March 5, 2010 -- Hey gold rushers!!! The results are in. . .and boy howdy did you guys find gold!!! The assayer’s office has posted the tally with the top miners posted.
Top miners – Senior
1st Place 313 Nightcrawler
2nd Place 323 Redneck
3rd Place 304 Grizzly
4th Place 308 Panther
5th Place 340 Flaming Arrow
Best Sled 301 Cobra
Fastest Sled 399 Imperial Scout
Lightest Sled 304 Grizzly
Top miners – Junior
1st Place 340 Ghost Wolf
2nd Place 330 Crazy Banana Bomb
3rd Place 329 Lightning
4th Place 312 Cobra
5th Place 304 Preposterous Panda
Best Sled 340 Ghost Wolf
Fastest Sled 312 Cobra
Lightest Sled 338 Iron Squirrel
Frozen Few
Troop 301
Troop 320
- Klondike Pete!
February 8, 2010 -- The Ninth Annual Scouters' Rendezvous is scheduled for Saturday, April 10, 2010 at Camp Nutter, Acton, ME. The cost is $10 to cover the CD of information, rental and insurance. Scouters are welcome to attend the entire weekend (April 9-11), but Saturday is the "big day". An informational handout is available here. Make plans now for your unit leadership to attend and email David Wade to RSVP to ensure enough food is available for the participants.
February 5, 2010 -- The Pine Tree Council University of Scouting will be held on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at the Central Maine Community College in Auburn, ME. The Course Catalog and program details are available here. Make plans now for your unit leadership to attend as a team to gain in Scouting knowledge.
January 25, 2010 -- For those of you who do not know yet, I am your new District Executive. I have served the Downeast District for the last 4 years and I am excited to be working with all of you. I can be reached at ssaucier@bsamail.org and 797-5252 ext. 24. I will be sending an update email out at least weekly, so watch your email accounts and please pass that information on to your unit leadership. The same information will be posted to the District Website here.
January 25, 2010 -- Every year at this time, we like to have a representative from the Scouting program talk to all of our units about the Pine Tree Council and give Scouting Families the opportunity to support the program. If you have not scheduled a Friends of Scouting Presentation please contact me. Blue & Golds and Courts of Honors are great opportunities to schedule your presentation.
January 25, 2010 -- The Boy Scouts of America utilizes the Trainer’s EDGE method as an effective means of teaching skills. This method is used by Council and District Training Teams, as well as Boy Scout Troops and Venture Crews. All Scouting adult leaders and Boy Scouts and Venturers in leadership positions that require teaching skills to others will find the Trainer’s EDGE program very valuable. Effective January 1, 2010, the new Boy Scout Rank Requirements for Tenderfoot and Life specifically call out Scouts to use the EDGE Method to teach a skill to another Scout. Want to understand how this teaching model can help you, your Scouts, your Scouting and your life? Then attend the Trainer’s EDGE Training on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at the Pine Tree Council Office, 131 Johnson Road, Portland, ME from 8:30am-4:40pm. Bring a lunch and wear your Scout Uniform. The event is free and likely to be valuable well-beyond Scouting. To register please contact Matt Randall at mrandall@bsamail.org or 797-5252 ext. 21.
January 25, 2010 -- Dick Cabela, founder of Cabela's sporting goods store is an Eagle Scout. Requests can be made to the following contact information for letters of congratulations for Eagle Scouts. Greg Sirpis is the Events Coordinator at the Cabela's in Scarborough and Exalted Ruler of the Elks Lodge in Portland. Greg in particular is excited to help honor Eagle Scouts.
Greg Sirpis, Events Coordinator, Cabela's, Inc., 100 Cabela Blvd, Scarborough, ME, 04074-5507, greg.sirpis@cabelas.com
Mr. Dick Cabela, Chairman of the Board, Cabela's, Inc., 1 Cabela Dr., Sidney, NE, 69160-1001
January 25, 2010 -- On Saturday March 13, York District will be offering Cub Leader Training at the Saco City Hall. Registration will be from 8:00 am to 8:30 am and the course will start at 8:30 am. The Cost of the training is $5. This Training will be for Cubmasters, Den Leaders, Assistants, and Pack Committee Members. Please make an effort to get all your untrained Cub Leaders to this training. For more information contact Scott Valcourt 698-1213, E-mail: scott@valcourt.org.
We will also be offering Den Chief Training on March 13. Registration will be from 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm, and the course will start at 1:00 pm. The cost of the training is $5. This course is for any Boy Scout who is interested in being a den chief, it will also be open to any Cub Scout or Boy Scout Leader interested in learning more about the Den Chief program.
January 18, 2010 -- The current Pine Tree Council and York District Calendar has been updated on the District Website with the latest information as to locations and dates of the upcoming Council and District events. Links to further information is available on the event listings, if available. The District Calendar can be found by clicking on the Calendar link above. Any edits should be sent to the webmaster.
January 5, 2010 -- The current Pine Tree Council Training Calendar has been put on the District Website with the latest information as to locations and dates of the upcoming training events. There is a contact coordinator for each training event if you are interested in further information. The Training Calendar is located at http://www.yorkdistrict.org/trainingschedule.php.
December 5, 2009 -- The December 2009 York District Roundtable Announcements have been updated on the website in the Roundtable section. The next Roundtable will be held on Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 7:00 PM at the Sanford High School, Sanford, ME. The YD Cafe' will be there this month. Make sure your unit is represented! If school in Sanford is cancelled due to inclement weather, the Roundtable will be automatically cancelled. The District Website will also be updated to reflect the cancellation.
November 30, 2009 -- The York District Cub Scout Activities Guide has been posted on the District Website in the Program section. This guide is full of York District Cub Scout-tested program activities around the area that might be the source of your next great Pack or Den adventure. Thanks to Bruce Theriault and the District Camping Committee for their work in compiling this set of information. A quick link to download the guide (in Adobe PDF form) is here.
June 10, 2009 -- Congratulations to Robin Bridge of Troop 313 in Berwick, Bryan Courtois of Troop 310 in Saco and Patty Olsen of Troop 338 in South Berwick as the 2009 York District Award of Merit Recipients! These awards were presented at the June Roundtable, along with a number of training awards earned by Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leaders and Commissioners. Congratulations Robin, Bryan and Patty!
April 9, 2009 -- Congratulations to Dick Foss, Committee Chairman of Troop 313 in Berwick as one of the 2009 Pine Tree Council Silver Beaver Recipients! Dick will receive the highest award for volunteer service in Pine Tree Council at the Council Annual Recognition Banquet on Friday, April 24, 2009 at the Portland Elks Club. The registration form, which is due into the Council Office by Friday, April 17, is available for download here. Congratulations Dick!
March 15, 2009 -- The new online training course “This is Scouting” replaces New Leader Essentials, and is now available. This training is offered online via the BSA's Online Learning Center (http://olc.scouting.org). Since the training "This is Scouting" replaces New Leaders Essentials (NLE) training, all references to NLE should be considered replaced by This is Scouting training. All references to NLE on the York District Website now poinnt to This is Scouting. All Scouting adult leaders and parents are encouraged to take this online training.
March 5, 2009 -- The annual Boy Scouts of America Report to the Nation took place this week in Washington, DC. National Venturing President Amanda Vogt and National Order of the Arrow Chief Jack O'Neill represented Scouts and Venturers from across the nation in presenting to the leaders of Congress and President Obama the report of accomplishments of the BSA in 2008. To review their blog of the experience, visit http://stlbsa.wordpress.com/ and to view the chronicled images of the report, see http://www.bsartn2008.org/. Plans are being made to have Jack O'Neill attend the Madockawanda Lodge Order of the Arrow Banquet in December, being hosted by the York Chapter. Encourage your OA members to meet Jack there or at the National Order of the Arrow Conference at Indiana University on August 1-6, 2009. See the Lodge Website for details.
New Pine Tree Council Commissioner February 9, 2009 -- Congratulations to the new Pine Tree Council Commissioner Clinton Staples of Shapleigh! Clinton, former York District Vice Chairman and District Commissioner, became the Council Commissioner in 2009. We wish Clinton the best as he serves all of the units in Pine Tree Council!
January 4, 2009 -- Boy Scout Rank Requirement videos from the Troop Resources DVD, mailed to all Scoutmasters during the Summer of 2008, is available on the National Council website at http://www.scouting.org/applications/rankvideo.aspx. This video tool is useful for Scouts embarking on the requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class, and was discussed at the December, 2008 Roundtable.
November 20, 2008 -- Boy Scouts who are embarking on the leadership position of Den Chief with the Cub Scout Pack have the opportunity to complete Den Chief Training via the BSA's Online Learning Center. Den Chief Training is a requirement of the Den Chief Service Award and offers Scouts the chance to better understand their role in the operations of a Cub Scout Den and Pack. To complete Den Chief Training, Scouts should click on http://olc.scouting.org and begin the Den Chief Training, or they can click on the left to get started.
The 2009-2010 District Roundtable Program is off to an active start in both the Cub Scout and Boy Scouting worlds. Cub Roundtable Commissioner Jody Hart has planned an information-filled program co-mingling a traditional discussion and exercise in the following month's National theme for Cub Scouting along with training presentations on Cub Scouting-relavent topics from local Scouting leaders. In the Boy Scout Roundtable program, seasoned participants are experiencing topics that have timeless value to Scout leaders. Boy Scout Roundtable Commissioner Dave Wade, in conjunction with the Roundtable Staff, have planned topics specific to each month's roundtable that can be used by the new Boy Scout Leader or the "Old Timer" alike. Roundtables are operated separately as compared to much of the combined manner of the last several years. For more details on the Roundtable Programs, see the Roundtable section of the District Website, and better yet, attend the Cub Scout or Boy Scout Roundtables, both held simultaneously at Sanford High School, Route 109, Sanford from 7pm-8:45pm on the First Thursday of each month. See the District Calendar for the 2009-2010 dates. And, see you there!
Pine Tree Council Website