Nike

Have you contacted Scout Supply and asked them? I suppose the Action shirt is meant to imply that you will go do really cool activites in it. While the Activity shirt is just a red polo that your mom will yell at you for snagging or staining. In truth, I don't think I've ever seen anyone wearing the Activity shirt, so it might just be time to get rid of it while introducing a more neutral, outdoor oriented and designed piece of apparel.

Have you hired a professional curator, even just on a consulting basis? I think that might be some well spent money. And, how do you even have an occupancy permit without fire supression?

A population can not replace itself if each couple only has two children (to replace themselves) due to premature death. France has actually been depopulating for nearly 200 years, and Paris and the Cote d'Azure are as crowded as ever. If anyone has ever driven across the US, and I have twice, you will see that outside of the 50 mile coastal zone and large interior cities, the place is pretty empty.

Is this what you're looking for? BTW, NSN's website is secure, but IE will tell you not to go there and display a big red bar in the navigation area. https://www.cnic.navy.mil/NorfolkSTA/index.htm Naval Station Norfolk in association with Tidewater Tours Inc. present the naval tour schedule for the 2009 tour season: Nov 2 - Mar 17, 2009 One tour daily, except Mondays, unless Holiday. Tour will depart at 1:30pm. Mar 18 - May 23, 2009 Four tours daily: Tours will depart at 11:00am; 12 noon; 1:00pm and 2:00pm. May 24 - Sept 5, 2009 Nine tours daily: Tours will depart at 10:00am, 10:30am, 11:00am, 11:30am, 12 noon, 12:30pm, 1:00pm, 1:30pm, and 2:00pm. Sept 6 - Oct 31, 2009 Four tours daily: Tours will depart at 11:00am; 12 noon; 1:00pm and 2:00pm. Nov 1 - Dec 31, 2009 One tour daily, except Mondays, unless Holiday; Tour will depart at 1:30pm. The 45-minute tour is conducted by Naval personnel. Visitors will have an opportunity to see aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, amphibious assault ships and one of the busiest airfields in the country. The tour also features historic homes from the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. The cost is $10 for adults and $5.00 for children 3-11 and senior citizens over the age of 60. A picture ID is required for all adults. Tour buses are not handicapped accessible. The tours depart from the Naval Tour and Information Center located at 9079 Hampton Blvd. Norfolk, Virginia 23505, next to gate 5. For general information (ticket information, tour times, bus schedule, etc.) call, (757) 444-7955. The Naval Tour and Information Center will be closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Group tours (chartered buses) can be arranged in advance by calling Naval Tour and Information Center at (757) 444-0948. There are tons of things to do in the area including the Langley Air & Space museum in Newport News. Wiliamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown, First Landing State Park (camp behind the dunes on the Bay in Va Beach.), deep sea fishing, The Virginia Marine Science CEnter ( under going renovation til Spring '09 at least), USS Wisconsin and Nautilus Center, Gen. MacARthur Memorial, Ft. Monroe a historic Vaubann fortress, Busch Gardens, and various water parks if you go in the summer. Oh, there's also a beach with great surfing on the south end. Hope y'all can make a trip. ( Can you tell I grew up there? )

I see two main problems: 1) Tigers--The Tiger DL should not have a boy in that den. Period. Being a DL and a Tiger partner is too much. This is supposed to be a fun, zero stress time for parents and boys to do stuff together. I'm going to volunteer to be a Tiger DL after my #2 son moves on. 2) Webelos can't camp on thier own as a den with just their den leaders. GS Jr.s are the same age and they go camping all the time with out M&D. If Webelos are treated more and more like Boy Scouts who just need a little more supervision, the boys will probably enjoy it more.

Kittle, Where do you think you are needed most this summer? Go there.

When we lived in CA, anyone who had more than two children would be greeted with, "You must be military." It was a sneering, nasty comment that sprang from either contempt of women procreating instead of investment banking or envy that military get pre-natal, L&D, and post-natal, plus pedes, immunization, meds, basically for free from our military hospitals and clinics or through TRICARE (old CHAMPUS). Most military families I know do seem to have either two or more likely three children. Four is pretty common of, five rarer, and six+ isn't unheard of. I also think we should encourage larger families for those who can afford it. It just feels nice to have lots of kids around. The children learn a lot more about cooperation, sharing, conspiracy, and leverage. Parents figure out that kids will survive without constant attention and can do things for themselves, sometimes too much. Of course, I'm the mean mommy who tells her kids, "Go play in your room, the basement, or outside, but you're not staying here with me" after school.

Kudu, Quit knocking our porch!! Really! No one camps on it. Anyway, the donor that gave tons o' cash to Flint River Council told them if they didn't start using it, he was taking in back. Thus, our porch and the coolest playground I've been to in a long time.

I don't see any problem with a girl being in a GS troop and a Venturing Crew. They are two different organizations. She will just have to choose which activities she attends if a conflict occurs. No one would say anything about her being involved with a sport or other activity. Now, she probably shouldn't be registered in two separate troops within the same council. With the new pathways plan, it looks like GSUSA is trying to ensure that girls can participate in GS in many different ways without having to do the weekly troop meeting first and foremost. In fact, I think older girls (6th grade and up) should be able to participate in both a "standard" troop and an activity group/troop (equestrian troop, math&science troop, dance troop, etc.) It should all be up to the girl and her parents. As for leaders, just go with it and support the girls' needs, wants, and desires as best you can. For a dual enrollee, you do have to let her and her parents know that the troop schedule doesn't revolve around her personal schedule.

When the project is finished and the Scout tries to get a signature, suggest that he also ask the Chief if there is a Deputy or Station Chief who could sign for the Department Chief. Definitely warn other Scouts and any other SMs or parents that consider working with the Fire Chief that the man is very busy and can be extremely hard to contact at important points in the project.

Have you asked yourself, "Is this troop viable?"

Do you think y'all need a rule that the maximum number of adults to accompany your VP is the maximum number needed to drive? (Just asking.)

Some would say that our pack/troop controls district as well, but then we are the largest units and have the most people willing to volunteer. But, activities are not subsumed to our scouts wishes and wants, unless no one else bothers to volunteer for committees. How about your district Roundtable? At ours the CS and BS split up and talk about programming and solutions. Maybe they could help you or at least be a sounding board.

Our COR also has a son in our troop and was previously an ASM. CORs attending Committee meetings and troop activities is a big help in communicating with the CO.

YOU ARE BRAVE! (This is your mantra.) Get together with your CM and make sure you can work together as a team. 1) Inventory the Commitee. Have everyone on the Pack Committee write a Position description for the position they hold now. Use these as a basis to see if there are gaps in the organization, postions not well defined, someone constantly acting contrary to the positon's name (rename the positon if necessary), etc. 2) Standardize the format of the job descriptions and then have the Committee vote on the whole package. Everyone now has a job description that you, the CM, and anyone else can refer to. Schedule a pack calendar meeting for leaders and committee members and plan out the next 18 months. 3) Decide the one way the pack communicates best and use it. Set the calendar and make non-emergency changes at your Pack Committee/Leaders meeting. If you have a small executive committee that includes you and the CM, let that group make emergency calendar changes, as in: the Camporee site flooded on Wednesday night shall we reschedule or have a day event instead? 4) All the packs/troops we've been with use Troop/Packmaster. It isn't that hard and is fairly intuitive, to me at least and hopefully your Advancement Chair, too. Play with it before a complete transition if you go that way. Find out as much as possible about what you are expected to do as a CC from your COR, CO, and the district support team. Take advantage of any relevant training you can go to. Then, begin to make the job your own within those parameters. Your pack has grown by leaps and bounds (kudos). Look at this as a time to firm up pack policies and procedures and get things written down and agreed to.

We are moving overseas, and though the Jamboree cost is about $1100, it doesn't include airfare to the DC area. Is the Jamboree really worth the equivalent of three weeks of summer camp cash? (Our potential new troop goes to summer camp at Kandersteg, Switzerland and participates in Inter-Camp every spring. So, I kind of hope T decides not to go to Jamboree.)

A point of contact! With a name and maybe even a photo. For example: "Want to be a cub? E-mail Bob P at bobp@theinternet.net Or come meet Bob at our monthly pack meeting! (Time and date)."

For some reason, if I, Mom, tell my son to put on a jacket, he looks at me like I'm crazy. If the ASM standing next to me says, "Hey, T, put your jacket on!" He does it. How does that work?

When my husband is in theater for long periods of time, our teen also gets crabbier, crankier, and more difficult. Luckily, he has never turned to drugs or other destructive habits. However, I do know that I unfairly rely on him to fill his dad's shoes around the house and with his younger siblings. You can be empathetic and supportive for both Scout and mom, but some basic levels of civility and behaviour have to be observed and exhibited. If the Scout continues to misbehave, ask that the Committee Chair convene a BoR to discuss behaviour and scout spirit, or lack thereof, and how the Scout can work toward better behaviour. Remind yourself that you can't fix everything.

Seagull99, Don't let this rest. Let us know how it works out.

Our pack grills out. We also had a herpetologist bring his reptilian buddies this year. Other packs we have been in have had each den do a skit or song that relates to the theme. It's supposed to be a party to celebrate the Cub Scout anniversary. If Gramma and Poppy would like to be invited to a school performance, bring 'em on over. Just tell your organizers so they can make sure to have an accurate head count.

1. SM can not deny rank advancement, only a Board of Review can. Is the SM or an ASM refusing to sign off on Scout Spirit or the SM conference (not a pass/fail event either.)? If a BOR denied him advancement, they have to give the Scout a written notice of what he should do in a certain time frame to correct deficeinies. An example: Refrain from cursing at troop activities for the next two months while also attending those activities. Ask your son to request a SM conference, again if need be. If the SM/ASMs refuse, take it up with the Committee Chair. 2. I think you have a bigger problem than not advancing if people are "turning each other in." What kind of environment is it if Scouts or Scouters or parents are doing this? The boy was sick, and you as a parent are responsible for his well-being. Sure, he could have probably sat in a chair at training and paid half attention through the fog of meds while coughing on every one, but he wouldn't have been actively participating.

Mary J, Why don't you go to your local districts and hook up with them? Observe some Scouts in different kinds of troops and talk with them and their adult leadership. My son's non-Mormon troop is fairly fit as a group, many participating in JV, Varsity, and rec league sports. As for healthy food, no group of boys is going to eat salad, poached tilapia, and egg white omelets. And, quite frankly, on an active camping trip, especially in the cold, you need a lot of calories from good proteins and fats. Plus, boys seem allergic to prep and clean up. Lastly, if you want to write a practical article, ask SPLs what they do to get their patrols moving. Scouting is supposed to be boy led, not adult imposed.

I know there isn't agreement on the need for by-laws, but this is one of the times they come on handy.

While my husband's job is recession proof, we are PCSing this summer, and I have no idea what's going to happen with this house. The housing market here has compeletly tanked. If we can't get this house off our hands, I'll have to get a job to pay this mortgage while we rent with our housing allowance. I'm not contributing to FOS this year. I'm going to donate that money to our Troop Sunshine fund to help some of the boys get to summer camp.