The Council Office and Scout Shop will open beginning on 1 June under the Governor's Phase 2 requirements. This will mean that up to 10 people may meet indoors along with the social distancing requirements. For those Scouts who desire to turn in their Eagle application material at the Council office it is requested that you email Mrs. Tiffany Edminston first to arrange a time. This process is necessary because up to eight Council staff may be in the office and there can easily be the maximum of 10 people present if you arrive unannounced. Setting up a time to drop off your material will ensure that you can access the office to drop your material off. This will be a temporary process during Phase 2. As before, you may also mail your package to the Council office but it is highly recommended that you can track any package that is mailed.

May 21, 2020   Dear Occoneechee Council Scouting Family,   Thank you for your patience during these unparalleled times. We wanted to ensure that our youth members, staff, board, adult volunteers and community were safe and that we did our part in flattening the curve.   We are pleased to announce, effective June 1, 2020, we are lifting the existing orders which closed our service center, the scout shops and prohibited any in-person meetings and activities.   Please keep in mind as we begin to reassemble under Governor Cooper's three phase plan to reopen North Carolina, we are currently within Phase 2. This means we need to adhere to the maximum gathering of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.  Therefore, decisions about unit meetings and activities should be made by unit leadership and chartering organizations based on the unit's individual circumstances and current CDC and local health department guidelines. Units should check with their l ...

The Eagle rank application form that can be downloaded from the Council website has been updated to permit electronic signatures. However, it has a programming error.  In the previous version dated January 2020 if you entered more letters than would fit in a fillable space the application would shrink the font to permit all of the entry to be visible when printed. In the current version, also dated January 2020, if you enter more characters than would fit into the fillable space the font does not shrink and when the application is printed the excess characters will not be visible. National was alerted about this error by the Council Advancement Committee last night (22 April 2020) so a corrected version may eventually be posted. In the meantime if you use the currently posted version be sure to reduce the font when necessary to make sure all of the entry is visible in the space provided.

The Covid19 FAQs issued on 25 March with the following link https://www.scouting.org/coronavirus/covid-19-faq/   is constantly updated but the updates are difficult to find. If you see a very small diamond shape to the left of a Q, The answer has been updated.

Because of the impact of the Covid 19 virus and the ongoing restrictions issued by BSA and the Governor time extensions for the rank of Eagle are being considered. The Covid 19 extensions are only for circumstances where the Eagle rank would have been completed by the age of 18 if the Covid 19 restrictions were not in place. Please contact Curt Lunchick at fuquay53@yahoo.com to request an Eagle Time Extension Form. Consideration of a time extension based on the virus will be reviewed by the Council. All other time extension requests will continue to be reviewed by National.

Because of the uncertainty of the coronavirus / COVID-19 spread, the decision was made to close BSA Supply through the month of April.  No skeleton crew remaining in place, no small teams coming in to keep things moving, but a complete shutdown so as to prevent the virus spread and to allow for a sanitizing of the facility.

The new COVID-19 updates.  Here is the link:   https://www.scouting.org/coronavirus/covid-19-faq/   This now includes all the rank requirement changes.   NO CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO STAR, LIFE or EAGLE. Tenderfoot rank requirements 1b. – Virtual patrol or troop campouts via video conferencing will be permitted. 2a. – During the same day as your virtual patrol or troop campout, assist in preparing one meal with the help of those with whom you live. Tell your patrol or troop why it was important for each person to share in meal preparation and cleanup. 2b. – During the same day as your virtual campout, demonstrate the appropriate method of safely cleaning items used to prepare, serve and eat a meal. 5a. – Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Verbally commit to following the buddy system on your next troop or patrol outing. 7a. &nda ...

 The National Council is continually updating information in its 25 March Q and A. This includes new information regarding Part C physicals, advancement, etc. Check the following link for updates.  Significant new updated information should be announced in Bryan on Scouting before the middle of April Here is the link to the COVID-19 FAQ:         https://www.scouting.org/coronavirus/covid-19-faq/

Covid19 Advancement Update

The Black River District Pinewood Derby was run today at Heister Chevrolet in Lillington.