As we sit today on World Thinking Day, February 22, 2018 with the theme of IMPACT, I have taken some time to reflect on the IMPACT that Camp Archbald has had on me.

I was not lucky enough as a child to attend Camp Archbald during my brownie or junior years as I was a Girl Scout, but in my last 8 1/2 years as a Girl Scout Leader, I have come to understand the IMPACT that Camp Archbald has had on my Girl Scouts.

I saw my daughter, at ten years old, on her first trip away from her family along with her Girl Scout Sister... I saw the fun she had learning about the cultures of her counselors, spending time in the outdoors and enjoying boating on the lake. I saw the IMPACT that camp had made on her from this day forward.

I saw one of my most afraid, shy Girl Scouts gain courage during a TAC weekend when she was cheered on by her fellow Girl Scouts and climbed all the way to the top of the climbing tower. While she was afraid, the counselors, facilitators, and other Girl Scouts cheered her on leaving a lasting IMPACT on her self-confidence.

I have seen girls, many of them after taking 4 groups to Camp Archbald for weekend service unit camping weekends conquer their fears, make new friendships and enjoy the camp. I saw girls cry last year, as we were closing our camp hoping that our camp would stay open long enough for us to go up as a group together one more time. We took home our ashes from our last camp fire, following a day on the lake in boats/kayaks, doing arts and crafts, participating in archery, taking hikes around the lake to see if the girls on the other side could hear us say RAH, RAH for Archbald, and doing outdoor stem activities, hoping to take those same ashes back for a subsequent camp fire.

I have seen girls walk around camp, thinking of projects they could do around camp, hopeful that they would be able to earn an award (Gold, Silver, or Bronze) to make their camp a better place and leave a lasting IMPACT on girls in the future, only to be turned down by council, despite the fact that prior girls and troops have done improvements to camp as their award project.

I have watched energetic, older Girl Scouts, lead and teach younger girls in songs and skits. I have watched Daisies and Brownies look up to these girls, seeing the IMPACT that those girls are having, wishing one day to be just like them and leading songs in front of the camp fire.

I have watched how girls change when they get dropped of at Camp Archbald. For a weekend, all girls, regardless of age or disability are equals. They share the same experiences, learn and grow together, and they IMPACT each other. We leave that weekend, every time with a new sense of empowerment that our Girl Scouts can to ANYTHING.

In watching the IMPACT that Camp Archbald has had on my Girl Scouts, I in turn have been IMPACTED. I leave camp each time, absolutely exhausted, but rejuvenated in the fact that girls just had the time of their lives for a few short days. I leave camp ready to plan the next adventure and event for our girls and ready to explore the next chance I have to take Girls to camp. 

Unfortunately, I have seen in the last several months, the NEGATIVE IMPACT that Camp Archbald is having on our Scouting Community. I see a council who does not appreciate and understand the value of the land we have and the potential for IMPACT that it has on our girls and adults. I see a council who provides generic responses to most questions, but never really gets to the depth of what is asked. I see a council that, despite several statements saying that they will increase transparency with volunteers, hide things or release information little by little to string individuals along. I see girls, who full well understand the IMPACT that Camp Archbald has had on them in the past, upset because they can no longer attend resident camp and boat on the lake. While I understand that as a result of mergers of councils ten years ago, GSHPA has been left with a financial deficit; our Girl Scouts are the ones selling the cookies, selling the fall product that provides council with money to operate. I encourage you to listen to the girls. Perhaps selling an iconic piece of Girl Scout History and slowly demolishing buildings is not the answer. Girls saved up their cookie money to be able to attend Camp, specifically at Camp Archbald, which is no longer an incentive for them to do. It is very disheartening to see the negative IMPACT that the potential closure of Camp Archbald is having on the local Girl Scout Community in the northeast. Volunteers who no longer have that drive to volunteer, or girls who may not want to participate in scouting any longer, because their favorite activity, camping at Camp Archbald is being slowly taken from them.

I encourage the board and CEO, on World Thinking Day 2018, to look at the IMPACT that our camp has had on generations of individuals and the leaders that have came out of Camp Archbald.

Sincerely,
Danielle Ainey
Troop 50683 Cadette Leader
Troop 50866 Daisy Leader
Service Unit 508 Lead
Jessup, PA

Do you know how your food is produced or how far your food travels to make it to your dinner plate? It is shocking to know that on average your food travels more than 1500 miles. So you may ask, “What is the problem with food that has traveled across the country?” Here are a few reasons why you should visit your local Farmers Market and buy local.

Food such as salad greens and more are produced in California so they travel over 3,000 miles to make it to the East Coast.

Produce, such as tomatoes, are picked when they are unripe and gassed to ripen while they are being transported.

Locally grown food actually tastes much better because it is fresher. Food that is grown locally does not have preservatives sprayed on it to ripen or to try to keep it fresh while in transport.

Beef is gassed to keep it looking red and appearing fresh. Irradiation is used to preserve the meat so that it will not spoil as fast.

Get to know your farmer at the Farmers Market. Ask questions about the growing habits on their farm. Do they raise “conventional,” or are they organic? Do they use heirloom, hybrid or genetically modified seeds? Do they use conventional or organic sprays?

There are great Farmers Markets springing up all over. Stop by and check them out. Try their products and see if you can tell the difference in the way they taste. Every dollar you spend at a Farmers Market helps that farmer to stay in business. By supporting the local farmers you are supporting the local communities because in the long run the farmers are consumers also and will put the money that they have earned back into the local economy. Help Farm Women United Fight the Food Fight! www.farmwomenunited.org.

Remember to buy local, because “No Farmers, No Food!”

Sincerely,
Tina Carlin
Executive Director
Farm Women United
(570) 267-7405

Recently, in a county to the east of ours, a controversial church had a ceremony in which they blessed the assault rifles of the congregation.  Hundreds of people showed up from all over at Sanctuary Church in Newfoundland, many carrying their AR-15 assault rifles, most wearing crowns.  The pastor of Sanctuary Church is Sean Moon, son of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, convicted felon and avid purchaser of right-wing politicians.

Here are some interesting facts about it:  The ceremony coincided with a mass marriage ceremony, something Sun Myung Moon cunningly did to import followers from South Korea.  Sean Moon's ministry calls itself "Rod of Iron Ministry", egregiously misinterpreting Revelation 2:27 to refer both to assault rifles (which I thought were for self-defense, not "ruling"!) and to themselves.  This passage, unknown to them, is a reference to the Coronation Psalm 2, Verse 9.  There is also, not surprisingly, a financial angle involved here, as Moon owns a gun manufacturer located in an adjoining county.  The day was also tabbed as a "Thank You President Trump" testimonial.  And they're considering doing the gun blessing as a biannual event.

There is some indication that the idea was sold to them by Larry Pratt, a laissez-gun zealot (Gun Owners of America) more extreme than the NRA.  So as a now-religious item, it would theoretically become impossible to ban assault rifles.  Isn't that nifty.

Gun worship is of course a religion of blood sacrifice.  Well, in my religion, nuclear bombs are an article of worship.  I demand the right to posses one (or more).  Worried?  Well, Second Amendment!  (And now First!)  If I misuse my holy nuke, put me in prison!

Sincerely,
Stephen Van Eck
Rushville, PA

Another sunrise. Time to begin another day. Another dollar to be made. Another bill to be paid. Another routine to be run. Another school shooting to be seen. Another sunset. Just another day.

Once again it was time for the news anchors to replay the school-shooting script. There's the usual call for banning guns. This time, because of the latest incident, it's the AR-15. That's the culprit.

Politicians will call for these assault rifles to be banned. That's said with an explanation point. But to be an elected official doesn't make one immune to ignorance or stupidity, or just plain bread-and-butter grandstanding.

No, it was not an assault rifle; it was a cosmetic knockoff of a fully automatic combat weapon. The AR-15 is no different from any other pistol, revolver, or rifle; one trigger pull, one bullet fired.

Then cometh the interviews. Tell us what you saw. How do you feel? Did you know the shooter? Tell us about him. That's followed by, How can we prevent this from happening again?

After a few days, depending on how many were killed and wounded, the story is dropped for the next bleed, read, and lead headline.

Of course for the families who lost a loved one, it will never end. And for those who were wounded their ordeal is just beginning.

To be shot with a pistol is not the same as being shot with a rifle. The length of the barrel is related to the speed of the projectile. A rifle bullet fired at close range hits with three times the speed of sound. The impact is terrific; the effect is horrific.

In most cases, an extended period of hospitalization followed by rehabilitation will be required. And rarely with the affected part of the body recover completely. The psychological and physical scars are permanent and life-changing.

But the biggest tragedy will not be mentioned. These shooting, can be prevented, but will not be because they are money trees.

There is a common thread that runs through all the classroom violence: psychotropic drugs.

Psych drugs are designed to pass through the blood-brain barrier. They are intended to affect mental activity, behavior, perception, or mood. They can be tranquilizers, sedatives, or antidepressants.

Psych meds are marketed by the pharmaceutical companies by chancery, deception, and fraud. Here's how.

Step one. Suppose an experimental drug is found to produce some physical and psychological effects. The drug company decides which effects are significant, that is, marketable, and which results are labeled side effects.

Step two. Studies are commissioned by the drug company, let's say, twenty. They are a disaster; not at all that it wanted. But there are two that show somewhat favorable results. That's all that's required by the Food and Drug Administration.

Step three. Eighteen of the unfavorable studies are trashed. The two favorable ones are enough to proceed with human trails. The tests last only a few weeks. They are interpreted as being desirable.

Step four. Let the selling begin. Psych drugs gross $330 million/year. Glitzy brochures are sent to psychiatrists, physicians, and hospitals to hype sales among professionals.

Step five. Big pharma lavishes $60 billion/year to ad agencies for video and audio clips for a mass market media blitz. Advertising pulls in 79 million---some estimate 100 million---customers and they are repeat buyers.

For psychiatrists, they are just what the doctor ordered. Now they can be real doctors with the power of the prescription pad and pills to address every emotional problem.

Here's the murderers' row of Frankensteinian drugs that were involved in 32 school shootings and suicides: Prozac, Paxit, Zoloft, Ritalin, Effexor, Celexa, Lexapro, Welbutrin, Trazodone, and Xanax.

And ne'er a word is said in the mainstream media about their lethal results lest ad dollars be lost.

Case in point: Nikolas Cruz, the latest school killer. Cruz is responsible for murdering 17 and wounding 14. Glossed over is the fact that Cruz was receiving professional help and treatment, for "a long time", for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The most widely prescribed psych drug for ADHD is Ritalin. Its active ingredient is amphetamine or “speed.” It is a dangerous and highly addictive drug. Ritalin and its bio-equivalents, Adderall, Concerta, and Vyvanse, were involved in six shootings, resulting in 11 deaths (parents, siblings, and schoolmates) and wounding 32.

Cruz was also suffering from depression. For this, the prescribed chemicals of choice would be Prozac and Zoloft (both on murderers' row). The combination and interaction of meds for ADHD and depression to self and others would be appalling.

Additionally, Cruz was delusional: "I hear voices inside my head" instructing him how to commit mass murder. Minutes after carrying out those instructions Cruz visited a McDonald for something to eat. Inexplicable behavior best explained by a mind-altering drug.

At this point, no one is eager to expose the common denominator in all the unprovoked shootings; the market for psych drugs is too lucrative. But, in time, the real culprits will be charged, and it won't be pathetic individuals like Nikolas Cruz but psychotropic drugs, their manufacturers, and their pushers.

Sincerely,
Bob Scroggins
New Milford, PA
scroggins@epix.net