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jackmessick

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  1. Local Scouters here keep telling me that pioneering projects that are towers cannot have people on it any higher than 6 feet. I have looked in the latest edition of G2SS and it still only has limits on Monkey Bridges, as to length, diameter rope, number of people on it simultaneously, what it crosses (if anything). Besides out of their own minds, does anyone know where this rule, if it is true, comes from?
  2. You should also check with the city/town/county in which you are camping to see if they allow bow and arrow shooting. Many cities ban the use of Archery tackle and equipment within their city limits. If this was a District or Council event, you would likely need a National Camp School certified instructor in shooting sports, or the Archery USA trained instructor, but Guide to Safe Scouting only requires that you follow the "Sweet Sixteen of Safety," which is outlined in the G2SS book.
  3. The phrases about a tent you have pitched and even that it must be a Scouting trip have been added in the last 30 years to clarify this requirement (That they must all be Scouting trips was actually added within the last 10 years). so the spirit of the requirement, since Summer Camp is usually 5 or 6 nights, is that the other 14 or 15 nights camping must be short term, overnight, 2 night, 3 night, or 4 night trips. I have given grace to some Scouts, crediting one night of camping for things like the second year of summer camp or for NYLT, if they are otherwise close. But, totally by the
  4. Over the last three months or so, the philosophical differences between the Troop Committee and myself as Scoutmaster are apparently widening, to the point where I do not believe I fit in with the direction they want to take the troop. The committee members and parents are focused on earning merit badges, in my opinion to the point where they consider it an aim and not a method. This gives little or no chance for boy leadership to develop, which I have been trying to move the troop toward, as we are still adult-centered more than an "ideal" troop would be. Also, I am concerned tha
  5. Living in eastern Idaho, I am in a minority compared to all the LDS Scouters as an evangelical Christian. There are some reasons why LDS units will not participate, which took me a few years to find out the scoop. LDS units use the Scout program as their male youth program. Thus, they prefer even more division of youth members by age, as the Scout program also includes religious instruction. This is why you have Varsity Scouting in the first place. They have Scouts aged 12 and 13, Varsity Scouts at 14 and 15, and Venturing for 16 and 17. Most LDS Churches in my area also have an "11-
  6. Find the person in charge of the ceremony, and see if they somehow can be involved in laying a wreath, or raising the flag at the ceremony. I was amazed at how happy and excited the American Legion and other veterans groups were when I spoke up and volunteered some troop members. Sadly, it appears that the audience for such events is ever shrinking, in spite of two wars currently on-going. Anyway, some of the vets offered to help train the Scouts to "do it right." I never saw my Scouts more committed to doing a flag ceremony correctly. The hard thing was finding the person i
  7. My version of the latest Scoutmaster's Handbook recommends that Scoutmasters limit the amount of badges placed on his uniform, to maintain an uncluttered appearance. I suppose there is a point to that. I have a number of s/s shirts for summer camp that have just the basic CSP, numerals, position badge, and my Eagle knot. Since I have to hand sew, it definitely encourages me to limit the number of badges. That being said, I don't think there is anything wrong with wearing everything you are entitled to. Not everyone who does that is necessarily a egotist, probably not even the majo
  8. I have used these display cases for a number of years. They do not damage the emblems. Some may consider your badges "sewn" or "used" and no longer "mint." They are pricey, but offer a nice and safe method of display at Courts of Honor, etc. http://www.streamwood.net/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=45
  9. When I was a Scout in New England, we NEVER used charcoal; there was so much wood around, we didn't need to spend the money for charcoal. For estimating the amount of coals to put under and on top, we used the TLAR method (TLAR = "That Looks About Right") Of course, thirty-five years ago, we didn't have tables that indicated how many charcoal briquettes equals how much in temperature. Once I got back into Scouting, in Idaho, firewood is so scarce here that you can never rely on having enough, so we always pack charcoal.
  10. Although I came in during the "red and white" days as a Cub Scout and a Scout, I think they should go back all the way to the 1930s when the background for the Cub Scout blue uniform numerals was blue with gold numbers. The whole idea in the uniform change was to subdue the "garishness" of the uniform. It seems to be the best rule would be tan-background numbers on tan shirts, and blue-background numbers on blue shirts, like the 1930s. And like Explorers of the 1940s, have a dark green background with brown numbers for the Venturing uniform. Or pick a color that is a little more
  11. I received both the participant badge and the Boy Scout conference badge (course was called "strictly for Scoutmasters"), but I went the first week of PTC being open. I believe that was done in previous years as well. Either they ran out, or as a previous poster said, they eliminated the Divisions, and thus eliminated the badges. But that doesn't seem likely--I mean, there just pieces of embroidered cloth...
  12. anarchist: I agree that Scouts all should know how to sew. After the first change in temporary patch when I was a Scout, my mother left it to me to sew badges onto the uniform, which I did for the next 12 years for the rest of my time as a Scout and then as adult Camp Staff. But does anyone know how to instill the need for the skill?
  13. The "them" referred to in the opening line above refers to the plastic rank badge holders.
  14. Part of the problem is that the local Scout office sells them, and I have gotten the complaint "the boys advance too fast, although generally i have only seen them advance through the early ranks at a 4 to 6 month rate." I am thinking I could take off points on a uniform inspection, and maybe mention something in our monthly newsletter. Do any of you think it would be a good idea to prevent him from participating in a flag ceremony because of the plastic badge holder. And i do find it curious that the badges are now strongly controlled, but the pins, which are valid substitutes fo
  15. Part of the problem is that the local Scout office sells them, and I have gotten the complaint "the boys advance too fast, although generally i have only seen them advance through the early ranks at a 4 to 6 month rate." I am thinking I could take off points on a uniform inspection, and maybe mention something in our monthly newsletter. Do any of you think it would be a good idea to prevent him from participating in a flag ceremony because of the plastic badge holder.
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