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eolesen

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Everything posted by eolesen

  1. Great comments... We pack a Katadyn dual action, and an iodine kit. Haven't had to break out the iodine lately, but at least I know is there...
  2. "I haven't made a decision on how to handle the cell phone thing in the future. But I still might tell him to pack it deep in his bag and off just in case." Sorry if you think I'm picking on you in particular, but this last sentence is a huge part of the underlying issue being discussed. A Scout is obedient. When the leaders (be they the SPL or the SM/ASM) publish a list of equipment for an outing, it's usually based on experience. I've been running outings for 10 years, and camping for over 30. The professionals who put together the packing lists for summer camp do so after see
  3. Agree with the above. Two summers ago, our troop had two crews of 6Y+2A plus a guide. We took opposite directions on the Bear Loop, and met up halfway for about 30 minutes. Keeping crews intact meant that by the end of the second day, we had our portaging down to a science. Everyone knew what gear they had to take, and how to best get everything organized at the other end. We also figured out which boys couldn't manage the food pack or the canoes, who worked best in the front vs. back, etc... Good thing, as we did ~12 portages if I recall on the third day. If we'd have been mixi
  4. Hmmm.... the last thing I wanted as a leader at Camp was Moms texting my first year Scouts to make sure they're OK. Perhaps an old Scouter tale, but it's been said that if you let a homesick Scout call home, they're usually on their way home within 24 hours.... Boys need time away from their parents. That includes no "comfort texting" for mom's benefit. My oldest son trashed two cell phones and an iPod by bringing them to camp. That's a lot of money flushed down the toilet. There's nowhere to charge phones at most camps. They get lost, stolen, broken. Why deal with that
  5. Congrats, David. I know you probably want 'em as soon as possible, but think about the people who helped you on the way and might want to be there. That will help you figure out when and where. I waited a few weeks for mine so that my guide could be there, and we did it at the start of a round table. Several colleagues of mine wanted it done at their Troop COH. Another person I know was given a surprise beading during a roundtable (apparently, she'd procrastinated lomg enough on telling her guide when and where). The Regatta would be fun. Haven't ever seen a Buffalo swim,
  6. Plywood is definitely heavier. A 1/2" footlocker size box weighs around 32lbs empty..... Stainless looks great until it takes a spill and has a few dents & gouges in it. Save the back and budget -- get some plastic footlockers or Actionpackers that can be cleaned out with a power-washer once a year....
  7. If all the signatures were present, and the project was executed, it's time to let the unit implode on its own, and start escalating this for the district and council advancement folks to evaluate.
  8. Yes, it forces progression. And because they dont have to worry about re-election, it also lets them take some risks that they wouldnt if they had to stay popular. Nobody's ever asked to change the way it is, frankly. The ASPL's I've spoken with like the safety net, and I've yet to hear someone really ask to stick around. By that time, they're usually ready for a troop guide or instructor role which has higher stature and less pressure. Being boy led, they're free to chage things up when there's a will or a need.(This message has been edited by Eolesen)
  9. Two camps has been the norm for as long as I can recall with our current troop. First is the "local option" which is typically our council camp, and it is marketed/targeted for the under 14 crowd. That's expanded a bit as our council camp closed for fire/drought the past two summers, but the intent remains the same -- resident camp, close to home, where the aim is camping, merit badges and "low adventure". Second is the high adventure option, and is not limited to just the four national HA bases. It's marketed to the 14 and overs due to the age restrictions which show up on HA, but
  10. "If some clown tried to do an FOS presentation at my ECOH, I wouldn't be Eagle Scout after physically kicking the idiot to the curb. " Sure you would. You have already passed your board of review by the time your COH is held. Rank once given is never revoked, right?...
  11. A good SPL has experience. In our troop, boys elect the ASPL, and after six months of being the understudy, they move up to SPL. Being a 12 month commitment, they experience the whole program year, and with luck, they have had ample time to grow into the job by the time they're the SPL.. Training? That's what the SPL does with his ASPL. They've been in their shoes, and training your replacement is a good learning experience on both sides. So far, it works, and I've watched it for six years now...(This message has been edited by Eolesen)
  12. .... And this is how we've wound up with little red wagons being deemed as unsafe.... SP, there are appropriate measures already suggested which deal with the real issue. I see little good being accomplished by labeling youth as sexual offenders for the rest of their lives when the intent isn't nefarious. The biggest issues facing Scouting are what can happen when adults over-react to a given situation. Am I taking a calculated risk? Yep. Everytime I put on the shoulder loops, I'm taking a risk, whether it is due to a Scout bringing porn, someone being injured from falling off a
  13. Sheesh. We're volunteers. This isn't the Jerry Sandusky trial. There's a point of reason to be held to, and a Scout showing off his porn, while distasteful, doesn't quite fall under distribution to minors unless he's selling it or otherwise giving out copies. Next thing you know, we will be liable for Scouts learning curse words and dirty jokes told after lights out... (This message has been edited by Eolesen)
  14. Beav, I think we've had this discussion a couple times... I'm in agreement with you that neither activity counts as hazing in the purely legalistic standpoint. Unfortunately, the DE's and SE's I've spoken with *do* consider it as such, probably right up there in seriousness with the danger involved with Cubs pulling little red four wheeled wagons. They're the professionals, and they want to call it hazing, I'm done wasting my energy arguing with them about it.(This message has been edited by eolesen)
  15. Pushups for behavior modification is a form of hazing... It's right next to having Scouts singing "I'm a little teapot" for leaving personal gear behind at a camp out. Don't agree with the former, wish the latter was still an option, but the rules are what they are...
  16. Depends on what type of unit... if it is an LDS unit, they'll simply appoint someone. In some wards, it falls to a retiree who is seen as having the time. In others, you wind up with someone who was a Scout as a kid, has a kid in the program, and simply was next in line for a calling. Give them the patch, send them to a couple classes, and they're ready to go, right?... Personally, I see the "lifetime appointment" system for SM being quite dangerous... it's good to have the experience, but you wind up with a lot of complacency on all sides. Our troop has an unwritten rule for term li
  17. A couple of straight pins thru the patch into the shirt has worked for 100 years. Pin it, sew it, wear it. Stuff like patch magic/badge magic is good if you never plan to remove the patch, but it's horrible to deal with if you ever need to move the patch to a new shirt or replace it with something else. Velcro is nice, but I've already seen boys lose patches because someone thought matching the military was a good idea.(This message has been edited by eolesen)
  18. We were at the south campsites, and they'd already been divided into A, B, C for our session. The decision on Lawton closing came out on June 6th, so there really wasn't a lot of advance notice to give the staff with camp starting June 10th. Price-wise, we paid the out of council rate. Lawton runs $220 for early-bird registration (payment by early May), and $265 for late registrations; GCC's rates are $265 for out of council troops, so we had to tell all the boys who thought they'd paid in full that it was now going to be an extra ~$75 or so between the higher rates and higher transp
  19. The baby at the headquarters wasn't a problem -- mom was working the office, and it wasn't stopping her from doing her thing. They were staying in the health lodge, and we did get an evil eye when coming in to do one of our Scouts' meds during the baby's nap time... I'm still looking at my feedback form, and will add some of this. I know that at least one of the commissioners had his wife and two daughters, and they took up the last two spots in the line for one of the evening open shoots, denying a couple of paying Scouts the opportunity to shoot. It's probably a bit petty, but like you
  20. I've seen troops go to camp on a Greyhound before... We took 35 boys and 8 adults to an out of state camp years ago that was 14 hours driving away, and would have required an overnight stop due to the tour permit rules on how many hours of driving we could do in a day. Got a quote from the local bus company, found it was cheaper than renting 14 passenger vans, so we did it. All our personal gear fit in the underfloor bays with a little room to spare. But back to the topic, which has been flogged to death... For summer camp and maybe Camporee, having a single 6x10 open trailer works just f
  21. Wow... simply amazingly bad judgement call on all parties except for those who said no. I'm shocked the CD allowed it. If they drove up separately, it's not like the adults involved were required to drive the troop or enforce 2DL. I'll be happy to take some of the heat and drop a note to the Council involved... The leaders' guide I got isn't specific on the issue, but certainly can be for next year.(This message has been edited by eolesen)
  22. If I heard my commissioner correctly, there were a few no-show units at Raymond, so it could have been worse.... Since it looks like GCC and CC are merging, my guess is that Council felt a little more obligation to the Catalina Refugees. To their credit, Las Vegas Council and Del Webb in UT also made space available. Raymond didn't have to take anyone they didn't have room for --- Geronimo only had a few slots available and our week was already closed out when the camp closure came out. We were there for Week 3. Nobody sick in our campsite, fortunately, but we were filling a lot
  23. I'm a rebel. After 10 years, I have but one ODL and one Centennial shirt, and a pair of switchbacks for each. No knots. But I do have about eight or nine neckers and some assorted neckerbling to go with them....
  24. I felt your pain --- we were shut out of Lawton two years running, and wound up at Raymond. Council did a yeoman's job of lining up alternatives so all we had to do is pick from the list. Where did you wind up?
  25. Depends on climate... In TX & IL, I stuck with pants. In AZ, shorts. On treks, depends on climate. Bugs and brush? Pants. Trail without bugs and brush? Shorts. At summer camp? Shorts.
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