MidwestMom

Are the parents taking their small children on walks, going bike-riding with their school age children, shooting hoops and throwing footballs with their teenagers, ... Are the parents making exercise and good nutrition a priority in their own lives? Are they serving vegetables (other than potatoes) each night at dinner? Do they make the point that if one is going to eat empty calories (sugar, excess fat, excess starch, etc.), one needs to do a LOT of exercise to prevent weight gain. I do agree that the design of most suburbs (no sidewalks, no parks, no swimming pools, no tennis co

Events such as Hurricane Katrina bring out the best in some and the worst in others. Yes, some people (including those in government) were unprepared. Some react with impatience, ingratitude, anger, theft, and violence. But as Scouters, I think we should not let such attitudes bring out the worst in us rather than choosing to follow the Scout Oath and Law. We're supposed to "help other people at all times" not just if all other people deserve help. We need to be kind to those who are suffering, but thrifty by choosing to send our contributions to well-run relief organizations; and we need

There are plans for a couple of different rope-making devices in the Pioneering Merit Badge pamphlet.

Rudy - demonstrates leading by example by someone who is not officially in a leadership position I haven't seen the movie on the Shackleton expedition, but after reading the book Endurance, I was impressed that Shackleton managed to keep his men alive in the Antarctic under unbelievably difficult conditions.

Skirts are available at Scoutstuff.org too.

You can order women's shorts, slacks, and culottes online at https://scoutnet.scouting.org/BSASupply/default.aspx

I am sorry. I just reread the original post and realized that they want to camp an hour north of Indy. Since they wanted to be an hour and a half away from Marengo Cave, I assumed that they would want to be about an hour south of Indy, since it takes 2.5 - 3 hours to get to Marengo Cave from Indianapolis. Assume you are coming down I-69, you might want to consider camping at Mounds State Park in Anderson, about 45 minutes from Indy. BSA Camp Belzer is just off I-465 on the east side of Indy - I don't know whether it would be available for troop overnight use, though. It is mainl

There is camping at Marengo Caves: http://www.marengocave.com/groups/lodging.php You might consider Brown County State Park or Spring Mill State Park. State Parks in IN charge admission and increased their camp fees a few years ago; hunting is not permitted. Yellowwood State Forest or Morgan-Monroe State Forest (as mentioned above) are some other choices south of Indy; camping may be less expensive and more primitive than at State Parks. Deam Wilderness in Hoosier National Forest is another possibility for backcountry camping. There are a couple of Scout camps (Ransburg and another one

I once talked to a Scouter who had four daughters, no sons. He said that he wanted to enrich the pool of potential sons-in-law.... If your troop already has more than enough ASMs, I would agree with those who suggested he join the troop committee, be a merit badge counselor, or contact the council to find a troop where he could be an ASM

FScouter, We have studied the job descriptions in the Scoutmaster's JLT Kit and we aren't trying to reinvent the wheel, only make suggestions about how the general descriptions in the JLT Kit can be applied. As you know, all Scouts in POR are expected to set good examples, wear the uniform correctly, and live by the Scout Oath & Law. And the JLT Kit has very good overall job descriptions for each POR. But the job description have gaps that each troop or Scout holding the POR can decide how to fill. From the JLT Kit: The Historian gathers pictures and facts about past activities

These are positions of responsibility, which is not the same necessarily the same thing as positions of leadership. Our troop is in the process of developing clear job descriptions that set out the responsibilities these Scouts are to perform. For example: The librarian maintains and organizes information needed for the troop's future outings, advancement, etc. If the troop has a library of books, merit badge pamphlets, magazines, tapes, videos, etc., the librarian's job should be to keep the library organized and available to the troop. He should have a record of what literature the

The one that comes to mind for me is "On Eagle's Wings" by Michael Joncas. http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis/songbook/eaglewings.html

I thought of one more possibility. What if Garrett climbed a tree, fell and became stuck in the branches? I would guess that the searchers have been looking down more than up, but I would have thought the search dogs would have found him in this case, though.

This story has touched me deeply; my 12 year old son also just earned his Wilderness Survival badge at summer camp. It seems to me that a Scout who had just taken such training would have used it. At the very least, I would think he would have stayed put and signaled during the day before seeking some sort of emergency shelter at night. I don't know how soon the search startd, but since he left his father at 8 a.m., if he stayed put and called for help after becoming lost, he would have been found. But he has not been found, leading me to think that he might not have had the opportunity to

Columbus Outdoor Pursuits and the Girl Scouts - Seal of Ohio are having a course in October. See this web site for details: http://www.outdoor-pursuits.org/index.htm