In this Feb. 6 file photo, from left, Joshua Kusterer, 12, Nach Mitschke, 6, and Wyatt Mitschke, 4, salute as they recite the pledge of allegiance during the “Save Our Scouts” prayer vigil and rally against allowing gays in the organization in front of the Boy Scouts of America National Headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Under pressure over its long-standing ban on gays, the BSA announced today that it will submit a proposal to its National Council to lift the ban for youth members but continue to exclude gays as adult leaders. Story here. (AP Photo/Richard Rodriguez, File)

Thoughts?

Camp Easton Boy Scouts of America has circulated an email to supporters, Scouts and contributors in lieu of the decision to end negotiations with Discovery Land Co. for the Lake Coeur d'Alene site. It reads in part:

We are now focused on upgrading the current Camp Easton site to make it the best and safest camp possible now and in the future. Over the past year, many members of our Scouting family have expressed strong support for Camp Easton and for that we are grateful. Camping is an essential element to the Scouting experience. This is why we will soon be launching a capital campaign for Camp Easton. Funds raised will be used to construct a tunnel under Highway 97 to connect both parts of our camp to create a safer and more functional environment for Scouts. We are also excited to make additional improvements to enhance the camping experience. Plans will likely include improved infrastructure, better staff housing, improved camp headquarters and new program features. More here.

Thoughts?

The proposed land swap of a historic Boy Scout camp, a plan that had garnered litigation and a scout protest march, won't be happening. The Boy Scouts of America Inland Northwest Council announced on Wednesday that the council and a luxury developer have ended discussions over the proposal to exchange Camp Easton on Lake Coeur d'Alene for a new camp at a different site. “We were committed at every step to do our very best to make the right decision for our organization,” states a letter posted on the INC website on Wednesday from Tim McCandless, INC scout executive and CEO, and Barry Baker, council president/Alecia Warren, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: Are you glad that the Boy Scouts will hold onto Camp Easton?

Boy Scouts from Troop 315 stand in front Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's jet after he arrives in Salt Lake City. Local Boy Scout troop leaders have been reprimanded after allowing a group of scouts to greet GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney at a Utah airport this week. Kay Godfrey of the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America says scouts are not supposed to take sides in elections, but noted many troop leaders aren't aware of the policy. Others, however, called the move an overreaction. “This is political correctness at it's pettiest,” says Utah Democratic Party Chair Jim Dabakis. “The Utah Democratic Party is thrilled that a troop of Boy Scouts got an upfront visit with a Presidential nominee, right here in Utah.” (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Question: Do you see any problem with Boy Scouts from a flyover state for President Barack Obama to greet the Republican presidential candidate at an airport?

Freshman GOP Rep. Raul Labrador uses his online newsletter to describe a recent visit from his former Boy Scout leader, Bob Swift, who stepped in for Labrador's largely absent father. Labrador has spoken about his move from Puerto Rico to Las Vegas with his mother, when Labrador was 13. Joining the LDS Church and the Scouts were key formative moments, he has said. But his description of his relationship with Swift, offers a more intimate view, including Swift's role as a father figure. Writes Labrador: “I remember vividly father-son campouts that we went on in which my friends’ fathers would go along with them. Not having my own father around to accompany me, Bob stepped in. He was like a father figure to me. Because of him, I felt like an equal among my peers and shared in the goodwill that was fostered during those outings”/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here. (Wikipedia photo)

Question: Is there someone in your life that stepped in to fill an important role, as a father, mother, sibling, etc.?

• Wednesday Poll: A majority of Hucks Nation supports the Boy Scouts continued stand re: excluding “open and avowed” gays. 152 of 287 respondents (52.96%) supported the Scouts stand. 126 of 287 respondents (43.9%) opposed it. 9 (3.14%) were undecided.
• Today's Poll: Why do you think the Otter administration wrongfully fired then ITD director Pam Lowe?

After a confidential two-year review, the Boy Scouts of America today emphatically reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays, ruling out any changes despite relentless protest campaigns by some critics. An 11-member special committee, formed discreetly by top Scout leaders in 2010, “came to the conclusion that this policy is absolutely the best policy for the Boy Scouts,” the organization’ national spokesman, Deron Smith, told The Associated Press. Smith said the committee, comprised of professional scout executives and adult volunteers, was unanimous in its conclusion — preserving a long-standing policy that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 and has remained controversial ever since/Associated Press. More here. (Wikipedia illustration)

Question: Do you support the Boy Scouts stand?

A Kootenai County judge on Wednesday ruled against legal challenges by area Boy Scouts and their supporters to halt the proposed sale of Camp Easton to a North Idaho development company. District Court Judge John Patrick Luster on Wednesday denied efforts by a group calling itself Camp Easton Forever to halt a possible sale of the camp, which has been used since 1929 as a summer camp for regional Boy Scouts. Last year the Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts — which governs the camp and regional scouting — described plans to swap the 383 acres at Camp Easton for a new camp along Sunup Bay on the west shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Opponents have rallied widespread opposition to the planned sale and swap, saying Camp Easton, on the lake’s eastern shore, is a unique site and too valuable to sell/Tom Sowa, SR. More here. And: Copy of Judge Luster's findings here. (SR file photo: Joe Farrell, 12, center, and Kris Blackwell, 12, hold signs outside the Boy Scout headquarters in Spokane Feb. 24 in protest of selling Camp Easton)

Thoughts?

J.D. Meads, second from right, of Athol, Idaho, leads a group of scouts in a camp-style song outside the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Spokane Saturday. The scouts, and adult leaders, from North Idaho and the Spokane area were protesting the sale of Camp Easton, a scout camp on Lake Coeur d'Alene, to a private golf community. More here. (SR photo: Jesse Tinsley)

• Idaho Records/Sherry Adkins, SR
• Judge blocks tent removal at Occupy Boise site/SR
• Lone wolf makes daytime run through Kalispell, Mont/AP
• Cut Bank, Mont., man killed in Marias Pass avalance ID'd/AP
• Cause of Post Falls mansion fire undetermined/Brian Walker, Press
• Sacre, Carter will be center of attention on Senior Night/Jim Meehan, SR
• Gay Rights activists to continue Magic Valley campaign/Natalie Decou, TFTN
• College to Idaho to vote on restarting football program/Brian Murphy, Statesman
• Orbusmax Special: Wyoming considers 'alternate currency' in event of economic doomsday here

Scout program leaders in North Idaho are pleading constituents not to cut off support for the Boy Scouts out of opposition to the Camp Easton land swap. Officials with the Old Mission District, which oversees scouting programs in Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah counties, say they have been contacted by a high number of volunteers and financial donors threatening to sever ties with the district if the proposed exchange goes through. “Some of our biggest contributors are saying, 'We're not going to be associated with scouting anymore,'” said district Chairman Ladd Livingston. Some have made significant donations to fund Camp Easton infrastructure, Livingston explained, with the understanding that the improvements would be used at that location permanently/Alecia Warren, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (Photo from Saving Camp Easton Web site)

Question: Will this end badly?

The executive board of regional Boy Scouts voted in favor of pursuing a purchase option agreement with an Arizona developer on Wednesday, which could result in exchanging a historic Boy Scout camp for a new camp to be built at a different site. The Inland Northwest Council's executive board vote tallied 24 in favor, six opposed and three abstaining to begin negotiations with Discovery Land Company. “These (board members) that were there, they spent so much time investigating, meeting with people on their own, reading the 40 pages from the survey,” said Scout Executive Tim McCandless, referring to a recent survey to constituents on the project. “This was the most comprehensive decision I've seen an executive board make”/Alecia Warren, CdA Press. More here. (SR file photo: A Tiger Cub Scout gets help with a bow and arrow from his dad at Camp Easton)

Question: Do you support this decision?

A decision on whether to pursue a land swap that will give up a historic Boy Scout camp will be made in the next two weeks, according to a scout official, though it might not be as ironclad as some would prefer. The Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts will have two board votes in upcoming weeks, said Scout Executive Tim McCandless. The INC executive and foundation boards will only vote on whether to pursue a purchase of sale agreement with developer Discovery Land Company, McCandless said, which has offered to build a new and improved camp at Sunup Bay on Lake Coeur d'Alene, in exchange for the Camp Easton property further north/Alecia Warren, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here. (Jesse Tinsley SR file photo: A Nine Mile Falls Cub Scout and his father eat stuff apples they baked in a fire at Camp Easton)

Question: Have you ever participated in an event at Camp Easton?

Item: Scout survey: Majority OK with swap: Results will guide council's decision on Camp Easton/Alecia Warren, CdA Press

More Info: The written results are posted online at www.nwscouts.org under Council Camps, as well as a 52-page report replete with charts and graphs mapping out the response percentages. “We've provided every comment made, with no editing of any kind,” McCandless said. “We wanted to put it out there, and let people read it for themselves.” To the survey's chief question, asking whether folks want the INC board to negotiate a comprehensive agreement with Discovery and give up the current property for a new camp, 61 percent were in favor and 39 percent opposed.

Question: Do you agree with the survey results?

The Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts has sent out 10,000 emails asking supporters, Scout families and volunteers their views on selling Camp Easton. The goal, said Tim McCandless, the CEO of the Spokane-based regional Scouts group, is to help board members decide whether to sell or keep the historic camp on Lake Coeur d’Alene’s east shore about 20 miles south of Coeur d’Alene. Some Scouts and neighbors of Camp Easton reacted angrily in August when they learned of a plan to swap Camp Easton for a new Boy Scout camp to be built by a developer on the west side of the lake/Tom Sowa, SR. More here. (Jesse Tinsley SR file photo: Archery practice at Camp Easton)

Question: Should the Boy Scouts sell or keep historic Camp Easton?

A group of Inland Northwest backers and supporters of the Boy Scout​'s popular Camp Easton have filed a lawsuit trying to halt the sale of the camp to an Arizona developer. The suit, filed recently in Kootenai County District Court by the group Camp Easton Forever, seeks a permanent injunction that would prevent any future sale of Camp Easton. They assert that the original donation of the land restricted its use forever as a Scout camp/Office Hours. More here.

The Spokane office of the Boy Scouts of America is awaiting a formal offer from a North Idaho developer before considering whether to sell Camp Easton, a 380-acre camp it has operated on Lake Coeur d’Alene since 1929. Tim McCandless, the CEO of the Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts, said Wednesday that Discovery Land Co. is offering to trade about 270 acres on the west shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene for about 380 acres at Camp Easton, on the lake’s east shore. Only after Discovery makes an offer will the council look over the deal, he said/Tom Sowa, SR. More here. (SR photo: Addy Hatch)

Question: Should the Boy Scouts sell Camp Easton to Gozzer Ranch developer Discovery Land Co.?

Before judging, hear the pitch.

The Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts of America is holding town meetings this week to explain Discovery Land Company's offer to purchase Camp Easton, and why the organization is considering accepting.

“We hope to fully inform folks of more details of the proposal being considered, answer questions and get their feedback,” said Tim McCandless, scout executive for the Inland Northwest Council.Alecia Warren, Cda Press Full story.

How concerned are you about the proposed sale?

Sometimes I forget that, because not long after earning that rank I had some serious issues with the Boy Scouts organization. So, I stepped away from Scouting, boxed up my uniform and awards, and moved on with my life. Last year, when my son heard about a homeschool Boy Scout troop in the area, we joined up. He had a good time with the boys. They met in a wooded park during the day, where the emphasis was on outdoor fun. A few months later, that troop disbanded when the leadership moved away. Not giving up, we looked for another one to join, paying visits to three other troops/Idaho Dad, A Family Runs Through It. More here.

• Osama bin Laden's death/Arch Druid
• Priest among North Idaho lakes featured in Seattle mag/As The Lake Churns
• Will Pend Oreille flood/Bay Views
• Air Force West Winds to play at CdA library/Coeur d'Alene Today
• Bin Laden's last moment on earth/Community Comment
• D is for Daily Grind/Crazy Homeschool Mama
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• Maybe I'll get to fill those planters with flowers/Gathering Around the Table
• 3BT: Chicken, grading, Snug photos/Kellogg Bloggin'
• I can't say they didn't warn me/Staci Lehman, Kootenai MPO
• Fun with conspiracy theories/My Life's A Freak Show w/o A Tent
• Tuesdaytwitterdeebirdies/Slight Detour

HBO numbers (for Monday, May 2): 8644/5416

Question: Were you ever a Boy Scout or a Girl Scout? Was it a good experience?

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates shakes hands with Boy Scouts who are in the same troop that he was in as a boy, after being presented with the Boy Scouts Silver Buffalo award today in Seattle. Scout officials said Gates deserves the Silver Buffalo award for his success with Microsoft Corp., but more so for his humanitarian work through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. As a boy in the 1960s and ‘70s, Gates was a member of a Seattle’s Cub Scout Pack 144 and Boy Scout Troop 186, achieving the rank of Life Scout. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Ellen M. Banner)

Question: Were you ever a Boy Scout or a Girl Scout? What life’s lesson did you learn as a Scout?

Hunter Rich, a scout from Spokane, disassembles an old computer at a display at the Boys Scouts of America Centennial celebration Saturday, May 22, 2010

BOWLING GREEN, Va. – More than 45,000 Boy Scouts and scoutmasters gathered Saturday evening for the 2010 National Scout Jamboree as the Boy Scouts of America celebrated its 100th anniversary – with technical upgrades such as Wi-Fi.

Over the past week thousands of Scouts trekked from around the world to Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia to take part in the ultimate summer camp.

William D. Boyce, the founder of the Boy Scouts, couldn’t have imagined some of the changes as the organization adjusts to the digital age. Among them is Wi-Fi. Thanks to AT&T, Scouts at the jamboree have unlimited Wi-Fi access and can call home or update their Facebook accounts. Full story.

Were you a Boy Scout? If so, what did you learn from scouting?