The Boy Scout $.44 Stamp has arrived
Thanks to the 19,000+ Facebook users who petitioned the U.S. Post Office to reverse policy and add a Boy Scout Stamp for the 100th anniversary. Those stamps should now be at your local post office (and are being snapped up by the thousands at the National Jamboree). Get yours today!

Ustream will have the closing of the Jamboree online tonight. Just sign up for an account and watch online, if you like!

You can watch it online http://www.ustream.tv/shininglight
Shining Light, Ustream.TV: On Saturday, July 31, 2010, at 8 p.m. EST, the Scouting family, past, present and future, will be able to take part in this special night.

Troop 859 will attend the 2010 National Jamboree at Fort AP Hill near Fredericksburg, Virginia to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Scouting! We will travel to Prince William County Boy Scout Camp Snyder in Haymarket, VA where we will share a large campsite with another Troop from our Council. We will arrive on Wednesday, July 28th, and may be able to go to the Jamboree site on Wednesday, the first day that it is open to visitors. We will enjoy a full day touring all of the Jamboree exhibits and activities and visiting with friends in our Blue Grass Council contingent who are attending the Jamboree or serving on Staff. On Friday, July 30th, our Troop will visit Washington DC and, if all goes as planned (thank you Michele!), we will be able to tour the White House, Mitch McConnell’s office and the Capitol. We hope to see ride a trolley around the Mall to see the great monuments of the city. If time and energy allow, we hope to visit one or more of the important museums in DC including the Smithsonian (briefly) and the Air & Space Museum, but details remain to be worked out. We will return to the Jamboree on Saturday for more fun and that night see the Big Arena Show that is not to be missed! Sunday the Troop will bid farewell to Camp Snyder, Virginia and the Jamboree and head home (full of memories and the knowledge that we belong to a large brotherhood of Scouters). Michelle Legrand is working very hard on this trip. A BIG THANKS TO Michelle!!

- For more info, visit the 2010 National Scout Jamboree Web Site

Troop 859 now uses PayPal for your donations and contributions at any time. It is easy and best of all – it is safe and secure. You can help our Troop from the comfort of your home.
Just click on the “Donate” button below NOW! Funds go to the Troop bank account directly.

Pathfinding is one of four historic merit badges available to earn during the BSA’s Centennial Year. The requirements are the same as they were a century ago, and just as interesting in 2010. To earn the badge, Scouts must demonstrate that they know their neighborhoods, communities, and what lies beyond.
“Have a general knowledge of the district within a three-mile radius of the local scout headquarters,” reads one of the badge requirements, “so as to be able to guide people at any time, by day or by night.”

“If in the country,” another requirement begins, “know in a two mile radius, the approximate number of horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs owned on the five neighboring farms…”

The requirement continues, “in a town, know, in a half-mile radius, the location of livery stables, garages and blacksmith shops.”

Scouts today have powerful new tools for exploring their surroundings. Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers bounce signals off satellites to pinpoint any location on Earth to within a few yards. Some GPS units can be programmed to plot the quickest route to Town Hall, the closest farm, and perhaps even those livery stables and blacksmith shops.

Keep your GPS functioning in the field with a Foldable Charger that can channel the power of sunlight into the energy boost your electronic gear needs.

Boy Scouts have until December 31, 2010, to complete the Pathfinding merit badge requirements. Earn it and you’ll see how the times have changed…and how much they’ve stayed the same.

BSA® Historic Merit Badges
These four limited-edition, vintage-design Merit Badges give Boy Scouts a hands-on opportunity to experience an exciting part of BSA® history. To celebrate Scouting’s 100 years in the U.S., badges are an exclusive offering, available during 2010 only.

Merit Badges feature original designs and requirements from the early years of scouting. Modified for safety, the requirements may be found online at www.scouting.org/100years (no Merit Badge Pamphlets will be printed).

Completion of requirements must take place between January 1 and December 31, 2010. All Merit Badges are restricted.

Effective June 1, 2010:

Youth Protection training is required for all BSA registered volunteers, regardless of their position.
New leaders are required to take Youth Protection training before submitting an application for registration. The certificate of completion for this training must be submitted at the time the application is made and before volunteer service with youth begins.
Youth Protection training must be taken every two years. If a volunteer’s Youth Protection training record is not current at the time of recharter, the volunteer will not be reregistered.

At least one Scout leader for each outing must be trained in Weather Hazards which can be done online at:

We are headed to visit the BSA National Jamboree to be held at Fort AP Hill outside of Fredericksburg VA, near Washington DC.  We will drive up Wednesday, July 28th to Boy Scout Camp Snyder at Haymarket VA and stay there during our visit.  On Thursday, July 29th, we will go to the Jamboree and see the sights – bring lots of water, good walking shoes and a hat -it is BIG!  On Friday, July 30th, we will tour Washington DC.  Michele is planning a tour of the White House and the Capitol and other historic locations in our nation’s capitol.  On Saturday, August 31st, we will return to the Jamboree and stay for the big Arena Show that night.  On Sunday, August 1st, we will return home, savoring the memories of a lifetime!

FUNDRAISER:  ”Ciao Down With the Scouts” fundraiser was a success. We hope to charge just $100 per Scout for the trip, but SM Tom Fielder is working on the final budget now. Details to follow.

HEALTH FORMS: Also, each Scout must fill out a new BSA Youth AND Adult Leader Health Forms.  http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34605_Letter.pdf This form was mailed out or handed out to everyone in the Troop at the last meeting.  Go to the link to download the form and make a Doctor’s appoinment asap.

You can get the physical at your own Dr. or there is a walk-in medical clinic at Walmart in Nicholasville.

BSA CONSENT FORM: EVERY Scout parent is required to fill out a current Activity Consent Form for the National Jamboree – it is available at the following link:  http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/19-673.pdf

“Ciao Down with the Scouts” Fundraising Dinner and Auction at Trinity Hill on Friday, June 4th was a wonderful success! Thank you to everyone who helped cook, serve, and clean up; a big thanks to everyone who bought or sold tickets; and an especially warm thanks to everyone who donated items for the silent auction. Be sure to tell Michele LeGrand about your donation. We want to thank you properly!