools providing instruction on their own turf. "We'll come to them or they can come to us," Red Cross executive director Greg Stephen said.

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Scout Eagle Project helps fund programs for abuse victims
Monday, February 25, 2002 (MICHIGAN)

The hard work and creative thinking of a Jackson Boy Scout is helping programs for victims of child abuse.

Jonathan David "J.D." Hill, assistant senior patrol leader of Queen's Boy Scout Troop 424, recently presented Catholic Charities of Jackson, formerly known as Catholic Social Services, with a $3,700 donation.

"It was a big undertaking, but well worth it," Hill said.

For his Eagle Boy Scout project, Hill designed a fund-raiser to support three counseling services Catholic Charities makes available to children who've suffered from sexual abuse, physical abuse or neglect. His donation will help sustain the Kids First, Sexual Abuse Survival Service for Youth, and Becoming Anger Managers programs.

"I think this was the first time our organization has benefited from an Eagle Scout project," said Vicky Schultz, executive director of Catholic Charities of Jackson.

Hill presented Schultz with a large cardboard check representing the amount his project raised during a December episode of the Bart Hawley Show. Schultz said the agency received the funds at the beginning of the this year.

"This was a very ingenious idea on his part, and we were very fortunate that someone like him took on such a project that was such a great benefit to us," Schultz said. Hill, who keeps busy as a Lumen Christi High School freshman, dedicated more than 100 hours to the monthlong fund-raiser.

He named his project the "Kids Care Program" and with a well-thought- out business plan, approached local businesses for sponsorships.

Hill received donation commitments from American 1 Federal Credit Union, Marino's Pizza & More, The Optimist Club of Jackson and Aeroquip Employees' Charities. And in exchange for their financial support, Hill placed their logos on the paws of paper teddy bear posters. Hill then organized volunteers from his Boy Scout Troop and the RSVP Program to help sell the paper teddy bears at retail outlets, credit unions, gas stations and churches throughout Jackson.

"I had a lot of help from people and business leaders in our community and it made me really proud when I was able to almost double my original goal of raising $2,000." Teddy bears were available to the public for a minimum $1 donation at the sponsor's locations as well as Kelly Fuels Inc. convenience stores and gas stations, Save Time Convenience Stores, Valentine's Total Mart, The Video Store, Baker College, Westwood Area Community Federal Credit Union, South Central State Employees Credit Union and Aeroquip Credit Union.

The bears also were sold at the Queen of the Miraculous Medal Church and Jackson Catholic Middle School. Almost 2,000 teddy bears sold in one month's time. Hill said Boy Scouts from Troop 424 and volunteers from the senior center helped him keep a supply of teddy bears cut-outs available.

"I'm really grateful to the volunteers," Hill said. "There were 30 to 40 people who gave more than 130 hours of their time."

The Explorer post's insurance had lapsed, so Spring Hill fire officials agreed to pay the $1,719 in medical costs.

SPRING HILL -- The Spring Hill Fire and Rescue District Commission voted 4-0 Wednesday night to pay medical bills for a 16-year-old member of the local Explorer post who was hurt in February during a regional competition in Largo.

The board agreed to pay the $1,719 bill for the teen's emergency room visit and ambulance transport after it was discovered that the Explorer post's insurance had been lapsed almost eight months at the time of the accident.

Chief Michael Morgan said the youth, now 17, does not have insurance coverage through his family, and he recommended that the district cover the medical costs.

Before the vote, Commissioner Dennis Andrews suggested that adult leaders of the post, which is sponsored by the district and run through the Boy Scouts of America, receive additional training on proper administrative procedures.

"I am highly concerned over the fact that this was allowed to pass through," he said. "My concern is that possibly there was a breakdown in communications."

Explorer leader Kenny Wannen said this week that the group is financially independent from the district, holding its own fundraisers and paying its own bills.

Wannen, a firefighter and paramedic with the district, took over the Explorer program in December 1998. He said instructions on how to renew insurance through the post's carrier, Mutual of Omaha, were left out of a standard packet sent to him by the Boy Scouts organization during the group's annual rechartering process.

The policy has since been renewed, and Morgan said that from now on, his administration will oversee the post's insurance coverage to prevent another such lapse.

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New Planning Guide Helps Ensure Safe Trekking

A new brochure designed to help Scouting groups prepare for a variety of high-adventure treks will be distributed to councils in March. The brochure titled "Trek Safely," No. 20-125, highlights seven basic principles for planning a BSA outdoor trek of any duration—from overnight camping to two weeks of backpacking, sailing, or canoeing.

In addition to helping Scouting groups organize their treks, the brochure also helps youth and adult leaders recognize situations that may lead to accidents and assist leaders in deciding to make camp or turn back. The back of the guide includes a sample "Parental Informed Consent and Hold-Harmless/Release Agreement" form that councils may use for their treks.

The brochure will be accompanied by a training outline to help volunteers effectively teach Scouting groups and leaders the Trek Safely principles.

"The Trek Safely guide is designed for adult leaders and older youth," explained Dave Bates, director, camping and conservation, Boy Scout Division. "The guide doesn't teach outdoor and adventure skills but how to organize such an outing. In addition, the training outline allows for these organization principles to be taught in about 45 minutes and does not require the trainer to possess a high degree of trekking skill, but simply be a skilled trainer."

Bates also stressed that the seven principles are similar to other BSA organization guides such as "Safety Afloat" and "Climb On Safely." In fact, he explained, every BSA high-adventure organization guide includes the same first and last principle—qualified supervision and discipline.

The seven principles presented in Trek Safely are

Qualified supervision
Keeping fit
Planning ahead
Gearing up
Communicating clearly and completely
Monitoring conditions
Discipline

This guide can be ordered from your council office or from BSA Supply Division.

(WISCONSIN) The Four Lakes Council of the Boy Scouts of America, tired of turmoil over its stance toward gays, said Tuesday it is mostly pulling out of the United Way of Dane County.

United Way President Leslie Ann Howard said the decision was both a surprise and a disappointment, "given how much work we'd put in." The Scouts council will forgo the chance of at least $75,000 it was expected to receive in United Way community-based funding. During the past year, the United Way had dangled those funds like a carrot in front of the council to push it toward a more inclusive membership policy. The charity is to announce its 2002 funding decisions on March 21.

Scouts' national membership policy bans "avowed homosexuals," a stance that violates a United Way nondiscrimination policy. The Scouts council will still get United Way contributions specially earmarked by donors for Scouts, donations that totaled $60,725 last year. "Our whole goal today is to step out of the controversy and get back to the business of being Scouts. This moves us down the path of doing the good work of producing tomorrow's leaders," Council President Terry Shockley said. "There seems to be a general controversy about our accepting public money and we simply need to move on."

Howard said the United Way will still have a relationship with the council. "I expect the good work we started on will continue," she said. "Our volunteers had not yet made a funding decision," Howard added. "We were still working with them (the Scouts) toward a solution. They recognized that this (national Scout) policy was polarizing the community, and given that we hadn't made more progress toward common ground, they wanted to move on. They were concerned that continued debate, continued conflict and polarization might hurt the United Way."

The council's decision to simply do without the cash was greeted with satisfaction by the Coalition for an Inclusive United Way of Dane County, an organization composed of about 250 individuals and groups including the Mental Health Center of Dane County, Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Dane County, Briarpatch and the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "We're very pleased," said John Quinlan, co-head of the group, which had demanded that United Way stop funding the Scouts. "Our focus was and is that United Way was actively considering funding an agency that discriminates against gay people in contradiction to its own (United Way) non-discrimination policy. This sent all the wrong messages to our community, and there's some fence mending that lies ahead." Quinlan said he applauds the Scouts council's yearlong efforts to become more inclusive. Those included developing a "Respect for All" Cub Scout patch and asking the Boy Scouts of America's national executive board to change its ban on gay Scouts and leaders.

That council request was spurned by the national board Feb. 6, when the board "reaffirmed its view that an avowed homosexual cannot serve as a role model" for traditional Scout moral values. The board also warned local Scout councils to toe the mark. "We greatly respect all those people in the Four Lakes Council who've taken the time and effort to understand the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community," Quinlan said. "We applaud them for continuing to advocate for change."

Debra Weill, executive director of OutReach, an LGBT advocacy and service organization, said the Scouts council decision was honest. "They realize that they can't stay within the national and be fully inclusive, without violating policies of the Boy Scouts of America," Weill said. "It also will help United Way to make the right funding decisions March 21. I wish that the council would welcome us, and we will continue to do what we can to help the Four Lakes Council and the Boy Scouts of America move in the right direction to be inclusive."

The council's Shockley said the council will continue to push for change within the Boy Scouts of America, while following national policy. He and other council leaders believe "the best chance for change lies in honest, rigorous discussions with our peers and leaders inside the organization." Last year, the Four Lakes Council received about 7 percent of its funding ($75,515) from he United Way's general funds, and $60,725 in United Way donor-designated Funds. Its budget for 2002 is $1,070,000. "Coming up with another $75,000 is a daunting task," Shockley said, but the council hopes private donations will meet the need.

"The council, organized in 1912, serves more than 6,500 youths in the counties of Columbia, Dane, Iowa, Richland, Sauk and parts of Adams, Grant and Lafayette counties.

Boy Scouts time line Key events leading to Tuesday's announcement that the Boy Scouts Four Lakes Council will forgo United Way funding:

June 2000 - U.S. Supreme Court rules that Boy Scouts of America membership standards may discriminate against gays. September 2000 - Four Lakes Council announces policy of not asking the sexual orientation of members or leaders. January 2001 - United Way of Dane County approves nondiscrimination policy for participating agencies. March 2001 - United Way of Dane County funds Four Lakes Council but gives it one-year grace period to become more inclusive of gays. May 2001 - Four Lakes Council asks Boy Scouts national board to review its policy banning gays. February 2002 - Boy Scouts of America national board rebuffs Four Lakes Council and reaffirms that "an avowed homosexual cannot serve as a role model" for Scout values.

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The Value of Your Eagle

Read about how earning his Eagle Scout Award changed the life, and destiny of Naval Aviator Randy Wilson from Troop729 near Dallas, Texas.

Read the Story

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SIMPLE FUND RAISING IDEA

For those of you looking for a no-cost, no-work fundraiser for your Pack or Troop, check out www.escrip.com . Troop and Pack families simply register their Vons, Pavilions, and Safeway grocery cards with eScrip and your unit gets a commission every time they shop. No cost to anyone ever. It does take several months before you start receiving checks, but every little bit helps!

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New Swimming Merit Badge Requirements Adopted
Merit Badge Requirements changed in January

The arrival of the new year also meant the adoption of new requirements for the Swimming merit badge. However, youth have the option of earning the merit badge by fulfilling the requirements listed in the Boy Scout Requirements 2001 publication or by fulfilling the new requirements as approved by the National Boy Scout Committee last October. The major changes made to the previous requirements include:

—The addition of a requirement in which a Scout must demonstrate water survival skills by removing and inflating his shirt and pants and using them as flotation assistance devices. This requirement was removed from the First Class requirements (requirement 9(c)) and becomes requirement 4 of the Swimming merit badge.

—The deletion of requirement 11 of the Swimming merit badge, "Assist with instruction in basic swimming skills . . ."

—The combination of requirements 7 and 9 of the Swimming merit badge into requirement 8 so that it reads as follows:

8. Do ONE of the following:

A. Snorkeling and scuba diving

1. Demonstrate selection and fit of mask, snorkel, and fins; discuss safety in both pool and open-water snorkeling.
2. Demonstrate proper use of mask, snorkel, and fins for underwater search and rescue.
3. Describe the sport of scuba diving or snorkeling, and demonstrate your knowledge of BSA policies and procedures relating to that sport.

OR

B. Demonstrate the following competitive swimming skills:

1. Racing dive from a pool edge or dock edge (no elevated dives from racing platforms or starting blocks).
2. Racing form for 25 yards on one competitive stroke (front crawl, back crawl, breaststroke, or butterfly).
3. Racing turns for the stroke that you chose in 8b(2), OR, if the camp facilities cannot accommodate the racing turn, repeat 8b(2) with an additional stroke.
4. Describe the sport of competitive swimming.
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Scout's Eagle project; honoring miners killed in 1888 blast (KANSAS)

PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) - Prospective Eagle Scouts must complete a community service project before receiving Scouting's highest honor. The people Jeff Scott would serve with his project have been dead for more than a century.

Scott, 17, is a junior at St. Mary's-Colgan High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 68. He is trying to earn money to erect a monument to the miners killed in an explosion on Nov. 9, 1888, at Shaft No. 2, operated by the Pittsburg and Cherokee Mining Company northeast of Frontenac. "This was the largest mining accident in southeast Kansas," Scott said. "The blast blew the exhaust fan off the entry to the mine." Scott said that he got the idea from the father of a friend and did extensive research through newspaper accounts of the time. One of the people he interviewed during his research was Frank Malle of Pittsburg, whose grandfather and great-uncle were among those killed in the explosion.

"There were 36 men lost, some of them from Italy, France, Germany, Ireland and Scotland - the youngest victim was around 12," Scott said. "It's mindblowing to think of a moment like that and all those men were gone ... this accident rocked our young community to the core."

After the tragedy, he said, the mining company planned to dispose of the dead by tossing them into a mass grave near Frontenac. "People stood up against that, so instead the bodies were placed in two mass graves," Scott said. "There are 19 men in old St. Mary's Cemetery, in Highland Park Cemetery, and the rest of the disaster victims are at Mt. Olive Cemetery. No monument or marker has ever been erected at either site, but I plan to change that."

He wants to erect a monument at the grave site in old St. Mary's Cemetery, which is currently just a bare grassy space. Cremer Monument of Pittsburg created a design for a granite monument 40 inches wide and 22 inches tall. It will be inscribed with the names of the lost miners buried there.

The monument company knocked $500 off the price, Scott said, leaving him to raise about $1,400. Personal fundraising and a newspaper had have raised $635 from 15 donors, Scott said, and he hopes that the monument will be dedicated by mid-April. And what of the other mass grave?

"I haven't found the site of the mass grave in Mt. Olive Cemetery, but I'm hoping that people will realize that there's more which needs to be done," Scott said. "It's my sincerest hope that these brave men will not be forgotten."

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SCOUTING HISTORY:
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VERMONT Boy Scout Council History
By Ed Henderson

Every month, the Scouting E-Zine focuses on a different state of the unionwhere we examine how Scouting has evolved over the past 90 years. Here are
the links to the states we have already profiled:

INDIANA
MISSOURI
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA
TENNESSEE

To see this states Scouting History, CLICK HERE

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SCOUTING STORIES:
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A Scouter's Story
By Bernard Fuller

I was asked recently, "What got you back into Scouting?"

Looking back on it today provides a good illustration of how little beginnings make lasting impressions on a person's life.

One of my very good friends and fellow retired Army officer asked one evening, " Would you consider speaking at the Eagle Court of Honor for my grandson?" He went on to say that since I had spoken often about my days in the Boy Scouts of America programs and how those days had impacted on my later life I should be able to make the correlation of Scouting to a career in the Army. His sales pitch extolled the virtues of his grandson and how proud he was that he would be inducted into the fraternity of Eagle Scouts. Of course, I agreed without hesitation.

Well, that started a chain of events that continues to this day. Memories of Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Explorer Scout days rushed to the surface as I sat down to write my speech. Lots of images were dredged from my subconscious: the feeling of pride that I felt when I put on my Cub Scout uniform for the first time during the war years of 1942; the nervousness of appearing before my first Board of Review as I rose in the ranks of the Boy Scouts; the friendships forged on the l-o-n-g hikes through the New England countryside as our Explorer Scout Post gained proficiency in woodcraft on the road to Ranger; the days afloat on Long Island Sound learning marlin spike seamanship; and awe of the experience as Jim MacDougall and I had our Explorer Ranger medals pinned on in a solemn ceremony on the quarter-deck of the square-rigged ship "Joseph Conrad " in the Fall of 1949.

In all of the years that had passed since my days as a Scout, I don't think I had ever consciously considered how Scouting had shaped my career choices. Now they flooded forth. Working on and achieving the Radio Merit Badge took me into the Army during the Korean War as a radio operator and later played a big role in my being commissioned in the Army Signal Corps.

Marksmanship Merit Badge led to a lifelong interest in competitive shooting and births on command Rifle and Pistol teams. How could I forget my interest in ornithology that Bird Study Merit Badge engendered. Photography Merit Badge led to winning photography contests in later life. The list goes on, but, you get the point: all of life's choices in career, hobby, ethics, and thirst for learning can be related to the foundations laid in Scouting.

The speech was presented and well received, and only one person- my wife - noticed when I choked up in the opening paragraph as I spoke the Scout Oath:

On My Honor I will do my best ...................... to do my duty to God and my Country ....

Today - a short two years later - I have become the Venturing Chairman on my District in hopes of giving back some of the lessons I learned as a Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Explorer Scout many years ago.

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Scouting for scrap during the war

By B. Ray Owen
~ Southeast Missourian

During World War II, scrap metal was a precious commodity. Patriotic Americans scoured attics and basements for scrap metal, rubber and paper. The collection of scrap metal and rubber received the highest priority. Scrap drives supplied many of the materials needed to win World War II. Scrap metals were used with raw steel to make munitions, planes and military vehicles. "Salvage for Victory" campaigns were held throughout the nation, including Cape Girardeau County, which had a two-year (1942-1943) quota of 870 tons of scrap.

Boy Scouts held this drive at the corner of Broadway and Fountain, in the front yard of the old post office. The site is now home to the Federal Building. "I remember helping out in some scrap metal drives," said Dorothy March.

"Every school had drives, as did Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts." Early on in World War II, Cape Girardeau Boy Scouts collected enough aluminum to add three bombers to the Army Air Force. Ten thousand pounds of Cape Girardeau Scout aluminum were used in each bomber. Throughout the war, Boy Scouts were instrumental in collecting items needed to aid the cause. Nationally, Boy Scouts collected everything from 100 train car loads of peach pits and nut hulls, used to make charcoal for gas mask filters, to 750 tons of milkweed floss, used in life jackets.

Scouts also conducted a national census of black walnut trees, used in making gunstocks and airplane propellers, locating enough to fill 5,200 rail cars. Scrap metal campaigns were not left only to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. In 1942, abandoned streetcar tracks were removed from the streets of several Missouri communities, resulting in the collection of more than 187,000 tons of scrap metal. Four cannons from the Common Pleas Courthouse grounds at Cape Girardeau were donated to the government. A farmer from Bollinger County contributed an old 10,000-pound Case tractor.

By 1943, Cape Girardeau area residents had collected 450 tons of scrap metal.

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SCOUTING ON THE NET:
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Scoutmaster.org

http://www.scoutmaster.org/ , one of the US Scouting Service Projects websites has a large collection of resources for Scoutmasters and Scout Leaders. Everything from guides to conducting a Board of Review to helpful files for a great advancement program, this website will help Scout Leaders from every level of Scouting.

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Venturing Moves Four Resources to Internet

The Venturing Division is no longer offering the following items through Bin Resources:

Advisor Award of Merit Application, No. 25-013
Venturing Leadership Award Application, No. 25-203
Venturing Fast Start, No. 25-878
Venturing Leaders Progress Record, No. 25-856.

Instead, these items may be downloaded 24 hours a day, seven days a week from www.scouting.org/venturing. To download, click on Program Support, and then select Literature and Resources.

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Put HONOR in your website!

The HONOR Bookstore now has a "Link Button"
that can be put on a Troop, Pack, or Youth
Groups Website. Click on the logo to see how

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SCOUTMASTER'S MINUTE
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OUR LAWS AND THE SCOUT LAW

Why do we have laws? What's the purpose of laws? That's right, we need laws to govern society. To protect life and property and to make rules for the way our society works. If we had no laws, there would be nothing to stop a man from injuring someone weaker than himself or stealing from others. Laws are essential for any civilized society.

But you know, there are laws, and then there are laws. For instance, we speak of the laws of nature. Is that some kind of written rule that everything in nature must follow? Not really. It's more like a description of the way the natural world works. The law of nature tells us that predator animals like lions will kill and eat prey animals like wildebeests and antelopes - not because they are vicious but that is nature's way of sustaining her creatures.

Then there are the laws we have to follow like not running stop signs, or speeding. Laws that keep us from stealing stuff, hurting others, or selling drugs. These laws keep us safe.

Then there's the Scout Law. Are the 12 points of the Scout Law something that must be obeyed or you'll go to jail? Of course not. The Scout Law is a different kind of law. It's a prescription for a good character. But in it's way, the Scout law is just as important as the laws Congress passes because the man who follows the Scout Law will be the best kind of citizen. That kind of citizen tries his best to obey not only the Scout Law but also the laws of his community, state, and nation. Let's now stand and renew our pledge to the Scout Law.

Recite the Scout Law

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SCOUT'S OWN:
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There are many prayers we can learn, teach, and repeat. Sometimes, all we need is a little help and inspiration. The Power of Prayer is awesom, and can help Scouts fulfill their obligation to the Twelth Scout Law; We offer these as a small starting point:

A Christian Prayer
Great Spirit, who has blessed the Earth that it should be fruitful and bring forth whatsoever is needful for the life of man, and hast commanded us to work with quietness and eat our own bread; Bless the labors of those who till the fields and grant such seasonable weather that we may gather in the fruits of the earth.
-- Adapted from The Book of Common Prayer

A Jewish Prayer
God of the World, I stand before you and before my neighbors - pardoning, forgiving, struggling to be open to all who have hurt and angered me. Be this hurt of body or soul, of honor or property, whether they were forced to hurt me or did so willingly, whether by accident or intent, whether by word or deed
- I forgive them because we are human...I am ready to take upon myself the commandment, Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Levi Yitchak of Beditschev

A Buddhist Prayer
May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness;
this is immeasurable loving kindness;

May all things be liberated from suffering and the causes of suffering;
this is immeasurable compassion;

May all beings be free of suffering and always stay happy;
this is immeasurable joy;

May all things be free of grasping and aversion toward others, and develop faith in the equality of all beings;
this is immeasurable equanimity.
-The Four Immeasurable Vows, Tantric Buddhism

A Navajo Prayer
Before me peaceful
Behind me peaceful
Under me peaceful
Over me peaceful
Around me peaceful
-Navajo prayer

A Muslim Prayer
Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
-Rumi, a 7th century Sufi mystic

From Kyna Hendra's "A Scout Is Reverant" Resources
On the Mac Scouter Website.

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GONE HOME:
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Please send your thoughts and prayers to the surviving family of Ethan Robert Jenni, 39 from Edmond, Oklahoma. He was killed Friday night by a drunk driver in a head on collision. His last act on this earth was throwing himself over his son to protect him from the impending crash. Ethan died on impact. Jay, his 8 year old son, survived the crash because of his dads heroic act with only a bump on the head and split lip. Ethan was buried today, 2/26/02.

You can read his obituary online at

STORY

Ethan was an exemplary Eagle scout and a wonderful person to know. He always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. He will be sorely missed by all that knew him.

Chris Eberle
Jayhawk Area Council

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Scouter's Digest Magazine, Newsletter, and the Scouting-E-Zine are NOT publications of the Boy Scouts of America and are NOT affiliated, in any way,  with Scouting Magazine, BOYS' LIFE Magazine, or any other independent Scouting magazine or newsletters. "National News" is a service provided by BraveNet and it's content is not controlled by Honor Publishing Company, Scouter's Digest, or the Scouting-E-Zine.

Editor: Dave Tracewell
Senior Editor: Ed Henderson
Associate Editor: Steve Silbiger

Contents:
Scouting in the News
Scouting on the Net
Scoutmaster's Minute
Scouting History
Scouts Own
National News
Readers Corner
Gone Home
Issue Archives
Legal Stuff

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FUN BOOKS FOR
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Classic Chillers
Haunted Houses
Short & Scary Thrillers
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Aid to Patrol Leadership

The BEST BOOK for new PATROL LEADERS!

Roy Bryan's
REVISED 3rd VERSION

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Own the Books that Started the
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Reprints of

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Canyon Campfire Companion
BOOKS 1 & 2

Inexpensive and Easy to Use!

SKITS, SONGS, RUN ONS, AND MUCH MORE...

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Camp Fire Boys & Girls

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DO YOU HAVE A GREAT STORY TO TELL?

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Just A Minute...

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SCOUT LAW CLOCK

It does 1466 Good Turns each day!

THIS IS NO
ORDINARY WALL CLOCK
All of the hours are
the first letters of the Scout law.

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The Best Book on the Market to Plan your Next Eagle Court of Honor!

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Visit our friends at the
U.S. Scouting Service Project, Inc.

The USSSP CD has thousands of Scouting clip art images and text files to help you in your Scouting Program.

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POW-WOW ROM

CUB & WEBELOS CD

A GREAT RESOURCE FOR ANY CUB PROGRAM

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END ALL OF YOUR
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Stories for Around the Campfire

Stories for Around the Campfire by Ray Harriot will delight your Scouts and provide great entertainment for campfires, meetings, and get-togethers. A wonderful book full of stories appropriate for any Scout situation

MORE Stories for
Around the Campfire

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