Taughannock District
Baden-Powell Council, BSA
Boy Scouts

















Our Website Has Moved

If you're reading this notice, you have an out-of-date bookmark.

While we have had the TompkinsCortlandScouts.org domain name for many years, we never really had a place to put the website. The domain was actually just an alias for some other website. So, every time you accessed TompkinsCortlandScouts.org, some other address appeared in your browser's address bar - mostly, home.htva.net/~wb2jwd/, which is the space my cable company gave me, but sometimes www.bpmlegal.com, my office website -  and if you bookmarked the site, you wound up bookmarking the actual address, not TompkinsCortlandScouts.org. Worse, htva.net only gave me 20MB of storage space, total, so we were very limited in how much we could post on that site.

Thanks to Mark Travis of Pack 197 and Good News Computing, the Taughannock District Website now has a real home, and oodles of space to live in (one "oodle" = several gigabytes). And, thanks to a suggestion from Oliver Habich of Troop 4, we also have a shorter, easier-to-type domain - TCScouts.org  - two names, the same website.

What this means to you is:

  • Old Bookmarks won't be right: If you have any bookmarks in your browser for any of the pages in the Taughannock District Website, they probably point to the actual site of the old page, not the new site. So, you'll need to...
  • Change your Bookmarks: At least in Firefox or IE, that means right-clicking on the bookmark, click on "Properties" and change the part of the address which says "home.htva.net/~wb2jwd/" or "www.bpmlegal.com" to --www.TCScouts.org-- or --www.TompkinsCortlandScouts.org-- (either will work, if you're lazy like me, use the shorter one). The rest of the address remains the same.
    So, "http://home.htva.net/~wb2jwd/announce.htm" becomes --http://www.TCScouts.org/announce.htm --
  • Or, save new bookmarks: If you don't want to edit your old bookmark, you can always follow one of these links http://www.TompkinsCortlandScouts.org or http://www.TCScouts.org , find the page you want, and save a new bookmark. 
  • The old website will be taken down after January 1st, and all of the pages will be set to redirect to the new server. So if you don't update your bookmarks now, now you can always follow the forwarding link and save a new bookmark later on.

Click Here to Access the New Web Site

Yrs. in Scouting,
Mike Brown
District Commissioner

Boy Scouting is for boys 11 to 17 years of age. Boys also may become Boy Scouts if they have earned the Cub Scouting Arrow of Light Award and are at least 10 years old or have completed the fifth grade and are at least 10 years old.

The Scouting program has three specific objectives, commonly referred to as the "Aims of Scouting." They are character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. The methods by which the aims are achieved are listed below in random order to emphasize the equal importance of each.

Outdoor Programs

Boy Scouting is designed to take place outdoors. It is in the outdoor setting that Scouts share responsibilities and learn to live with one another. In the outdoors the skills and activities practiced at troop meetings come alive with purpose. Being close to nature helps Boy Scouts gain an appreciation for the beauty of the world around us. The outdoors is the laboratory in which Boy Scouts learn ecology and practice conservation of nature's resources.

 

  

Ideals

The ideals of Boy Scouting are spelled out in the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout motto, and the Scout slogan. The Boy Scout measures himself against these ideals and continually tries to improve. The goals are high, and as he reaches for them, he has some control over what and who he becomes.

Advancement

Boy Scouting provides a series of surmountable obstacles and steps in overcoming them through the advancement method. The Boy Scout plans his advancement and progresses at his own pace as he meets each challenge. The Boy Scout is rewarded for each achievement, which helps him gain self-confidence. The steps in the advancement system help a Boy Scout grow in self-reliance and in the ability to help others.

Patrols

The patrol method gives Boy Scouts an experience in group living and participating citizenship. It places responsibility on young shoulders and teaches boys how to accept it. The patrol method allows Scouts to interact in small groups where members can easily relate to each other. These small groups determine troop activities through elected representatives, the Patrol Leaders.

The Scout Troop

Scout Patrols are organized into Troops, under the leadership of an elected Senior Patrol Leader, and encouraged and advised by an adult Scoutmaster and his (or her) assistants. The SPL and Patrol Leaders make up a Patrol Leaders Council which plans and carries out the Troop's program.

The Troop will usually have an outing once a month, and most troops will plan a major trip or high adventure activity at least once a year, such as a touring trip to Washington DC, or a hike on a Historic Trail. 

Troop Meetings

Most Troops hold regular weekly meetings - see the chart, below, to see when each of our District's Troops meet. 

At the weekly Troop meetings, Scouts can work on their advancement, learn Scout Skills, plan for their next outing, play games and generally have fun. Meetings may also involve guest speakers or field trips to local points of interest. 

Summer meetings are usually less formal, with the Scouts taking advantage of the good weather and late sunsets to hike or swim or do other outdoor activities. 

Going Places...

Scouts are active, by definition. You'll find them out on the hiking trail, or riding their bikes around Cayuga Lake on a weekend bike hike. 

Summer Camp

What would a Scout's Summer be without a week at Summer Camp? Our Council operates two camps - Camp Barton on Cayuga Lake and Camp Tuscarora in the Catskills.

Inter-Troop Activities

Several times a year the Troop will meet with other troops for a weekend activity, usually organized by the District or Council. These "Camporees" often involve competition between Patrols in games involving Scout Skills, physical activity, and problem solving. Sometimes a Camporee will focus on a Merit Badge or a theme such as Nature or Survival.

See our Scrapbook page for pictures and descriptions of past District Camporees. 

 


Scouts build shelters at a Survival Camporee


Scouts demonstrate First Aid Skills at Emergency Preparedness Rally

A World-Wide Movement

A Scout is a member of a world-wide movement - there are Scouting organizations in almost every country. While he is in the Boy Scouts, a Scout may have the opportunity to take part in an International activity involving Scouts from other countries, such as a National Jamboree or the Blair Atholl Scottish Jamborette, or he might host an overseas Scout here on home visitation. 

If you are interested in starting a new Pack, Troop or Crew in your area, please contact the Taughannock District Executive at DE@TompkinsCortlandScouts.org

There's a Scout Troop near you!

Troops in Cortland County
 with contact people and numbers

City of Cortland

  • Troop 94 - Will Newman 756-7102 cnypaintshop@hotmail.com
    United Presbyterian Church, Tues, 7-9:00 pm
  • Troop 197 - Norm Chace 753-1465
    nchace@twcny.rr.com
    St. Mary’s Parish Hall, 1st, 3rd, 4th Tues, 6:30 pm (2nd wk TC3 pool, $1)
  • Troop 81 (BOCES in-school)
    James Bugh 753-0050
    jimbugh@twcny.rr.com
    Homer High School, Fridays at 10:30AM

Cortland County

 

Troops in Tompkins County
 with contact people and numbers

City of Ithaca

Tompkins County

Nearby Troops with Web Pages

© Copyright 2010-2011 Taughannock District BSA