Hal_Crawford

We were camping last weekend and I was looking at our scouts with an eye toward weight. Of the scouts present, only one was overweight though I wouldn't call him obese. He's a stocky guy but I am sure that he is within the weight limit. The rest ranged from scrawny to fit.

Of those that were absent there is one that I know exceeds the BSA standards and another that might. The first is a 16 year old Life (about to go for EBOR) who has been active in high adventure. The other is a 12 year old who is about 6' tall and still growing.

I agree with Beavah that the adults are a problem because the program cannot exceed our capabilities. When we are the weakest link that limits what the troop can do. It is not just a matter of weight either. Health issues such as hypertension can limit how much backpacking a unit can do. We have to look for younger fitter leaders to make sure that backpacking and other high adventure activities. The leaders in our unit all meet the acceptable (if not ideal) standards but age and health issues could be an issue in the coming years. The average age of our active leaders is close to sixty.

We live in an area where parents tend to be older so it is unusual to have parents under 40 in the troop. We have a couple of 19-20 year old ASMs but they are in college so they can't do much except in the summer. Right now we are doing great but 5 years from now? 10 years?

We have every reason to be concerned about the health of the scouts but if the health of the leaders fails then we cannot deliver the promise and that is a bigger problem.

Hal

(from a church bulletin: Weight Watchers meets on Wednesday nights at seven. Please use the wide double doors on the north side of the building).

The next thing you know they will be taping conversations in the Oval Office. What? They do? Since when? Really? I'm shocked!

Hal

Glad to know that I am not crazy. Arrow of Light patch was the Webelos Award from 1941-1967. Those who earned the Webelos Award (as I did) are entitled to wear the AOL knot.

Hal

Maybe this is a hallucination from the 60's but I could swear that I earned AOL or a patch just like it in 1964 and that it was the only patch (then as it is now) from the Cub Scout uniform that could be worn on the Boy Scout uniform. I don't think that Arrow of Light was as much a rank as it was an acknowledgment that a scout had passed from Webelos to Boy Scouts.

An old uniform guide or Handbook could clear this up.

Hal

There are two places that we camp that have pavilions. One is a church summer camp that rents its sites off season and the other is on property of an old time scouter (75 years in scouting!) who retired to to a farm in the country about 35 years ago and built a camp site with lots of land around it. Lets troops use it for free if it isn't hunting season.

A local troop uses it for their weekly meetings during daylight savings time. When we camp at these places we use the pavilion instead of a dining fly and it is useful for some program activities. We hold our annual planning camp out at the farm and the pavilion allows the PLC to work rain or shine. We were there last weekend and it was beautiful so the PLC met outside the pavilion.

Neither place charges anything extra for the pavilions and other than the planning camp out we the presence or absence of a pavilion doesn't play into our choosing the site.

Personally, I prefer backpacking to car camping but I will never turn my nose up at a shelter (unless it has tires-RVS are a different subject-it ain't camping), a picnic table or a flush toilet.

Hal

I stand corrected regarding the definition of BFP vs BMI. However, it appears that the Body Fat percentage is an alternative approach for people who do not meet the height/weight standards but may actually be "made of muscle". Since your son is in the acceptable range it is unnecessary. I don't think any further testing is required especially considering that the height/weight standards do not apply to the Jamboree.

Hal

IMHO the other form is valid for one year and is valid for the Jamboree. Contact them and ask to be safe but I do not think you need to get another physical just to fill in one more blank. BTW, I think your son has already been tested for % body fat (doctors/medical professionals on this forum help me out here-this is the same as BMI, right?) as it is calculated from the height and weight. BMI calculators are available online.

Looking at the FAQs for the Health form it looks like the BMI figure is not required anyway. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/Resources/MedicalFormFAQs.aspx

In fact, the height/weight table doesn't apply to the Jamboree anyway.

My roommate in grad school (University of Georgia) was from Charleston SC. He referred to it as the War of Northern Aggression. He wasn't joking. Yeah, it ain't over in South Carolina.

Joe Wilson voted against removing the confederate battle flag (for lack of a better word) from dome of the state capital. Why even fly the flag of a country that ceased to exist 144 years ago? Yeah, it ain't over in South Carolina.

When the South stops acting like the Civil War never ended then maybe the divide between North and South can finally be put to rest.

Hal

Since this is a scouting forum I am surprised that no one has mentioned that Rep. Wilson is a member of the Executive Council of the Indian Waters Council of the BSA. Not exactly scouting behavior. A friend told me that all his sons are Eagles.

He is also a former Army reserve officer and is a Colonel in the SC National Guard. A fine example of how an officer addresses the Commander in Chief.

On the other hand I doubt that any of his fellow members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans were the least bit bothered.

Hal

http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=2083

I think we should round up everyone that drives faster than the speed limit and take away their licenses. If they do it again we should lock them up. What part of illegal do they not understand? I don't care if there aren't enough cops or jails, I am outraged! I don't care what the impact would be, I'm angry!

OK, I am also being sarcastic because what I am suggesting would be as impossible as rounding up all the illegal immigrants and sending them back to Mexico, Canada, Saudi Arabia or England or throwing them into jails that don't exist. BTW, walls won't work when it comes to the folks who come here on legitimate visas and then stay when they expire. Walls won't stop foreigners from coming here legally as tourists, getting medical care and then skipping on the bill.

Illegal immigration does pose problems but I haven't seen a viable solution yet. I don't think that one exists. In fact it may be that the benefits to our economy exceed the costs. Because many illegals are working on forged papers with phony social security numbers they are in fact paying FICA and Medicare withholding. They will not get refunds that they would be due if legal and they will not collect medicare. I read recently that illegals contribute an estimated $7 billion to medicare each year. This might suggest that getting rid of illegals would mean tax increases for the rest of us.

Hal

So they have had tort reform in California since 1975. How much has it saved? Is health care in California less expensive than states without tort reform? Is it a little cheaper? A lot cheaper? Or is it the same? Does anyone know the answer?

Hal

Have you considered that the girl may be giving the child up for adoption? She and her mother may not want to discuss her plans with others at this time. I have no experience with the Girl Scouts but I have known a couple of young women that have been in this situation. She needs all the support she can get right now.

Hope things turn out OK.

Hal

At our scout camp they use bowling pins to drive tent stakes. Alert the SWAT team!

Hal

PS Tell your congressman that you support the right to keep and bear bowling pins.

You should read it. Not much there in terms of a plan.

Hal

I'll vote for pie!

See, you have more in common with President Obama than you thought (and so do I).

Hal

The Scout:

I lived in Nebraska for three years and never noticed the non-partisan nature of the unicameral. That's probably because the Democratic party barely exists in Nebraska. One house, one party.

Hal

"My kids (16 & 14) object to it because the President is preachy and boring"

Bad news Jet, though they might not tell you, they also think you are preachy and boring. As they get older they will find you preachier and more boring (not to mention stupid and clueless). There opinion of you will probably continue to decline until they are on their own and/or have children. Then they will begin to think that you have learned a lot in the intervening years.

Hal

Scoutnut:

Rereading Ninja's post I see you are right. As a forth grader, April 14 is the soonest he can bridge. I am not sure it would be a good idea even then. I have got to say I would hesitate to put a forth grader, no matter how precocious into a boy led scout troop.

Hal

Friends:

In a few minutes it will be Labor Day. For most of us it will be a day of cookouts, hot dogs and hamburgers. For Virginians and many others it is the last day of summer before school starts. It is the last day the pools are open.

But many of us know people who will not see tomorrow as a holiday. For the unemployed it is just another day of not working. Some on this forum are among the victims of this recession and many of us have friends, family or scouts that have been affected. Some of us had to deliver bad news to people who didn't deserve it.

I hope that all of us will take a moment tomorrow to say a little prayer that everyone will be back to work soon. I say this without political agenda. I am not asking anyone to pray for any particular solution just that the problem gets solved.

Hope the coming months bring many new trails, happy nights of camping and better times.

YIS,

Hal

I assume that there is a reason that I have to sign a form giving the BSA or a prospective employer permission to do a background check. I assume that doing such a check without permission would put them in jeopardy.

There are exceptions. I have been checked by the Secret Service a few of times for events involving the first family, second family and a former president. They don't ask you to sign anything, just get the SS# and take it from there. They can do that, we can't.

Hal

I am having trouble anything about Gov. Purdue's current position on illegal immigrants in in community colleges. Apparently they are currently barred but there are exceptions accounting for 111 such students out of 800,000. I can see how that would cause a real drain on the budget. The community college board will vote this month whether to change that policy (again) to admit them.

The UNC system does not have this restriction and they enrolled 30 illegals out of 215,000. In both cases the students pay out of state tuition. At the community colleges this is $7000 per year. The education budget in NC would probably be in much better shape if they could just get more of those illegals into their schools.

Across the board illegal immigrants account for

I believe that is a misrepresentation of Gov. Purdue's position.

http://projects.newsobserver.com/blogs/perdue_on_comm_college_memo

http://www.wataugawatch.net/labels/Beverly%20Perdue.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bev_Perdue

AOL requirement #1

"Be active in your Webelos den for at least six months since completing the fourth grade (or for at least six months since becoming 10 years old), and earn the Webelos badge."

Assuming that you completed 4th grade in June then you should be eligible to receive your AOL in December. Until that time you have not completed the requirements.

In Boy Scouts you will find that there are time requirements for various requirements, merit badges and ranks. These are part of the requirements and are not negotiable.

Requirements aside, this isn't a race. The important things are to have fun, learn things, make friends, see and do things that you've never seen or done before and did I mention have fun. There are many trails to hike and mountains to climb, enjoy the trail rather than racing to the end. Some who never earn Eagle get more out of scouting than those who earn it at 14.

Hal

The "reasonable solution" is to religiously practice two deep leadership. The molester who has never been caught (no record) will not have a chance to do anything wrong on a scout outing. Like always assuming a gun is loaded it is best to always assume that an adult should not be left alone with a scout. No exceptions, no problems.

Hal