insanescouter

It is sad that Scouting has gotten so far off track in these areas ... Yes, I agree the other pack leader went to far. Now here is how we look at it here... where does the pack meet, where do those scouts attend school ... that school is that packs ... it is wrong of another unit to tread on to your turf. Now I will admit not even all the units here follow that unwritten courtesy rule. Is that the only school and both units work with Scouts out of then it comes tricker. If that is the case I would say the school or who ever should have keep the 2 packs apart so they were not in competition with each other and could each make there own pitch. I guess I am not making any clear points, so I will end here and see what others say .... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Hold it over to the next year and keep on using it ... just don''t it get to big ... other may be able to give you a better idea what is to much... but it doesn''t have to be 0 at the end of each year... Also make sure you bank account DOES NOT SAY "BSA" or "Boy Scouts of America" else the Council or National will be able to access and empty it out. I do not know anyone this happened to but I have hear the horror story a few times. Like one Troop was working their tails off to save some huge amount to take an amazing trip (as I recall it was to Hawaii or something like that) and just about the time they finally had enough raised (it was like 30-40k as I recall) BSA took it. How true all of this is, I don''t know ... Jokingly I suggest you donate it to InsaneScouter.... ok that was a dumb joke ignore my late night babbling ... Hope my 2 cents helps some.... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

ROFL .... this was just a weird example and now it has its own thread .... rofl more ... Basically you hollow out any kind of thick skin melon, put a ham inside of it, and slowly roast it.... My dad came up with the idea years ago, as a half joke, half serious idea, but never tried it. Now of course like most such ideas, I am sure others have thought of it too.... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

technically you need a tour permit if its over night, water is involved ... and one other case maybe shooting dont remember for sure ... however most I have talked to suggest any time you do something away from your normal meeting location you should have one... but yet if you were meeting at say a house to work on a citizenship MB you wouldn''t need one ... so I am not sure.. the reason i would say one should be filed is the nature of going into the backcountry, that what if something happens ... what am I as the adult personally liable for ... type questions ... I would still suggest a 2nd adult, even if one is required ... it is always better safe then sorry in this do I dare say it sue happy country. (a bit of useless facts I heard and will most likely screw up but will be close enough for my point ... something like 75% of all the lawyers in the world are in the USA, and around 85% of all law suites occur in the USA) We once had a lawyer come to our roundtable who basically said follow the sweet 16 in the guide to safe scouting and BSA will help you and even supply you a lawyer, if you don''t you are on your own ... how true this is I don''t know ... but hey like I said better safe then sorry... Please don''t turn this into a legal thread, or one about sueing, or what ever ... start a new thread for that ... I still don''t think I have answered your orginal question ... I am still hoping some others add to my 2 cents... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

What our troop does is decides as a committee here is how... how many people are going, to what training and how much does it cost. how much do we have in our bank account, and what is coming up... Oh also did that leader say attend summer camp or another training that the troop paid for... now depending on the answers to all of that determines if: - we pay 100% - pay 50% - etc usually we try to pay at least 50% and sometimes 100% of training - at least we try to. Usually the leaders pay for the normal day long training themselves as its like $25. I hope this helps ... just my wacky 2 cents Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Personally I would not want to lead a 10 mile hike unless there were at least 2 adults. Regardless if Troop activity or merit badge. If you take the Scouts, siblings, what ever out there by yourself and some one trips over a root and breaks a leg, or what ever.. then what ... Now on the flip side it may also be helpful if we knew, how many Scouts, siblings, etc were going, how many over 18 were going, etc. Also I would like to also ask the group ... 10 mile hike even if for a MB session would this need a tour permit .... I dont know if I really had any answers ... but hope my wacky 2 cents helped some... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Holly molly what a mess.... Ok first off you are their for the Scouts not the parents. I do not know much about GS, but in my humble option you need to find a nice way to tell them to back off, and redirect their focus from complaining to moving things forward. After all we all know... You can make some of the people happy some of the time, all the people happy part of the time, and none of the people happy all the time... I would assume GS has some kind of proffessional or commissioner staff that may be able to help you as well. I hope my wacky 2 cents was of some kind of help... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

I volunteer to do alternative cooking for you .... maybe hamburgers on a rock and ham roasted in a watermelon would be a big hit Congratulations on getting married! Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

See if you can get a few of the parents to do it together, and tell them you wont just toss them in blind. They will have the opportunity to be trained and you will personal advice and guide them. Just my 2 lousy cents... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

As far as I know BSA does not allow wearing two shoulder loops (cubs and scouts) at the same time. However I have seen people do it, and not be told other wise... but this does not make it right.. I see two options... 1) as scoutnut said have two shirts 2) I know many who do this have velcro so that you can just change the necessary patches... hope my 2 cents was of help.... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Here are my thoughts... - create a candle holder by drilling holes in a log - create a table cloth by getting say some cheap flat sheets and the iron on computer paper to customize them. I would also recommend making them colors that relate to the troop. For example are your neckerchiefs or t-shirts a troop color... - Have each patrol make some kind of center piece that relates to their patrol - The troop I made eagle in had a really cool light box ... it was about like 2 feet wide and 3.5 feet tall had a number of lights in it with a switch to control each individually ... over the top was the first class badge printed on a plastic like material. we had ceremonies where we would use for example second class may only get the scroll part lite up or maybe tenderfoot just the flur-de-le ... - go to party stores, the scout store, scout stuff website, etc and look at what is out there, things u may be able to just buy and ideas you can barrow to make your own... hope my wacky 2 cents was of some help... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Here is what we do... 1) Scoutmaster sends out a weekly email 2) We receive the next months calendar about 2 weeks early (very current and allows for easy updates as things change) 3) We put out a newsletter every quarter which also included the upcoming events / activities 4) A yearly calendar is printed around September, and then again later in the year if lots of changes occur 5) we have a phone response tree if something most get out and we most know it got out it is very formal and involved... basically one person starts it by calling certain people who call their people ... then the 2nd level people have to report saying who was gotten a hold of and who wasn''t ... to my knowledge we have never used this... 6) permission slips go out weeks before hand which also help remind people of upcoming events 7) we cant forget the PLC and the PL''s doing their thing as well ... which could include PL''s calling their patrol members, etc... Anyway there is an idea of what all we do... and as always just my wacky 2 cents... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

The easiest way to step down is to pick out a replacement early and spend as much time possible training them (under your wing) to do what you were doing. Make sure you recruit lots of adult help. No one can do it all... In the Troop I am in there are even 3 adults without kids - so something thinking outside the parents of the kids can help to. The Troop I made eagle in, was on a air force base (dad was active duty AF), we had like 6 adults that were single, had no kids, but were Eagles or former Scouts, helping us along. No matter what remember "Safety first, safety always" as the California Conservation Corps (CCC) says. just my wacky 2 cents... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

First, let me thank everyone who has replied to my question. I will even farther say I agree with all comments... I beyond completely agree that the site has become a hodge podge mess.... now.... **Here is my current problem** the current site is made up of static pages, there is no easy way to maintain, update, fix categories, etc in its current format. I started InsaneScouter over 10 years ago as a school project, there has never been a complete overhaul and restructuring of the site, that is changing. I am looking at some sort term band-aids currently, but the problem is I don''t know what yet. The way the page is created is with 2 php include files one at the top and one at the bottom. The web server glues its together. The include file at the top also includes the banner ad, as the logo comes from the static content I am not sure there is a way to display the banner below it. I do agree with moving the ad below the logo, just don''t see a easy way to do it. I really like Aquila comments about the donation box, and will be making that change soon. Webelos is a nav button, because the owner of webelos.org donated their entire site to me because they were tired of maintaining it. At that time I added the link. However there is very little actual cub content and the boy scout content is all over the place, thus adding buttons for either would be a pain. The slogan I am toying with for the new site is "Helping Scouting and Guiding one resource at a time" or something along these lines. The clip art is collected from all over the web. Some of it probably needs to be removed because of BSA''s new policies regarding its copyrighted materials. resqman one of the things we have been talking about doing with the graphics is to catalog them in a database and store mess load of data about each. I like this idea for the long term, but in the short term it is a lot of work and data entry, that probably should first be used to make the site more user friendly. **My Plan of action** currently there is a new version of the site underdevelopment from the ground up. The new version of the site will be completely dynamic, database driven, have the ability for content to be in as many different places as needed, allow others to post content, have a much better way to manage all the graphics and other binary files, and much more. The new site will make management a lot easier, and even make producing the monthly newsletter (which has not gone out in like 2 years) a breeze. The problem is this process is going to takes months to complete. As soon as there is a beta version of the new site I will let every one know. take a look at this image of what I am planning to make it look like... http://www.insanescouter.org/temp/Layout.png ... you will notice at a quick glance it looks much the same but look closer. Their are less graphics, thus faster loading, the navigation will be sub-menu based, there will be bread crumbs, etc ... In summary, I agree with everything, everybody said about the site problems. They will be fixed correctly in the new version of the site currently being coded. The site as it is today, will be around for a few months yet, but I don''t want to do major work to it since I know it is being replaced. I am currently finding ways to band-aid the current site to make it better and more user friendly until the new site come along. Thanks for the input, and more is always welcome. By the way Aquila, I pay your bill with a hardy Scout Handshake. Ok I will stop babbling now, this is one of my longest posts yet.. l Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

I don''t really have any questions for you to ask off top of my head. I do have a suggestion thought start new leaders off easy, with a single task with a known start and end date. They will be more likely to commit to that and then you can take it to the next level, and so ... before you know it they will be at the *1 hour a week* per scout* level... Just my wacky 2 cents Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Just dont turn in a letter like this one any time soon http://insanescouter.com/t276/games/ResigningAdult.html Scott Robertson http://insaneScouter.org

I was wondering if anyone on the list could offer me ideas or even their services to help me create a new web design for http://insanescouter.org'>http://insanescouter.org (I like sites that use the full screen width and dont have lots of dead space).... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

first, I would see what interest there is at district and council level to try and save the pack second, are there several packs in the same area, if so maybe there are to many for the number of youth in the area third, the troop that has been feeding has a vested interest in at least talking to the leaders of the pack and offering to help save it forth, it sounds like it will take a lot of effort to save, so would require a strong CM and a strong committee chair. Also will take some recruiting effort to bring back the scouts and parents the last thing I can think of right now, is why did the leadership fail. what was the root cause? did the adults burn out? I know you said some had work shift changes, so why didn''''t some one else take over at least some of what they were doing? Was there a fight of sorts between leaders? To me it sounds like there is a root problem that may need to be dealt with before anything else could be done. I hope my babbling and wacky 2 cents was of some help... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Here are a few more possible ideas: - School newsletter, Calendar, and Website - Church newsletter, Calendar, and Website - Local businesses, newspapers, etc websites - Go to local arcade and ask to put a flyer on the board or a few by the register - could also work at video rental store, pizza place, etc - Do something fun and eye catching in a park or hight traffic area Just my wacky 2 cents ... hope they are helpful Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

I agree your doing it right... when I was a Scout we collected recycling on the air force base (my dad was active duty then and there was no recycling service), the people put stuff out, the scouts picked it up and took it a recycling center as a fund raiser... however I found out years later it was more of a service project... why ... the money we made went straight to Burger King afterwards. Did the whole troop get Burger King, no only those who who helped recycled. Keep actives different and special. If they were available enough to complain they were available enough to help do flags... so yes the canoe thing sounds like a great "extra" for those who did the flags... they don''t like it, next time they can help with flags... just my wacky 2 cents Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Grrr was getting an ASP error but it seems to have posted anyway ... if a moderator wants, feel free to delete the extras .... me embarrassed now ... :s Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Welcome to the virtual campfire, pull up a log and have a chat... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

first, I would see what interest there is at district and council level to try and save the pack second, are there several packs in the same area, if so maybe there are to many for the number of youth in the area third, the troop that has been feeding has a vested interest in at least talking to the leaders of the pack and offering to help save it forth, it sounds like it will take a lot of effort to save, so would require a strong CM and a strong committee chair. Also will take some recruiting effort to bring back the scouts and parents the last thing I can think of right now, is why did the leadership fail. what was the root cause? did the adults burn out? I know you said some had work shift changes, so why didn''t some one else take over at least some of what they were doing? Was there a fight of sorts between leaders? To me it sounds like there is a root problem that may need to be dealt with before anything else could be done. I hope my babbling and wacky 2 cents was of some help... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org [closing duplicate topic] (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

Welcome to the virtual campfire, pull up a log and have a chat... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org

Welcome to the virtual campfire, pull up a log and have a chat... Scott Robertson http://insanescouter.org