Programming
Free State Park Admission . . . with a catch
From Council:
DNR News
Division of State ParksCelebrate public lands with free entry and
program at DNR properties, Sept. 30Admission to Indiana’s state park properties and state forest recreation areas where entrance fees are charged will be free on Sept. 30 in recognition of National Public Lands Day.
National Public Lands Day is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands.
Volunteer opportunities at Indiana State Park properties on Sept. 30 include trail work at Raccoon State Recreation Area, Turkey Run State Park and Brookville Lake, invasive plant removals at Brown County, Spring Mill and Ouabache state parks, and river cleanups at O’Bannon Woods and Tippecanoe River state parks. Many other properties will offer similar volunteer opportunities see attached list.
But National Public Lands Day isn’t all work and no play. The day is a reminder that public lands are places for outdoor recreation, conservation and making memories with families and friends. Properties will offer hikes, pioneer activities, crafts and live bird shows, too.
For complete list of programs, visit calendar.dnr.IN.gov and look on Sept. 30.
For more information on National Public Lands Day, visit PublicLandsDay.org.
Jody Heaston
Indiana State Parks Volunteer Coordinator
Ouabache State Park, 4930 E. State Rd 201
Bluffton, IN 46714
Phone: 260-824-0926 Fax: 260-824-9402
Email: jheaston@dnr.in.gov (best way to contact)Learn more about Indiana Master Naturalists www.indianamasternaturalist.org
On the Web: www.stateparks.IN.gov
They also offer the events listed in this flyer through the rest of the year.
Den Leader Training Report
Last night, Thursday, September 14, 2017, at Cub Scout Roundtable, Roundtable 
Commissioner Bill Buchalter and District Chair John Wiebke led a Cub Scout Den Leader Training.
Thank you to the following Den Leaders who participated:
- Alaina McSherry (Pack 175, Christ the King RCC);
- Tyler Christman (Pack 18, Second Presbyterian);
- Alexandra Hoogestraat (Pack 747, St Richard’s School);
- Jay Lorentz (Pack 18, Second Presbyterian);
- Vince Biedron (Pack 175, Christ the King RCC);
- Jeffrey Hamilton (Pack 171, St. Luke’s RCC).
We received wonderful reviews on the quality of presentation that Bill and John gave. All participants were happy to share the experience in person rather than doing the training online through my.scouting.org. They felt better connected to the local scouting community and received ideas, such as taking Tiger Cubs to Holiday Park to let the park docents help the Tigers complete some of their advancement requirements.
Pack Committee Chairs, please encourage your Den Leaders to get trained. Den Leaders who train in person get a richer and more informative experience than the generic online experience. They will learn about local resources and be more likely to continue as Den Leaders, since they will feel part of something larger than themselves or their pack.
Remember training is required for all leaders as part of rechartering, which begins in less than 20 days!
September 2017 Eagle Report
Congratulations to our September 2017 Eagles, who completed their Eagle Boards of Review on Wednesday, September 13, 2017:
Fall Camporee Planning Meeting
Mark Pishon, the Fall Camporee chair, is hosting a meeting on Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 6:30 pm in St Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 West 86th St, Room N101, Indianapolis, IN 46260.
Please note that this is in the Main Building, Room N101. You must enter by Door #6, the door on the northwest corner of the building, but not quite the northernmost door. Upon entering the building, turn left; walk past the bathrooms and water fountain, toward the classroom (N101), to the immediate right of the Exit (Door #7).
All participants and attendees must sign Subaru’s liability release, available here. Release and Waiver Agreement.Boy Scout 2017.
Here is the current draft of the Camporee Leader Guidebook, subject to revision after the meeting: North Star Fall Camporee Leaders Guide V4 9_11_2017.
Save the Date: Scoutmaster/ASM IOLS Training
North Star in cooperation Del-Mi District are running an Introduction to Outdoor 
Leadership Skills (“IOLS”) from Friday evening, October 27 to Sunday morning, October 29, 2017 at Camp Belzer. This is taking place concurrently with the Del-Mi District Camporee.
This training is required for all persons registered or registering as a scoutmaster and assistant scoutmaster through the Rechartering process. This training is now the only training that must be done in person.
This training session will be a great opportunity to have adults truly understand what makes the scout outdoor program so successful as a citizenship and character development program. You will have a chance to meet fellow scouters from around the Crossroads of America Council. You can experience the power of scouting first hand.
We will have a faculty composed of scouters from around the council who are very knowledgeable about the topics they address. Meeting these scouters will be worth your time, even if you have already taken the course at summer camp.
UPDATED 9/29/17: The link is now live Save the date now and look at the Council calendar to reserve your spot when the sign up opens up near the end of September.
Scout Night with the Pacers
Council has released information about Scout Night with the Pacers.
For complete information, download the flyer here.
REMINDER: Roundtable Thursday
For Roundtable we will have two excellent programs.
We will kick things off at 6:30 pm with a short Youth Protection Training (Y01), open to all scouters. This is all you need for Cub Scouts and Boy Sccouts. It does not qualify for Venturing Youth Protection.
At 7:00 pm, we will open with our normal General Session. We will try to keep this brief (under 15 minutes).
After General Session, the Cub Scout Roundtable will focus on Den Leader Training. This is designed to qualify the Cub Scout Den Leader as fully trained for Lion through Bear years. (Webelos Den Leaders should also take Outdoor Webelos Leadership Skills (“OWLS”).) Den Leaders should have received emailed invitations from Cub Scout Roundtable Commissioner Bill Buchalter. Pack Chairs should call their Den Leaders to encourage attendance. Remember this training is mandatory for rechartering for all currently enrolled Den Leaders. The class will be taught by Bill and District Chair John Wiebke.
After General Session, the Boy Scout Roundtable will have a guest presentation on the 
new-ish Nova Program from Troop 56 Committee Chair and Wood Badge Candidate (Eagle Patrol) Sandy McNutt and his fellow Eagle, Hou-Koda Committee Member and Troop 307 Committee Member Kelli Brooks. This presentation is relevant to Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturing. So if Cub Leaders don’t need training, this might be the session for them.
Please help us have a big turn out for Roundtable.
New BALOO Training Curriculum
The new BALOO training curriculum was published this year. A copy is available here.
Here are some of the points of emphasis from Council Training Director Jay Soucy:
A few major points in the new BALOO syllabus
- Pack overnighters and Webelos den campouts require a BALOO trained Scouter at the campout.
- This new course requires an overnight campout. Starting at 8 AM Saturday to 11 AM Sunday.
- This course has 85 pages of handout for each participant.
- Participants should complete the 6 on-line BALOO lessons prior to taking the practical portion. If not, a “Train” status will be withheld until the on-line portion is completed.
Adults Wearing Eagle Pins
Since a refrain at an Eagle Court of Honor is “once an Eagle, alway an Eagle,” can adult Eagles wear their Eagle Scout Pin?
We all know that the Eagle Scout patch should be retired from a scout uniform, when the scout turns 18 and becomes an Assistant Scoutmaster. He then can wear the Eagle knot for the rest of his life.
But can the adult wear his Eagle Pin to an Eagle Court of Honor.
Bryan on Scouting tried to address this in 2014. Unfortunately, his article was slightly incorrect. I met Bryan at National Jamboree this past summer. Having read his material for years, I can vouch that he does his research thoroughly, and his personality in person is very humble and self-effacing. Consequently, I believe his error is less a lack of diligence than a lack of clarity in the scouting literature.
Simply put, the Boy Scout Insignia Guide allows an adult to wear the pin for “formal Eagle occasions.”
So if we are trying to make sure that a new Eagle Scout feels part of a larger circle of scouts and scouters, we can encourage all Eagles to wear their pins to the Eagle Court of Honor.
This accomplishes two key goals, among many others. First, it allows the new Eagle Scout, the non-scouting visitors, and the newer scouts to see the people who are Eagles more clearly. The men whom they respect wear the pin. Second, it allows more people to identify the Eagle knot. This means that some of the mystery of an adult’s uniform is removed. With greater real recognition, more adults may seek the company of existing Eagles as mentors in scouting, and more youth will seek to join their company as fellow Eagle Scouts.
Other Rumored Changes
I cannot independently verify these yet, but Bobwhite Blather is a reputable site about scouting. He reports that in addition to the fee increase one change that is moot to the Crossroads of America Council (i.e., YPT before initial registration, a long-standing CAC practice) two other changes are coming in 2018:
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All adults at summer camp must be registered. In the past, a parent of a Scout could camp with the troop, subject to local requirements such as completing YPT or being cleared by the state’s human services central registry. Beginning in 2018, however, any adult who accompanies a troop to a long-term (over 72 hours) resident camp or other activity (such as high adventure) must be registered with the BSA, even if they are the parent of a Scout on the trip. This is to allow the BSA to conduct the criminal background check and for the chartered organization to explicitly approve of the adult. They can be registered with the unit in any of the positions available, including Assistant Scoutmaster, committee member or Unit Scouter Reserve. The latter is preferred if the adult has no other responsibilities with the troop – but if you have vacancies on your committee, this might be a good way to bolster it.
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Internet Rechartering is improved. I haven’t seen too many specifics, but the new rechartering process is more in line with the tools available at my.scouting.org. Most of us have suffered with the previous Internet rechartering system, including its reliance on a specific browser to complete some of the steps. If the new system is like the other current tools, it’ll work with a variety of modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox and Safari. It’ll also include many convenience improvements such as allowing electronic authorization and online payment.
Any time the BSA says that they are “improving technology,” I start having heart palpatations. If past experience is any indication of future performance (since this is not an SEC compliant website), we could be in for a bumpy rechartering year.
CAC North Star Unofficial Website 
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