ASM915

Summer, Have you heard back from the District or Council yet? We're all curious here.

Baden, Fear mongerer??? Who me??? Nooo!!! What was the little item I caught on the news about NYC last night? Something about thwarting a planned terrorist attack? WOW!!! Just because the supposed terrorist are stupid now, doesn't mean the next one will be. I like to lay on the sand and get a nice tan, not hide my head in it like an ostrich. Ostrich feathers would make for some interesting regalia. Next time you feel a few tweaks of pain on your backside, don't worry about pulling your head up out of the sand to what's happening. It's just me plucking a couple of feathers to add t

Baden, How many Hispanics have the BP buried along the southern border, after shooting them? I'm sure they attempt to deescalate, then restrain and detain before reverting to deadly force. You shoot only to protect yourself and others, which I'm sure is what they are teaching the kids down there. I didn't know that you liked to impersonate the French. I'll send you one of my thermarest pads to use, so you are a little more comfy when you lay down and surrender instead of fight, when the new US Talih's come knocking at your door.

IT, Scoutldr is correct. Run everything through the SE. Who built the original scout house? We have a scout house in our local community park that has been there for close to sixty years. The Rortarians as a WWII memorial, to be used fro only scouting activities. A few times the city has toyed with razing it. But oe of the Rotarians who was very active on the troop commity always shows up with the original documents, reminding the city council of the terms and agreements, and do they really want to tear down a war memorial. So far it has worked for now. Maybe if you offer to fix

fg, Point well taken. And in some respects I agree. Maybe OA's NEC philosophy is to limit the adult membership even more then what they do now, to make sure us old geezers don't overrun the young ones. The 50:1 per Troop only works to a point. Our District has 17 Troops, which means 17-20 adults per year, plus the District nomination. If the SM does his job correctly, and only places the scouts on the ballot who wish to become involved and participate, in time, the adults could catch up. I know we had 4 Troops sign off on elections this year, and a few others that only elected one

Ahhh guys, You left out the best part, using the pig for the Thursday afternoon "Greased Pig" contest with Pink Floyds "When Pigs Fly" playing over the camp PA system. Just make sure you don't bruise Porky before dinner. Heck, give Porky a playmate or two. then you can line the heads up on posts or pikes along the path, like my wifes family use to do on butchering day. Do I hear OA Lodge fundraiser here? August Pig Roast!!! Our Lodge has a Ox Roast the fouth Saturday of August. Why don't you all come camping?

Penn, Just finished the plans for barricading the camp entrances. No one allowed to enter. Try and be staring down the barrel of a BB gun. How soon can you be here? Don't forget the NVG's. I'll see your S1999, and raise you 1 Wookie and 2 Pharangies. STOCK TIP!!! Can we all say Purell? Last summer in July, our Council camp went into silent camp wide emergency in mid-July for an outbreak of stomach flu. Had about 30-40 sent out of camp, or left on their own (10 to EDs and STAT CARES). The upper level camp staff were making rounds from about 8:00 PM until well after midnight, in

SctDad, Have you thought about being a merit badge counselor for Indian Lore? I have a close friend who is Delaware, and travels across the US and Canada teaching Native Culture. She can put you in contact with supply companies that the rest of us have never heard of, for regalia supplies, and at more reasonable pricing. She can also put you in contact with Native people in your area that you can use as consultants. If you are interested, PM me. Also, be careful which Native figures you might promote as prominent Native role model. Do your homework carefully. We had someone cr

Rick, We have a couple adults with OSA. They bring their cpap's with them, and either sleep in one of the buildings, or in the handicapped accessable campsite which has electricity for their machines. Go ahead and do it. Our adults members are very willing to help the boys when and where needed. But we're usually scouting things out for new projects, drinking coffee, trading patches, drinking coffee, fighting over patch history, drinking coffee, playing Euchre, drinking coffee, helping in the kitchen, drinking coffee and nibbling, holding an impromptu advisors meeting, trying to find th

72, Check with COuncil. Somewhere in your area there is a regional repository for your areas scouting history. Check out the local universities' archive departments. Ours is the Univ. Of Akron. They only had 1 box on my council, but we found out the date of our troops charter date, adding an additional 40 years to our troop. There were letters dating back to 1915, along with al the merger letters that followed over the years. Our COuncil, The Buckeye Council in Ohio, Published a Council history back in 1981, but nothing since then. Good luck.

Rayburn, A couple thoughts on your question. The Chapter election team should have asked the SM if he had any adult nominations. It is part their job to educate and inform the adult leadership (thing change) as well as your scouts about the OA when they come and hold your Troop's elections. If they don't/didn't ask, they are sherking their responsibilities. Maybe the SM and CC never gave it a thought that any of the Troop's adults have the time or interest in joining the OA. Maybe all it would take is asking "Is the Troop nominating any adults this year for OA?" The response may be

wm, Check out NativeTech. Type Native American flutes in their search box. Or Google "Making Native American Flutes". There are some good sites there also.

DOWN MOM!!! We know you were taken in by the long hair and the accent. Every boy would like to be a cool Ranger too.

Frank, The SM is not involved with becoming Brotherhood. To get your youth excited about OA, delegate a Troop Representative. He needs to attend the Chapter meetings, so he can bring back information about Lodge activities and events, then he can talk up the Lodge and OA to the rest of the scouts. Do you attend the RT's regularly? If so, the Rep. now has a ride to his meeting. That is why a lot of Lodges have set up their chapter meetings to coincide with RT, so the members can't use "I don't have a ride to the meeting". Nominate an adult each year over the next couple of years, t

mn_scout, I know where you are coming from. OA is to promote camping as one of it's primary objectives. As Calico cites, it states "include one, but no more then one long term camp, consisting of 6 consecutive days and 5 concecutive nights" is giving the definition of long term camping. Just like the 50 Miler, "at least 5 consecutive nights camping". No where does it state, no more or no less then 5 nights, in which case would limit it to only 5 nights. No scouts earning 50 Milers at Philmont if you use this criteria. Same for OA. No less then 5 nights and 6 days of camping and

B, Youthful legal argumentation eh. Look where it's got you now. Bet she's proud now, even if she wasn't happy about it then. Most teens no matter how diplomatic they try to be, would probably come off as wisea**es. But that isn't every teen. Boys will be boys. They will be ornery, sometimes hard to control, and loud. Not to side with Summer's son, but does all the above still warrant an adult leader popping off expletives that we would be calling the boys out for using, and accusing them of being unscoutlike in their behavior. By the way, where was the ASM if his scouts were being so n

Summer, It sounds like you and your son have things well in hand. It should be smooth sailing from here on in. Good luck to him. Been there and through the out to get you committee member (CM). Thank God it was just one CM, and didn't go to far. At least your son has a valid reason for an appeal, unlike others who know if they yell loud enough, National will give in. His Eagle won't be cheapened because of the appeal. B, Maybe this troops leadership has had a history of running ripshod over the boys without beig questioned. Mabe they're not use to a scout holding his ground, and q

Asm411, B5. Ah yes. To bad they put it to cable. Talk about deep underlying storylines. Every scout should have Sinclair as a rolemodel. Watch out for the Shadows at summercamp. Summer, sorry for the minor hijack.

SctDad, Our Chapter went to a climbing gym one night over Xmas break. the members that attended loved it. Council is offering up a white water trip this July. I see a large number of OA members attending. Not cheap, but all meals are provided. Canoeing, kayaking & biking are other options. Or the dreaded Laser Quest. Just think of the person your pointing and shooting at as a big buck. Promote a picnic/swim this summer. Go indoors for a change. Have a lock-in gaming night. NOAC is having Wii competitions this year. If the guys are interested in dance, how far is the neares

Scott, If the team is worth their weight in gold, most of the problems won't happen. As for popularity contests, let the election team leader know before hand if this is a concern. We had this come up last year. I informed the ET leader before the election. He drilled it into the scouts heads that it wasn't a popularity contest, and that a scout, special need or otherwise, that met the qualifications and showed scout spirit should be elected. That speech managed to get the scout we wanted in OA elected, probably the only scout in our troop that is willing to not just wear the flap, but be

kahits, I'm there with you. I'm our CA, and trying to rebuild the Chapter also. As to your situation, did the team have another adult in attendence since you were not there? Or was it just a group of older youth members conducting the election? I've been fortunate to have three other adults willing to split up the election team duties with me, so one person isn't going crazy trying to get the election teams to all the elections. That was one thing that the previous two CA's and I agreed upon. This way the scouts aren't there by themselves, in case we have a SM try to blindside them

Summer, If your son's SM and leadership is similar to ours, depending on the size of your town and school system, I'll bet the SM hears a lot through the grapevine. Or he may give the coaches, band and choir directors, teachers, etc, that he knows personally, and that a Scout is in contact with, a call and ask how the Scout is doing in school and his other activities. Or he may ask older Scouts how another Scout is doing around school, or how he acts outside of Scouts and school. Don't forget about Myspace and Facebook. They have been the demise of many teens' character. Several of our

92, Just read your post after I sent you the PM. Sorry for stealing the thunder. We'll have to get together at NOAC. I'll return it then. I'm sure the committee will recognize DAC (in uniform would be nice), but I bet they would be going crazy trying to figure out who WilVick's NESA attorney (in uniform) is. they could both stand up, one stating he is there to represent the District, and the other staing he is there representing the NESA and the scout. I'ld love to be a fly on the wall in that room. Trouble causer, me? NOOOO, not really. Honestly! I just don't like Scouts getting

Ed, I know that the letters aren't mandatory. I'll bet that troop would sit there and try to argue that point way beyond this young man's time frame, achieving what the committee seems to have set out to do. Summer, I would be surprised if the committee meeting would take more then an hour, especially if the committee has already made up it's mind to back the SM. If the SM opens his mouth and addresses your son at the meeting, when the SM is finished, have your son inform the SM that your son is using this as his SM conference, hand him the open book, and ask for a signature.

Ms Summer, Today either you or your son contact the DAC to inform him of the April 13th meeting. Ask him if he would be willing to except the letters of recommendation for your son, so there will be no further possibilities of delay tactics by your son's troop committee. Also ask the DAC if he minds if your son calls him right after the meeting to inform him of the outcome, and request the appeal be started if need be. At the meeting, if the committee backs the SM and tables the application, have your son: 1) Ask for the reasons in writing. 2) Inform the committee that he needs to m