gcnphkr

No, our CC has never been to a RT. This year our CO picked it up and took it to him.

UCs doing their job? He may be, I've not figured out what that is and the one time I asked him to do something he managed to lose the application. Heck, I didn't even know who he was for my first year as SM. But then this is all for another thread.(This message has been edited by jet526)

I cover how activities went the prior month. Then I cover WWWWH of the upcoming events. I let them know about horizon events that I need them to do things for in the hope that they will handle them. I'll make some funding requests for things and let them know of any changes in the program.

Roundtable is just a convenient place to start. In our district they try to get them out at RT and then the UC starts hunting down the CC. My guess is about a 1/3 - 1/2 of the packets are picked up at RT.

"Here is my question for all of those gathered around our virtual campfire: when do you recharter, and when do you receive you new membership cards and recharter documentation?"

Our scout charter runs Jan 1 through Dec 31. I believe the deadline is the end of November. If we are lucky we might get our cards and documents about April. I suspect it is done much sooner but the path from registrar to CC is evidently more involved than I would think.

We are just over your threshold with 65 on the charter with about 2/3 at any troop meeting. Camping attendance averages ~45% attendance.

Camporees are the worst for maintaining patrol integrity. Lots of scouts packed into a very small space. I've considered registering each patrol as separate units to spread them out, but I don't think the powers that be will allow it.

Summer camps are next, although the last two years we were in two adjacent campsites.

More and more we will do the backpacking by patrols with troop doing short training trips for the new scouts. Very few trails will allow more that 12 in a party so they need to be split up anyway.

We try to either use dispersed camping areas in the forest or get multiple camp sites at camp grounds. With 6 patrols and adults we would need about 12 acres to get 100 yard separation. We are more likely going to run 25 (too close)to 50 (not bad) yards which only takes 1-3 acres. Adults will be closest to the NSP with other patrols more distant.(This message has been edited by jet526)

I suspect the more common type of split is the creation of a Venturing Crew. Older scouts are getting bored and do not want to engage with the younger scouts. They form a crew. They may recruit from the troop for a couple of years but eventually the Scouts stop joining. Slowing the number of older scouts builds up and the original crew has dissolved and another new crew is formed.

> If the requirement has been marked off by the PL, can it be recinded by the SM?

Certainly a signature can be recended. First if the person signing off did not have the authority to do so then it is invalid on its face. Second, if the scout never did the requirement the signature is invalid as some sort of fraud has occurred.

Do either of these apply? Not the first, you seem to have given the SPL authority to sign off on PORs. The second is harder. Here the requirement is "While a Star Scout, serve actively 6 months in one or more of the positions of responsibility listed in requirement 5 for Star Scout". Unfortunately actively seems to be defined as "showing up with the title" not "conscientiously". If the agreement was: "Recruit a patrol and you can be its patrol leader" and he never recruited any scouts (it was a patrol of 1) then the signature is invalid. But if it was "You are a patrol leader, now recruit a patrol" then I think he has a claim as long as neither the SPL nor you removed him from the position.

I would ask him up front, on his honor as a scout, "Did you earn this?"

You might consider that maybe you've delegated too much to the SPL in this case. At minimum you should have been having discussions with him on this over the last several months and had him take appropriate action.

I always ask the scout if they think they have earned it. Very rarely do I have one not own up to not doing their job and accepting that they do not deserve the credit. I think OGE's advice is on target.

No, it is not typical.

Yes, you are setting yourself up for continued frustration if you try to change it.

Yes, you should consider finding a different pack. The DE can at least tell you about other units, although may not know which ones you would like. Go to Roundtable and see which packs have multiple members present. Find a Wolf (Bear if you son is older) DL and arrange a visit. If the pack is combining Wolf and Bears neither will be served well.

One thing that was not mentioned. Don't completely close the sleeping bag over your face. Your nose or mouth (whichever you breath with) should be outside. If you completely close the sleeping bag the moisture builds up inside and reduces the insulating effect of the sleeping bag.

As to not using the cot. I suspect that it is no colder than sleeping on the ground, and if done right will be warmer. Warm objects transfer their heat to colder objects that are in contact--air, ice or ground. Air has low thermal conductivity compared to the ground (and much lower than ice). The problem with air is that it moves easily. You may eventually warm the ground you are sleeping on (and loose lots of heat doing it!) but the air under the cot will rise and be replaced by cold air. Using Stosh's suggestion of hanging a blanket or tarp over the sides to prevent this air flow will help. Filling the space beneath the cot with gear, crumpled newspaper or straw will also help as it breaks up the air flow.

Finally, as has been said, the insulation beneath you gets compressed and becomes less effective. Your sleeping bag is likely adequate on top. Instead of wrapping blankets around you, you should fold them and put them under you for increased insulation where you need it. You are better off with two layers below you than one below and one above if the one above is not needed. This is true if you use a cot or not. You might even fold it again so it is only under your body as your legs will likely not be fully compressing the sleeping bag and pad.

Of course the school absence policy might have a little to do with the little vectors coming to school.

They actually tested for it? It generally takes 1-5 days to get results and many MDs are just giving the Tamiflu -- although it is only really effective if given before you are symptomatic. Hopefully you got a Rx as well.

(jet makes a note to check his Tamiflu supply and get it restocked while it is still available)

There tends to be an attitude that if a scout needs a POR he should be given one, whether he is responsible or not. I don't find it unreasonable to not put a new member into a POR until he shows that he is capable doing the task. I would be willing to have him lead a special project to fill the requirement and show his mettle. I'd suggest that this scout ask about such a project.

Okay, this will likely open a can of worms.

Why is it the unit, district, council or for that matter the scout's responsibility? In their work on the project they are acting as an agent of the organization that the project is benefiting. It should be that organization that provides the insurance. Just like the only scout that needs to be involved is the Eagle candidate; this is not a unit, district or council project, it is the organization's project. If the organization is unwilling to accept responsibility then the scout should look elsewhere.

ntrog8r

I like that.

A slide deck? Do you mean like a PowerPoint presentation? I thought you were "looking for something that won't bore the kids".

I like to use teaching a new knot as a method of teaching EDGE. I particularly like the figure-eight knot because it is like new, is very useful, and is fairly easy to learn. You want it big so it is easy to see, but nice and flexible. I give a quick 1 minute explanation of EDGE, then walk through the steps with the knot. I explain what is so great about the figure-eight, then demonstrate how to tie it. I then guide the scouts through doing it themselves (lots of rope!). Finally, as the quicker ones get it, I have them help the others enabling them to use the skills they just learned. And just like I did in that paragraph I emphasize the steps as we go so they get the connections. Takes about 10 minutes but even if they don't get EDGE they at least know how to tie a useful knot.

The cynic in me asks, "If he is so gifted, what is he still doing in Fourth Grade?"

"Gifted" 10 year olds are not in the Fourth Grade. Average, normal 10 year olds are in the Fifth Grade. My-parents-didn't-start-me-in-school-like-normal-kids-so-that-I-would-always-be-older-than-anyone-else-in-my-class-and-I-would-have-the-illusion-of-being-special and I'm-as-dull-as-a-brick-and-was-held-back-in-Third-Grade 10 year olds are in the Fourth Grade.

It was our third for the night, we had just finished the second and were asked to stick around for this guy. He was there in his soccer uniform (which they get correct or they don't play) waiting for his mother to get there with his BS uniform. She did not get there for another 15 minutes. If we had known when we were first asked we would have had him come back the next month. When the chair asked what I thought, I said something like, "If this scout doesn't get turned down then why do we even bother with this?"

While I would like to see the candidate in complete and correct uniform, that is not always practical. Several of the boards I've sat on were of LDS scouts who were currently in their Venturing program. If they had a uniform it was old and ill fitting. I'd much rather these scouts show up in a clean and pressed pair of slacks, buttoned shirt with a tie. But even that does not always happen.

We had one scout in a old uniform, incorrect insignia (IIRC he had a Star emblem for one thing). It was wrinkled, disheveled and he tended to slouch with is hands stuffed down into his pockets. We had a discussion about his appearance and the importance of at least appearing like he cares. This lack of organization and discipline was apparent on his application (evidently he earned the "Public Spectator" merit badge) and project (much of the write up was in pencil). He was an hour late to the BOR. We may not have liked it, but as far as we could determine he had completed the requirements and was approved for Eagle.

For the most part it will not matter. But there has been the occasional National Tour Permit that we won't be able to walk through a couple of days before the trip.

While I do appreciate the service of Den Chief, this hardly seems to be something that calls for a knot. For starters, other than the religious awards few scouts even consider knots. They wear their AOL and that is it. I don't know of any that earn their AOL or Eagle because they get it wear a knot when they are adults. Those two knots along with the knot for Venturing, Exploring and Sea Scout the exist because they represent the scouter having earned the highest award in the various programs. The Den Chief Service Award does not rise to this level. Why not have a "SPL" knot or "Lodge Officer" knot. Those are more difficult than earning the DCSA. It certainly doesn't come close to something like the Hornaday.

First lesson

Have fun. CM is the best job in scouting. Once you get the rest of the leaders you will see.

Second lesson, which you will not get in any BSA training.

You cannot ask for volunteers and expect to get one. The only way you will get help is by asking a specific person to do a specific job. Explain to them what it is and why they are the one that you need to do it. Give them an out, but many will step up when asked directly.

Third lesson

Look for the people that are already busy. They are that way because they do things and they tend to accept more. People with time on their hands tend to not do anything, so even if they say, "Yes" they will tend not to do it anyway.

Forth lesson

When the DE said it would only be an hour a week he meant only an hour a week per boy. ;-)

Odd that people have a problem with this. Would these young men be better off not taking it at all, or waiting until they are old farts like the rest of us?

I would not be surprised if they were bored. But if taking WB keeps them interested, or gives them added motivation then good for them.

Odd, out here the camp ground host would have posted the reserved sites and met the campers to help them get to the correct site. If it had been me, and the other SM had taken the attitude that this guy did, I'd have been like BA and had the host there to have them move. If they had been nice, apologized, offered to move first thing in the morning and to help our unit move (or otherwise did something to say, "Thanks for not making us move in the middle of the night") then I might have let them stay.

Sad, unfortunate. But why is the ranting of a tiny, store front church news worthy? Seems to me that CNN and people like you are giving him what he wants, a soap box.

Okay, I'll admit that some of the things I listed are libertarian (little "L") ideas, not Republican.

CalicoPenn, You are incorrect about which ones are in the feds scope. Certainly removing the barriers to interstate competition is in the power of the federal government. It easily falls under the commerce clause. It also removes the state mandates (although the feds would likely impose their own).

That most people get their medical insurance through their employer and all the problems that go with it is the direct result of federal tax law. Change that so that individuals receive the tax benefit instead of the employer.

Of course a most popular method of tort reform would be to just fulfill Dick the Butcher's wish. Utopia indeed.

But, if this is all going to be paid for by eliminating fraud and waste from system then why not do that first. If it goes well then we can talk about a public option. That was the funniest line from his speech. He deadpanned it so well you might half think he believes it.