FireKat

Thank you, Hal. I will try that the next time I run across that junk. As to allowing scouts to help others in uniform. How can we work on convincing Nat'l to change policy? I wish to follow the rules and I know that many are glad to see the Boy Scouts helping others. It is good PR. Everyone knows that the monies are NOT for the scouts but for the Salvation Army. The boys are just working to man the bells and watch the kettles. All other service groups in our area do this too - in uniform - Lions, VFW, etc. I would like Nat'l to reconcider that policy snd get others to voice their feelings o

Have you ever tried to read someone an URL over the phone?? I have and will not do it again. Why is there not any email to nat'l? It would be easy to send the URLs by email. Besides, that is long distance - why do you think I was trying to find used cub shirts? Money is tight. I do not wish to spend a long time on the phone being redirected till someone can deal with it, then try to get a long URL across. If they set up email for reporting, then I will. I have enough to do trying to get the right answers for a special needs boy who wants to get his Eagle. Nat'ls info is much lacking in that ar

I tried to find an email address that I might send the link to but I could not find one. Just their snail mail. I figured someone their must know since this has been going on for quite some time. They do not have easy ways of contacting them. I had a more important subject I need info on and could not get it from Nat'l - had to go to a non- offical site to get the needed paperwork (disability info)

If BSA is so concerned about how their uniform is used they should do something about the new fad. Go to any photo sharing site and look up "cub scout" uniform. Watch what you get. If your filters are off, make sure no kids can see. It disgusts me! Also, try eBay on cub uniform shirts - I think those are inaproprate models some places use. They also end up selling for way too much.

Why has BSA said that Scouts cannot ring bells for the Salvation Army? What do they find offensive and not what they want the BSA to represent? See http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34427.pdf UNIT MONEY-EARNING APPLICATION 7. Will the fund-raising project avoid soliciting money or gifts? The BSA Rules and Regulations state, Youth members shall not be permitted to serve as solicitors of money for their chartered organizations, for the local council, or in support of other organizations. Adult and youth members shall not be permitted to serve as solicitors of money in

Narraticong, I so agree with you! Problem is so few people are willing to do the right thing for fear of being sued (ie, no backbone). That is one reason I love scouting, it teaches to do the right thing, not just what is the 'cool' thing. People with backbones need to band together to stop this type of stupidity. Change the law to protect those who are sued for unreasonable reasons when they are trying to do the right thing. Even if you win - you lose; money for lawyers, time from your life, health due to the stress, on and on... Lawmakers need to think before they take away the common se

-sigh- No good deed goes unpunished.....

Put another way - should a person collect two paychecks for doing one job? It's about learning work = reward. Too many kids do not grasp the concept of working to earn. Ask many employers about that ethic. Don't teach how to cheat on the work.

Another scouter taught me to us a stapler to hold the patches in place for sewing. Work well without waiting for something to dry. Easy enough to remove and reposition if not exactly correct first time. Just try not to staple into the stiching of the design (if you do and some start to stick up, use a fray check solution to stop that. I use fray check on anything that might start to loosen - buttons, buttonholes, and edging of numbers and knots)

If I am reading this correctly, I would let Leader B leave early. If they will not accept an honest appology, they are not showing scout sprit in my book. Sounds like the other parent is trying to work with the unit in offering to stay away. Better scout sprit, do what is best for the boys. Besides if those other leaders are about to leave and the parent is new, I would let the older ones go, with much thanks for the services they rendered. (hope I am reading it right - been a long week)

Don't like the stuff. Leaves adheasive on the shirt. Even our Dry Cleaner owner scouter cannot get most of it out. They may have changed the formulation but I would test it on something else first. Also if not done correctly it does'nt hold. We had an Eagle at his EBOR with his merit badges slowly falling off during the whole board. I felt a bit sorry for his as it added to his nervousness. We made sure we searched the floor so he could go home with all of them. Sewing is safer and cleaner. For temp badges - get the clear holders that attach to the shirt button.

"It seems in this district the project can not go to district unless it is signed off by the eagle adviser." Where in the Eagle project workbook is this stated??? It looks like your DAC is adding reqiurements to the process. I have been told that an Eagle Advisor is there to help remove any stumbling blocks not to add more. This type of adding things makes my blood boil! Like the others have said; talk to the council advancement people and ask them where this EA is to sign on the paperwork. I have learned that each council does have some leaway in how the reqirements are handled but this s

Does your pack have by-laws that require votes on committee members? If not the BSA says that the COR selects the CC who then appoints the rest with the COR's approval. Someone pulled the "we have to have a vote on who is.." once. Made a BIG mess of things then we discovered the BSA guide. It is up to the CO and therefore COR to get the people in the correct positions. Other parents do not necessarly know who is trained, etc. This is not a popularity contest but getting people that will do the best job.

Right now I have some grudges with GS. A bunch of GS took over our CO meeting place and made it impossible for the Pack to continue ther as they took out meeting times and the Co said they did not have any more space for us. It killed a pack with a fairly long tenure. Now we have moved to a more scout friendly CO. But that means rebuilding a pack including all the trappings (pack flags, derby tracks and other supplies). They did this after some GS leaders tried to take over the pack and run it like a GS group, saying that they did not need BSA training as the had GS training. Rather then bang

Ok - call me strange but I sit through training any chance I get. I always pick up new things because no two classes are the exact same (unless it is the electronic type). I am probably going to sit through a training session again that I just did a bit ago just to get some of the newer leaders to go to it. They do not feel comfortable in going without someone that they know. (I hope I do not make the instructor uncomfotable to see me again so soon!) I have done this for many years in the fire service. I sat through more EMT classes than I can count and many times the instructors knew me and k

Sorry it was a bit rough for your first time on an Eagle Board. I usually look forward to them and enjoy talking with the boys. I have sat on a fair amount of boards and oly reciently been fased with some of what you describe from LDS Eagles. One not long ago was a bit sad. No SM came with the boy to do introductions. No one had taught him much about unifoming. He had his sash over the wrong shoulder. It was not the boy's fault but someting in that unit's program. It seems like some have good adult leadership while others have almost none. The LDS program is different than the regular program

Be careful on being over protective, you just may drive them into bad situations. Kids need some freedom from non-stop parent oversight. They must learn to live in the world, not a place always made safe first by the parents. Teach them, tell them of the dangers. They need to know how bad some things in the real world are. ScoutMomSD, I am reading that your kids are just entering their teens, if this is so and you have not experence the teen rebelion ages yet, you are in for a rough time. The job of a teen is to break away from the parents. They will fight for it. Like the old saying goes: th

"You could argue that it is creepy for women to want to go camping with a bunch of young men." You can argrue that any behavior is 'creepy'. I like to go camping because I love the outdoors. I was raised spending most of my time outside. About the only chance I get to go camping is when the boys go. My hubby did not go camping until I took him when we were in our 20's. He loved it (even though the temps fell into the 20's - hard on a S.TX boy). As to watching kids: have you ever gone to an even at a nursing home geared to get the kid to come by? The smiles on the residents is a rare sight.

Welcome to the campfire! Remember to carfully weigh all advice before acting on it. Not all things work for all situations.

I prefer hand-made (from the heart) things. That is also what I prefer to give. Some relitives look down their noses on that and brag on the costs of what they recived/gave. To me the true meaning of CHristmas is what you can do for someone else; not what you get. Spend some time helping a food kitchen or building a house in my name and I am happy. Pass along the spirt of giving as a chrismas gift. Stop worring that so-andso got the latest x-box or what ever and you got clothes. Learning to give will give you a gift that no one else can give to you. I call it the 'warm, fuzzies' but it is a

CONGRATS!!! A well deserved honor. Your wisdom has been a big help to me and I look forward to more Wise Words from you as I encounter more bumps in helping boys reach for the stars. (A formal bow to you)

Just a thought to kick around as a possibility; How about teaching all the boys about the judicial system by have them hold court with a jury of his peers? All the boys seem to already know what transpired. Let them have a say in the punishment. The committe can over rule if needed(many times the kids can be a bit too harsh). It might be a good chance to teach all.

On the turning awayFrom the pale and downtroddenAnd the words they sayWhich we wont understandDont accept that whats happeningIs just a case of others sufferingOr youll find that youre joining inThe turning awayIts a sin that somehowLight is changing to shadowAnd casting its shroudOver all we have knownUnaware how the ranks have grownDriven on by a heart of stoneWe could find that were all aloneIn the dream of the proudOn the wings of the nightAs the daytime is stirringWhere the speechless uniteIn a silent accordUsing words you will find are strangeAnd mesmerized as they light the flameFeel th

Nowhere I have ever seen has there been a requirement to read the MB book. I understand those bto be a supplement to the MBC's information. As long as a scout can complete the requirements he has earned the badge. A good MBC should be able to get a scout to be able to do all the requirements without the MB book. When I do MBs I check what the latest requirements are and go from there. If a councilor KNOWS their subject, the book is not needed to teach it, just the list of requirements.

I was finally found to be dyslexic after high school. Mine was said to be fairly bad. Funny thing is that many people now say I am a speed reader. I never could read out loud and still cannot without many mistakes. I was accused of cheating many times by english teachers since I could not read out loud but had high comprehension. Don't give up and let him do things his own way and at his own speed. It is possible to find tricks around the troubles. Good luck and be patient, there are many of us out there that no one knows about. Kat