Have you ever heard of a bike rodeo? If you’re expecting bull riders riding bicycles at a you’ll be disappointed, but Pack 1323 from Laytonsville, MD, did something just as cool this past August. The bike rodeo was held in an open parking lot to teach Scouts bike riding safety and techniques. Scouts learned about safety inspections, hand signals, helmet safety, and safe braking. One Scout remarked how his favorite part of the event was the “Slow Race” where Scouts had to follow a large circle on the ground and ride as slowly as possible without letting their feet touch the ground. The Scout with the longest time would win! Overall the Scouts had a great time at this fun, interactive, and educational event.
Safety
BSA Incident Reporting Include COVID-19 Incidents
Keeping our Scouts healthy during the ongoing pandemic includes reporting of potential exposure to COVID-19 at Scouting events. Prompt notification helps us reduce the spread of disease to other Scouts, and ensures families receive any assistance they require.
Please report any known or suspected exposures using the BSA Incident Reporting Form. As with all incidents, timely notification enables scene investigation, evidence collection, proper notification required under our insurance agreements, and media support. It also helps us ensure mandatory reporting requirements are met.
BSA Incident Reports must be submitted online within 24 hoursof the incident. Serious incidents, including exposure to communicable diseases such as COVID-19 and Youth Protection violations, should also be reported to Deputy Scout Executive Mario Perez (Mario.Perez@Scouting.org) as soon as possible.
To begin an incident report please go to this page: https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/incident-report/
In case of suspected COVID-19 exposure, incident reports need to be submitted as “General Liability” reports, not “Near Miss.” Please read these supplemental instructions: https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/incident-report/covid-19-incidents-exposures-supplemental-instructions/
You will be asked to provide as much as possible of the following information:
1. Date of Exposure
2. Location of Exposure
3. Length of Exposure
4. Was the employee wearing a mask?
5. Infected person’s date of symptoms
6. Infected person’s COVID-19 test date
7. Infected person’s COVID-19 test results
8. If required, Date quarantine began
9. List of participants – youth/adults
If you have further questions, please review the most recent incident reporting requirements(https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/se-packet/2019-07-01/BSA-Incident-Reporting-Requirements-Effective-FINAL-062419.pdf), or contact your District Executive.
Eagle Project District Review is COVID-19 Proof!
John Drisco, my George Mason District Eagle representative, met me at my church’s Fellowship Hall to discuss and improve my Eagle Project proposal. Normally this is a simple matter of contacting one of our district Eagle reps and setting a time and place to meet. But we all know that nothing has been simple since the pandemic started for all of us in the NCAC in March!
I first had to review BSA guidance, local restrictions, and our church safety standards and then plan the room preparation after getting approval from several different groups! My dad and I arrived early with our masks, wipes, and hand sanitizer. Set up an eight-foot table, some chairs, and wiped everything down. A Scout is prepared.
But despite all the challenges, it was a great meeting and experience. Mr. Drisco provided input on tracking hours, planning and budgeting costs (don’t forget pizza to feed scouts and adult helpers). To clearly state the benefits of the project, and how you measure success. Oh, that last one might have been from my Life to Eagle Coach? Take before and after pictures. Keep good notes in the planning notebook and notify the beneficiary, troop leadership and my district Eagle representative if anything changes on the scope of the project. Do not put off writing it up your project once completed, or you will forget details. Then once you have written everything up, review your notes one last time and type it up to make it look professional. Be proud of your work because it will be read by the board of review, the district, the council and at National!
As we all stood up to go, we were reminded that Safety will be a big factor on future Eagle projects. Plan for how to keep Scouts and adults safe. Have a checklist and remind Scouts on how to be safe while helping. Have masks, gloves, wipes, hand sanitizer and plan for social distancing! As we wiped down the table with Clorox wipes and returned the table and chairs to storage, I felt my mask, remembered to use hand sanitizer, to keep my distance and waved thanks to Mr. Drisco. Now to the next step on my journey to Eagle. Good luck to all the Life Scouts working hard on Eagle Projects in the Pandemic! We can and will make a difference.
Bobby Humphreys
SPL Troop 345
Sea Scouts Take on “Safety at Sea” Adventure
Over 200 members of Sea Scouts BSA, the U.S. Coast Guard and other BSA units gathered on September 7 at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay for the 2019 “Safety at Sea” Adventure. Despite the threats posed by Hurricane Dorian all week, the weather was perfect and the scouts jumped in (literally) to a day of safety, career and environmental STEM training with volunteers from the Active Duty and Auxiliary Coast Guard.
The morning opened with a Search & Rescue demonstration from a helicopter deployed from Stations Atlantic City. The ultra-awesome blaze-orange helicopter hovered over Curtis Bay while the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer (the Coast Guard’s version of Top Gun) dangled from a harness a hundred meters below. Once that demonstration was complete, the pilot swung over to the nearby ball field and in a huge cloud of dust, landed the craft to open for tours and questions.
From there, Scouts began rotations around the base. At one station, flare training involving live flares was a huge hit. Alternating between traditional hand-held flares, or the pistol-type, scouts under the careful watch of range safety officers and trained Coast Guard professionals got to learn first-hand how to light magnesium flares in case they ever have an emergency.
Just up the dock, other Scouts put on the orange Mustang Suits – full body life jackets designed to keep them afloat and warm should they ever have to abandon their craft in ice-cold arctic waters. Across the harbor, a Damage Controlman Petty Officer 3rd Class fired up a P6 pump to teach Scouts how to either fight fires or flooding, depending on what emergency they faced. Others worked with Firemen on mastering a fire hose with target practice exercises where objects 25 meters away had to be moved with a careful stream of the powerful water jets.
Scouts also toured the Coast Guard’s famous 29 feet rigid hull inflatable Response Boat – designed for rapid deployment to emergencies, drug interdiction or other missions. Up the hill, oil was poured into a laboratory tank to demonstrate how dangerous oil spills can be, and how the Coast Guard managed both the spread and fire risk of this dangerous contaminant.
For Scouts who watched the Rescue Swimmer and asked to ride in the harness – they were introduced to the kind Coast Guard recruiting team who discussed job opportunities available. For those with grander aspirations – representatives from the prestigious Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT were available to discuss America’s only “merit only” service academy, where no congressional appointment is required. Cadets enter by their merit alone for the tuition free, paid college education.
Ensure Your Wilderness First Aid Course Meets BSA High-Adventure Standards
All four of the BSA High-Adventure bases (HAB) require at least one person per trek (two per trek at Philmont Scout Ranch) to be current in Wilderness First Aid (WFA) through an approved provider. We want your trip to be safe and successful, and making certain that you have proper training certifications prior to launch is a big step towards that. Read on for tips on how to ensure that you’re prepared for that next high adventure trip, and how to verify that your current certifications meet BSA requirements.
Last fall we informed NCAC leaders about a third-party vendor providing WFA training without proper certifications. We continue to receive reports from Scouters that certifications for WFA that they received from a third-party vendor do not satisfy the requirements for High-Adventure as defined by BSA.
Your safety is of paramount importance to us, which is why we recently introduced our own WFA course to provide certifications suitable for both our High-Adventure Camp at Lenhok’sin and BSA’s 4 High-Adventure Bases. Information on NCAC WFA courses can be found at: www.ncacbsa.org/opi-wfa.
If you’ve already received a certification via a third-party vendor, please take the time to make certain it is current and valid. You can verify an ARC WFA certification by visiting redcross.org/take-a-class/digital-certificate. Simply search by your Email Address; by First Name, Last Name, Year and Month (when class was held); or by Certificate ID. If you also received a CPR certification with your WFA course, you can check it there too.
If you find that the ARC WFA certification you hold is NOT showing as valid within the ARC database but should be, we ask that you contact us directly. Please complete this form to report the situation and select “Certification Issue” for the topic.
If you do decide to use a third-party provider, we encourage you to verify their credentials via The American Red Cross or other governing agency prior to beginning any course. Directions for checking an instructor’s credentials prior to taking a class, can be found here. Be wary of providers who claim to “know” or “keep lists” of BSA requirements, but who are unable to provide BSA approved certifications for WFA per BSA WFA and High-Adventure requirements.To learn more about BSA approved providers and requirements, please visit BSA’s page on WFA and High-Adventure requirements at: https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/training/wilderness-fa/
As always, if you have questions or concerns about a provider, please contact a Council professional for assistance. Your safety is our priority. Help keep Scouting safe for all. Get trained by a certified professional and make sure your certifications are up to date and valid.