infoscouter

AFAIK - Northern Tier is strictly High Adventure. I keep meaning to drive out there when I go home and visit, but haven't made it out yet. The Boy Scouts I saw on the streets of Ely while growing up were transiting on their way to/from NT - I don't ever remember hearing anything about resident camp facilities there. The local council in the area is the Voyageurs Area Council. www.vac-bsa.org. As far as I can see, they do not have a Boy Scout summer Camp. They do have camp facilities for rent, where younger boys could camp while an older group is on a canoe trip, but it looks like program would be up to the unit. The closest Council operated camp that I'm aware of the the Twin Valley Council's Camp Cuyuna http://www.twinvalleybsa.org/cuyuna/index.html, near Brainerd - but that's 166 miles SW of Ely. http://www.mapquest.com/maps/ely+mn/38594+County+Road+3+Crosslake+MN+56442-3012/ Our (Northern Star) council's camps are even farther away, in Northwestern Minnesota or Northweatern Wisconsin. The other Minnesota council's camps are similar or greater distances from Ely. If you wanted to "do it yourself" while part of the troop is at NT, the closest Minnesota State Park is Bear Head Lake: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/bear_head_lake/index.html, just outside of Ely.

It depends on my mood. I have a bolo tie, a blue "Cub Scout Leader" neckerchief, both of the scarves (I have both tan/olive and yellow/blue uniform parts), a Wood Badge neckerchief, and a couple others. Any and all of them are "legal". You do not have to wear neckwear, although I like to because it sets an example for the boys. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34048.pdf

Ideally, your CC will wake up and realize he's not doing the unit any favors, and look for a replacement. And maybe not. The Chartered Organization Representative has the power to remove a leader. If the CC's inability to attend Pack meetings (they don't need to be at den meetings), and more importantly non-communication are interfering in the pack operations, then you need to let the COR know, and ask if they would be willing to make a change.

Varsity teams are supposed to be units chartered separately from troops. I believe the Varsity option w/in the troop has been phased out. See: http://www.scouting.org/boyscouts/resources/threewaysvarsity.aspx

I just attended our district's Spring Camporee this weekend. This was one of the most unusual events I've seen. The theme was Lord of the Rings, so all 380+ Scouts attending were formed into groups of 9 (fellowships). Ideally, no fellowship included two Scouts from the same unit, but that wasn't always possible. Every fellowship had a mix of ages and ranks, so no group was handicapped by being all young kids or advantaged by being all older Scouts. Scoring was *primarily* based on how the fellowships showed leadership, cooperation, teamwork, problem solving and other 'soft' skills. There were some points for proficiency, but the importants aspects of the events were not competence in traditional Scout Skills, but in the factors cited above. Each event included a staff-led reflection, which was also scored. Since each fellowship was made up of Scouts from multiple troops, no troop _could_ have won. In fact, no ribbons were given at all. Winners of the individual events were announced, but that was all. The camporee was uniformly rated very highly by the Scouts - why? Because it was challenging and interesting and fun!

We routinely rent one of the buildings at our camp when we do our pack campout. We usually don't actually sleep inside, but use it as a back up, activity center, place to eat if its raining,etc. We use the kitchen for most cooking, and do some grilling or foil packer dinners. It makes the campout more expensive, but is so much more enjoyable.

I believe the kind of tax exemption ManyHats is asking about is a sales tax exemption. Sales taxes are state taxes and exemptions are governed by state law. In Minnesota, any Scout unit, club, etc. can apply for a sales tax exemption certificate, and use it when retail purchases are made for the benefit of the organization. Some of the rest of you are discussing federal tax exempt status, which is governed by a different set of laws. These are the laws which determine, among other things, whether donations to your chartered organization on your behalf are deductible for federal income tax purposes. So - two different kinds of exemptions for two different purposes. If you want to be exempt from sales taxes, check with your state sales and use tax division (or whatever they call it in your state).

Are you sure you're not confusing the Den Chief Service Award, with the Den Chief or Webelos Den Chief cord? The Service Award is typically worn *after* a Scout/Venturer completes his/her service as a Den Chief, since it recognizes earning the award. The Den Chief cord is *not* worn after service as a Den Chief is complete.

I buy old "Program Helps", "Program Quarterly" (immediate predecessor to PH) and "Cub Scout Round Table" - title before the Quarterly, from eBay. I have most of Program Quarterly going back to the last 50's. You would be surprised at the themes that recur, and the games and crafts that have been around for decades!

What's being described here is closer to "Other Cub Scout Trips and Excursions" in the Outdoor Program Guidelines. http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/cub%20scout%20outdoor%20program%20guidelines.aspx This describes lock-in type events at museums or zoos: -Trips normally will be one-day excursions. -Overnight stays are permitted but they are not encouraged. -When overnight stays are necessary, participants will stay in private homes, motels, or hotels. -Lock-ins or overnight programming at local museums or other appropriate locations may be approved by the local council. -Den leaders, pack leaders, and parents or guardians are expected to accompany the boys on approved trips. -The adult partner must accompany the Tiger Cub on all trips and outings. And the same document talks about camping as being held at council approved sites. This event seems neither fish nor foul. It was a lock-in, but not at an educational forum. It wasn't camping 'cause it wasn't outdoors, and it certainly wasn't at a "council approved site". It is very similar to events held by my district for several years. However, registration for that event was on a pack basis, so attendance constituted a pack activity. It does seem like the pack was violating the *spirit* of the rules while still following all the rules for pack camping. The Cub Scout Leader Book defines a pack overnighter, as "Pack-organized overnight events, involving more than one family from a single pack, focused on age-appropriate Cub Scout activities and conducted at council-approved locations." So this event was overnight, organized by the pack, involving more than one family. So it falls under the criteria for an overnighter - and such an activity, by Tigers, Wolves and Bears, is specifically disallowed by the GtSS. I suppose one way to amend the situation is to make this a pack lock-in, with separate sleeping areas for each den. It would then serve the purpose of "den bonding", while more closely complying with the purposes and methods of Cub Scouting. ___________________________________________________ On a general note. CS Outdoor Guidelines and the Age-Appropriate Activities Guidelines emphasize the age progession of Scouting activities, and maintaining developmentally appropriate activities. That said - my boys were sleeping at other kids houses from age 7 on up. However, I know some parents who don't allow sleep overs, or whose boys aren't ready for them yet. How does a pack structure activities taking both of those types of boys into consideration? In another forum, I have seen posts that postulate that to some extent CS activities are constrained by the fact that LDS packs cannot camp overnight. The context was why more camping/outdoor activities weren't _required_. The speculation was that since LDS Cubs cannot camp, that making it a requirement would prevent those Scouts (a substantial proportion of the membership) from earning rank.

I don't know whether I'm worried about what my council will do w/ my SSN. Apparently lots of people don't care. I have mentioned previously that I work in a library. As a result I see the insides of many wallets as patrons dig out their library cards for me. You wouldn't believe, in this day and age, how many people walk around with their Social Security cards in their wallets!! All of the articles you read about identity theft say what a bad practice this is. Our books on recovering from identity theft are in heavy use, yet people don't seem to do the simplest things to protect their information. I am much more concerned about having my mail stolen (happily, I have a locking mailbox) or a credit card number misappropriated by a restaurant employee, than I am about my council.

Publisher is great, but not everyone has access to the full Microsoft Suite. For Scouters without extensive computer skills, National provides a fill in the blanks template on-line for us to use: http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/resources/newslettertemplate.aspx

New Jersey, I think. The headquarters was there at one point, I believe (before they moved to Irving).

Oh, and our DD is part of our "Key 5"; District Chair & Vice-Chair; DD and DE; and District Commissioner.

Like John's, mine is a large district in a large council. Two counties - 44 packs, 28 troops, 20? crews. We have a DD and a DE. Ours is one of two "training districts" in our council. The DD supervises the DE and prepares her/him to move on to a district of her/his own. In the last 9 years we've had one Senior DE and two DDs. The Senior DE moved to the Supply Division. One DD was promoted to Field Director (who reports to the Director of Field Service, who reports to the Scout Exec - told you we were big). There are four or five FDs in the council. In that same time period we've had at least 6 or 7 DEs, they last 18 to 24 months (sometimes less!) and then we farm them out to another district. Our DDs spend a lot of time with the training. And, with a district this size, there's just more stuff to do - so they have split up the duties.

The Boy Scout Division has developed full blown supplemental, 1-1.5 hour sessions that they have posted online. The Cub Scout Division hasn't followed that pattern. The Unit Leadership Enhancements are in Chapter 28 of the Cub Scout Leader Book. These are intended to be about 20 minutes long, so they are not quite as formal as the Boy Scout sessions. I would like to see something like the Boy Scout classes available. In some ways, Cubcast covers some topics, but it lacks a visual element that some learners would find useful. Maybe when the training task force finally finishes the new Cub Scout Leader syllabus, they could attempt some of these.

Typically, these segment programs are participation emblems. They have been created by patch companies, and in some cases adopted by Scout units, districts or council as a means of recognizing participation. They are less expensive than purchasing full size patches for multiple events. As with most participation patches, there are no real requirements. Receiving the segment indicates that the Scout attended an event. There are a couple companies that provide these segments. They are not interchangeable - If you start with one oompany, you can't really switch to the other, because the segments aren't quite the same size or shape. Check in your local Scout shop to see if your council uses the segments. Otherwise, it's something you can adopt as a pack. Here's an example of a council program: http://www.cpcbsa.org/downloads/forms/pdf/CSsegments.pdf Two companies that supply these are: http://www.idealemblem.com/program.html http://www.thepatchplace.com/?page=stock&action=cat&id=20&sess_id=44bf744a733b6442864e6838bb6a8880

Not really - there's sort of a synopsis with tips on being a good leader: http://www.scouting.org/BoyScouts/PatrolLeader.aspx The list of resources at the end is out of date, and cites some old publications,

The guidance you've been given about contacting the District Training Chair is correct. There is a form that s/he can fill out and send to the registrar to have the records updated. The trainings your leaders attended were versions in place before the current training structure was created. There was no "New Leader Essentials" at that time. The information in NLE was in all the basic training courses, and was repeated each time a leader was trained. When the new trainings were created and introduced in '01, New Leader Essentials was created, so that leaders didn't have to sit through "basic" information again and again. Your leaders are fully trained for being a SM, or any Cub Scout Leader position. At this point they would need NLE and the Venturing training and the Sea Scout Leader training, to be trained for a Ship position. The problem of training not "sticking" was almost perennial in the 90s. I've been *told* that it has been fixed in ScoutNet, but I'll believe it when I see it. I routinely obtain trained leader lists from the council, check them against my training course rosters and update the records, but it's a hassle. However, the units get accurate reports, so it is worth it.

Uh folks, we do have an umbrella: http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/SearchPage.aspx?page=LIST&free_text|=umbrella&answers_per_page=15 And I'd really like a sweater - I can "fudge" with my yellow shirt by wearing a v-neck from Land's End, but it's hard to find a green version in the right color.

There isn't a training AFAIK. There IS a publication: http://www.scouting.org/Media/Relationships/TheNew-UnitProcess.aspx (Click on each of the links on the site for more detail about that step) Some support materials: http://www.scouting.org/media/relationships/newunitresourcekit.aspx http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/28-402.pdf http://www.scouting.org/media/~/media/legacy/assets/relationships/04-515.pdf.ashx http://www.scouting.org/commissioners/presentations/2003-herman.aspx

I always use the 4 rules of personal safety one when I show "It Happened to Me". The rules in the comic are the same as the rule on the DVD, so its a way for the youth (I give them to sisters too) to go away with something that reinforces the message. When we did the Crime Prevention award we used the bullying one.

The new "Weather Smart" training on the BSA online learning center addresses this. First you would have watched the weather forecast, and cancelled if the danger was great. If you went anyway. The procedure is to move away from trees, and spread yourselves out, so the charge can not jump from one person to another. You crouch down to minimize your exposure. Go take the training, it's quite interesting.

A 21-year-old assistant wrestling coach at Woodbury High School is being investigated after five wrestlers reported that he brought a case of beer to their St. Paul hotel room during the recent state high school wrestling tournament. http://www.startribune.com/local/east/16969441.html I have no idea if any of these boys are Scouts. It's just nice to see that trustworthy, and obedient extend to other young people.

No - although I'm a parishoner there. My pack is in Blaine, my troop is in Ham Lake.