:shock: It never seems to amaze me how political things are. Troop 64 (Boys Scouts, Associated with Mt. Zion Church) will allow boys who have been arrested for duck taping a 13 boy & shot him with a pellet gun, which required surgery to remove to remain in Scouts, yet will kick anothe rboy out due to a nasty on-ging divorce. What was the oath, motto of the Boy Scouts of America, trustworthy, intergerity, morale, values, GOD....... I can't imagine what kind of leadership this troop is offering to these boys!
If that really happened to that boy, that is awful! That's not very Boy Scout like now is it? Did this happen at a BS function?
Is that bullshot? That what this sounds like to me. There has to be more to the story. Having been a Scouter for many years, I have never come across a troop that has kicked out a kid other than for discipline problems. I have seen some troops that strongly discourage kids who don't advance from remaining in the troop, but even those are rare.
And just how is the Boy Scout troop supposed to know anything about this? Aren't the records of juveniles sealed? Maybe you think, if indeed these boys have been FOUND GUILTY OF ANYTHING, the Scout master is omnipotent and has privy to information sealed by the courts. If the boys have only been charged, he still wouldn't know, AND they are considered to be innocent until found guilty in court. Would you have boys punished before they have been found guilty of anything? Furthermore, how would a Scout master have any knowledge of a divorce? Why would he punish a child because his parents can't treat each other with respect? Perhaps one of the NASTY PARENTS showed their A $$ at a Scout function and, therefore, the Scout's PARENT was told not to come to anything again. Maybe it's the PARENT preventing the boy from being involved in something the ADULT is not welcome at!
Troop 64 is a great troop with dedicated leaders... I'm sure there must be more to the story... (another case of "not MY baby!!)?
I don't know the circumstances behind why the first young man was asked to leave the troop. But if it's the child I think it is, it's probably because he is a hellion and has some severe discipline problems. Secondly, the boy who was arrested for assault, in helping another older boy to duct tape and shoot a 13 yr old with a pellet gun was wrong. If he is convicted, something should be done to punish him. However I know this boy has never been in trouble before and this was a first offense. Doesn't excuse his behavior at all, but in this country, we get to be persecuted in court, not in public.
Unless it has changed (probably has since I was in) The Oath is: On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight The Scout law is: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverant. The Motto is: Be Prepared Granted it has been some 15-20 years since I was awarded Eagle Scout, but that was the Oath, Law, and Motto from when I was active in the scouts. I also know that when I was active our troop would take in alot of boys that had issues be it at home or otherwise. We felt that there was always a way to help the ones that needed it, wheither it was by providing a place for them to guy type stuff with the other boys and our leaders or if was by providing morale leadership and support and trying to guide those that had strayed down the wrong path back to the correct path in life. Craig
Craig, you are correct. The oath and motto are still the same, and as far as I know the dens adhere to these. I know we do. However, some times people are too quick to jump to a conclusion about events with out actually having the all the details. Usually that is what starts conflicts. Of course you have some people that always need to be "in" something.
When I had just joined and was learning the oath and law I always wanted to leave out the obedient part, don't know why but my mind would just always skip that word. Craig
Regarding Troop 64 As a scout leader who has been involved with Troop 64 for the past 10 years I feel compelled to respond to the slanderous insinuations posted by "ConcernedMom" in this forum. The leaders of Troop 64 are among the finest, most upstanding members of the Cleveland/McGees community. Troop 64 is a top tier troop in the Tuscarora Council and has been for over 34 years. I am proud to be associated with them. The comments posted by "ConcernedMom" are misleading and she knows it. Hazing is not tolerated in our troop. No such incident as described with the pellet gun has ever occurred on any of our scout functions. This is the first I have heard of this particular incident. However, even if it is true, we can not remove or discipline any scout for their behavior outside of scouting short of conviction for a capital offense. As for the "nasty divorce" situation she refers to, it is truly sad when children become pawns in mind games played by adults. I do not want to go into a lot of details in this public forum, but since she has sought to sully our reputation I think that the facts should be on the table. The other party in the divorce and the object of her wrath is one of our scout leaders. Troop 64 did not kick out her son out of scouting as she stated. She willfully removed him from the troop herself noisily spouting false allegations in the process. She then changed her mind and sought to have her son rejoin the troop. (I will not speculate here regarding her motivations but I think that they are rather transparent.) The issue was brought before our troop advisory committee. There are two other excellent scout troops in the immediate area. For obvious reasons, the troop committee decided that it would be in the best interests of the scout to join one of the other troops in the area. He is an excellent scout and we hate to lose him. But he is the one being hurt the most in this situation. Scouting requires a substantial level of trust between the parents, the leaders and the scouts. That trust has been breached. You can decide by whom.
Hey scouter, well done. I thought your post was both fair and professional. FYI- The incident was not highly publicized. The only media that I saw on it was a mug shot and brief write up of the events of the two older boys who allegedly did the binding and shooting on 1270wmpm.com. However, that website is updated daily, and it's no longer there. Since it didn't happen at a scout event, I would think you guys wouldn't get involved unless the boys are convicted.
Being a member of Troop 64 and the mother of one of the children in that troop, I have to say that much of concernedmoms statements are very misleading. As one of the previous responders stated there are two sides to every story and this is no exception. As with any organization, there are always minor problems and issues, however, this is a case of the concerned mom not being able to let go of her anger toward the other parent. As a result of this Troop 64 felt it was in the best interest of the child to encourage him to join a troop that would allow him to enjoy the opportunities of scouting without the war of the parents getting in the way of this. As with all of our boys, we hate to lose any of them, however, the best interest of the child is always our first priority. I can also say that not one of the members of the committee that made this decision was happy about it. They all left with heavy hearts for the child in question. As for the child that allegedly tied up a 13 year old and shot him with pellet guns, none of us know the details of this incident and it is not fair to judge this situation without all the facts. Not to mention this incident has no bearing whatsoever on the decision made about the other child. Concernedmom needs to look at her motivations at sullying the reputation of Troop 64 and Mt. Zion Church before someone sullies her reputation.
I am very impressed with the ADULT level of this discussion. It is very refreshing & speaks so well of BSA Troop 64 & Mt Zion. Thank you.
