“Try not be become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.”
– Albert Einstein.

“… I would like to take some time tonight to discuss modern day scouting”
On Monday, 23rd November 2009, Senator Jacinta Collins (Senator for Victoria) delivered a speech to Federal Parliament in support of Scouts Australia and its current child safety practices.
Read the full transcript (2009-Nov-23) [Hansard]
via Scouts Australia

DEC 2009 BSA Cub Scout Theme: WORKS OF ART
December is a time of celebration and giving. This is a perfect month for involving friends in doing good deeds and creating holiday magic through art. Cub Scouts use their artistic abilities to create holiday decorations, gifts, or cards. This artwork might be put on display in nursing homes, in churches, schools, or homes, and at the pack meeting or at a meeting of the chartered organization. Boys can make cards and ornaments and share them with residents of a local nursing or retirement home, children’s hospital, or community center and do a “Good Turn for America.” Boys can discover different forms of art, write poems, attend a musical or performing art show, or visit a local art museum. Works of art can become gifts for family members. …

• USSSP Baloo’s Bugle : Volume 16 Issue 04 – Nov 2009 WORKS OF ART [PDF]
• BSA Cub Scout Program Helps Works of Art December 2009 [PDF]
• Buckeye District Roundtable December 2009 [PDF]
• CubCast November 2009 – Part 1 Works of Art
  CubCast November 2009 – Part 2 Chartered Organization Good Turn
  [CubCastRSS feed]

Boy’s Life Magazine
Links found in November 2009 Boys’ Life magazine

Western Australian Scout eNews
Chief’s Corner – November 2009

The Dump
This month my featured book from “The Dump” Resources For Scouting is; The Cub How-to-do-it Book (The Wolf Cub Series, No.1)

The Cub How-To-Do-It Book. CONTENTS. Paper Craft. Paper Masks. Milk Carton Fun. Display Lamp. Games. Paper Pulp Work. Boomerangs. Java Jeep Airplane …

The UK Scout Association have a series of “Everyday Adventure” episodes up on their YouTube channel Scouts TV, there are 6 x 20 minute episodes.

An introduction to what Scouting is and how it works, showing how the movement can help make life an Everyday Adventure. This includes some things you might know about Scouting, and some you might not.

1. An introduction to what Scouting is and how it works, showing how the movement can help make life an Everyday Adventure. This includes some things you might know about Scouting, and some you might not.

2. Episode 2 of Everyday Adventure shows how scouting can fit around our busy lifestyles. We find out that it’s not only great for young people, but also extremely rewarding for adults. Find out how to use your skills and help others.

3. Episode 3 of Everyday looks at the benefits for adults who volunteer their time for Scouting. Nearly 100,000 adults currently volunteer.

4. Scouting gives young people a chance to develop their leadership skills from the age of 14. This programme examines the benefits of becoming young leaders.

5. Locally and nationally, scouting aims to reflect the community in which it operates. This episode looks at some examples of how diversity can enhance the adventure of scouting.

6. This episode looks at modern scouting in urban and rural areas, in schools and in hospitals.

Close the Lid!

Wondering how to make the ice last a bit longer on your Scout camp?
How about including a subtle reminder inside the lid.

Eltham JOTA/JOTI Base Radio Schedule

VK3RMH (70cm) IRLP (Clifford Park Link)

VK3RSR (2m) IRLP (Other Scout Groups)

147.400 (2m) Local Comm’s / Hand held / Games
{or other simplex}

HF (20m) Dipole

HF (40m) Trapped Dipole

HF (80m) Trapped Dipole

*** Fox Hunting “Transmitter Location”
2 x Foxes

ELTHAM MAIN SITE
1 x 70cm, 3 x 2m, 1 x 20m (dipole), 1 x 40m (captive dipole), 1 x 80m (captive dipole)

ELTHAM SCOUT HALL
1 x 70cm, 1x 2m ?

WIANEWS FOR WEEK COMMENCING OCT 11 2009.

JOTA From Bob VK6POP

JOTA is next weekend. Scouts and Guides worldwide will be on air trying to contact each other. Approximately 500,000 people around the world are involved in the Jamboree On The Air and Jamboree On the Internet every year.

You’re likely to hear Scout stations operating on or adjacent to the calling frequencies, however they are not limited to those places on the bands. As with any event of this nature, operators will look for a nice clear spot, or tune around to find someone calling “CQ Jamboree”.

This year there will be Australian Scouts on air using their own callsigns for JOTA for the very first time. Congratulations to those Scouts who have gained their license, and those who are about to.

JOTA and JOTI commence officially at midnight local time on Friday 16th October, and finish at midnight local time Sunday 18th October.

There will be an address by Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce, AC, Governor General of Australia, Chief Scout and Patron of Girl Guides Australia. This is broadcast on amateur radio frequencies, usually through the WIA news network, at 1300 local time. Please check with your local Scout people for details in your state or territory. For those unable to listen to the broadcast, the MP3 file may be played locally.

The address will be available for download from the usual WIA news source, and from scouts.com.au JOTA-JOTI pages. Follow the link from “international”.

The Scout calling frequencies, which can be found at www.scouts.com.au are:

International voice calling frequencies:
3.690 & 3.940 MHz,
7.090 & 7.190,
14.290
18.140
21.360
24.960
28.390
50.160

Australian voice calling frequencies:
3.650
7.090 7.190
14.190 14.290
21.190
28.590
52.160

Calling frequencies for Slow Scan TV (SSTV):
3.630
7.033
14.227

Calling Frequencies for PSK31
14.070

Next week’s WIA news on the JOTA-JOTI weekend will be presented by Amateur Radio Licensed Scouts from the Waylen Bay Sea Scout group in Perth.

Good luck with JOTA-JOTI, and thank you to all who are helping.

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.
– Christopher Reeve

NOV 2009 BSA Cub Scout Theme: CUB SCOUT SALUTE
This month Cub Scouts salute those heroes who help keep us safe and secure each and every day. Can only adults be heroes? Heroes are often ordinary kids who did something out of the ordinary! A den can decide what makes a hero and who the heroes of tomorrow might be by looking at people they know today. Learn about heroes in your own community, as well as Scouting heroes who have earned BSA heroism awards. Have your Cub Scouts invite their hometown heroes to a den or pack meeting. Perhaps your den can become “silent heroes” by performing service for others without seeking any recognition. Visit a fire station, veteran’s hospital (Veterans Day is this month), police station, or teacher’s classroom and learn about their heroic deeds and reciprocate with a “Scout salute” for their contributions. …

• USSSP Baloo’s Bugle : Volume 16 Issue 03 – Oct 2009 CUB SCOUT SALUTE [PDF]
• BSA Cub Scout Program Helps Cub Scout Salute November 2009 [PDF]
• Buckeye District Roundtable November 2009 [PDF]
• CubCast October 2009 – Part 1 Cub Scout Salute
  CubCast October 2009 – Part 2 Webelos-to-Scout Transition and MyScouting Interviews
  [CubCastRSS feed]

UK Scouting Magazine
UK Scouting Magazine

• Scouting Magazine October/November 2009[PDF]
• Beaver Scout Supplement [PDF]
• Cub Scout Supplement [PDF]
• Scout Supplement [PDF]

Boy’s Life Magazine
Links found in October 2009 Boys’ Life magazine

Western Australian Scout eNews
Chief’s Corner October 2009

The Dump
This month my featured book from “The Dump” Resources For Scouting is; The Adventures Of A Spy – The 1924 edition of B.P.’s My Adventures As A Spy.

BADEN-POWELL yarns about his exploits as a spy and talks about ‘the sport of spying’. The butterfly illustrated on the cover is referred to in the ‘Englishmen as fools’ chapter, where B-P writes how useful it is to the English spy that our stereotypical image abroad was seen as being eccentric and foolish. On one occasion B-P, pretending to be an English gentlemen butterfly collector, appeared to making field sketches of the delicate pattern of a butterfly wings (used as the cover graphic). This bumbling foreigner did not apparently alarm the local guards to ’sensitive’ military installations. But B-P was actually recording a plan of an enemy fort with gun emplacements, camouflaging their shapes amongst the delicate details of the wings. Even more ingenious, I feel, was a field sketch of the fort concealed in a drawing of the head of a moth.
The book was republished as The Adventures of a Spy in 1936.
– “Johnny” Walker’s Scouting Milestones

From a tweet from ScoutsAustralia, the latest JOTA-JOTI bulletin (24 September 2009)

It’s not too late to get involved!

It’s Not Too Late
There’s still time. Your most urgent action now is to tell people that the event is on, how to get there etc. There are many sources of information about JOTA-JOTI, however the primary source for Australia is at www.scouts.com.au – look under the INTERNATIONAL menu item. This site has information and links to information that you will need for a successful JOTA-JOTI.

A HORROR year for drowning which claimed 302 Australian lives has prompted urgent calls from the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia for increased parental awareness, a greater emphasis on swimming and water safety education, and extreme caution when swimming in rivers, lakes and dams to halt the rising death toll.
– 2009 Royal Life Saving National Drowning Report [1],
Royal Life Saving Society – Australia

LEVEL 1 – SWIMMER 1.
Explain the “buddy” system and basic rules for safe swimming.
(Swimming Achievement Badge)

In older children aged between 5 and 14, more than half of all drowning deaths occurred in rivers and almost three-quarters of those who died were boys. Too many children aren’t being given the information and skills to accurately judge the risks posed by natural waterways. …
– Rob Bradley, [3]
Royal Life Saving Society – Australia CEO

LEVEL 2 – SWIMMER 5
Using a personal flotation device (PFD) demonstrate the Heat Exposure Lessening Posture (HELP) for two minutes.
(Swimming Achievement Badge)

… The basic paradigm of aquatic lifesaving is to affect a rescue, without placing oneself at risk. Twenty-five fit, untrained adults were recruited to assess their lifeline throwing abilities. Results from 190 competitors as participants in the Line Throw events at the National Australian Pool Lifesaving Competition 2009 were analyzed for speed, efficacy, and accuracy. It takes a medium time of 35 s for an untrained bystander to throw a lifeline. Only 20% can throw a line within 2 m of the target at a first attempt. In the heat of the moment, 20% do not secure the end of the flung rope. Trained children can affect a 10 m accurate throw and pull a potential victim to safety with a medium elapsed time of 23 s. …
– “Flinging the Squaler” Lifeline Rescues for Drowning Prevention [4]
John H. Pearn, Richard C. Franklin
International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education 3(3), August 2009

LEVEL 2 – SWIMMER 4.d
Explain and demonstrate a rescue method, the recovery position and the importance of getting adult help.
(Swimming Achievement Badge)

For the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th Anniversary, there is a new theme for the 2009 Fall recruitment season – Words to Live By. Based upon the 12 points of the Scout Law, the new theme also marks the kick-off of a widespread public relations campaign including new videos advertising Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturing!

A New Recruitment Campaign
A new national recruitment campaign is coming, and it will motivate more young people to join Scouting. It will energize your staff and volunteers, parents, and kids. Our new campaign will give you the right tools to find and create tomorrow’s leaders.
– http://www.scouting.org/wordstoliveby

Words to Live By: You Can Do Anything

Words to Live By: Scouting Is Adventurous

Words to Live By: Scouting is really fun.

Words to Live By: Living the Scout Law

Words to Live By: I’m a Scout, who am I?

Words to Live By: Scouting is a way of life

Words to Live By: Doing A Good Turn

Words to Live By: Giving Meaning to Words

Words to Live By: Pinewood Derby- Fast Times, Fast Cars

Words to Live By: Scouting is my direction.

Words to Live By: Family of Scouting

I was very surprised to hear the following statements from the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police on the Jon Faine radio program [1] on Monday Morning (10-Aug-2009); from the interview it would appear that anyone carrying a knife is planning on using it as an offensive weapon.

We are very concerned about a growing knife carrying culture starting to emerge here in Victoria.
– Simon Overland [2]
Chief Commissioner, Victoria Police

We need to clearly indicate that carrying a knife is not ok, let alone using one.
– Simon Overland [2]
Chief Commissioner, Victoria Police

… “I’m concerned about a 9.1 per cent increase in robberies where a knife was produced,” he said.
“We’ve seen the trend in other countries, such as the UK, where knife crime has increased, and become one of the most significant public order issues.
“We need to address this issue now, and these tougher random search powers will help us avoid similar trends.” … {Simon Overland} [3]

It is disingenuous to describing all knives as weapons, a knife is just a tool. As with any tool there is a correct handling procedure and a user should have training to use it safely and understand it’s uses. Overland does towards the end of the interview mention the “without a lawful excuse” clause.

In Victoria all knives are controlled weapons, and as such illegal, unless you have a legal use for them (eg. eating your dinner) giving you a “lawful excuse”.

‘controlled weapons‘ – which means a knife, other than a knife that is a prohibited weapon, plus the seven weapons listed in Schedule 2 of the Control of Weapons Regulations 2000 (Vic)

A ‘Lawful excuse’ in Victoria means:
* the pursuit of any lawful employment, duty or activity;
* participation in any lawful sport, recreation or entertainment; and
* the legitimate collection, display or exhibition of weapons.

It must also be taken into consideration that a person must not carry a regulated weapons unless it is carried in a safe and secure manner consistent with the lawful excuse for which it is possessed or is carried or is to be used. It is also important that when carrying a knife it should not be concealed (hidden).

Granted it is not lawful to carry a knife for the purpose of self-defence – but there are many more reasons to be carrying a knife. In Scouting we will normally be carrying a knife for sport or recreation purposes. The knife that we are using will also be either a fixed blade or folding knife.

“Correcting bad habits cannot be done by forbidding or punishment.”
– Lord Robert Baden-Powell
Founder of Scouting

Swiss Army knives, “scout” knives and pocketknives, as well as knives used in the course of work duties, are not prohibited when used in a lawful manner.

Perhaps if we were to instruct an educate youth on the use of knifes as tools, and the correct use of them as a tool we would prevent more knife crime than blowing hot air in the press? Perhaps a focus on the crime and stricter penalties for committing a crime – not more political posturing and meaningless amnesties [5] would be in order.

I think we’ll finish the post with the following;

Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est.
(A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer’s hand.)
– Seneca the Younger

LINKS:
[1] OVERLAND DEFENDS NEW POLICE POWERS .. AND OFF AIR – THE DANGERS OF REPORTING YOUTH SUICIDE (2009-Aug-10) [ABC Melbourne]
[2] Hectic 10-8-09 (MP3) (2009-Aug-10) [ABC Melbourne]
[3] New weapons search powers for Vic police (2009-Aug-09) [ABC News]
[4] Australasian Knife Collectors (National Knife Collectors -Australia)
and the Victorian Prohibited Weapons Legislation [AKC]
[5] Hand in weapons ‘no questions asked,’ police urge (2009-Sep-14) [The Age]