scoutldr

"An adult should never do what a Scout can do for himself." - Baden Powell I think you are missing a great opportunity for the scouts to make their own memories. I have hanging on my kitchen wall the Corkboard/blackboard that I made as a Bear (circa 1963). My Mom had it in her kitchen until she passed in 1995...now I have it. It's not much, but I still have it and remember the day(s) we made them in Mrs. Weigandt's garage.

I'll be blunt, I would be highly suspect of anyone who would answer an ad in the paper to be a Scout leader. The BSA has a prescribed method for recruiting leaders...which I'm told is tried and true. The job of finding qualified leaders is really the job of your COR, but I also realize that most CORs don't do their jobs. I would request a meeting of the people who own this problem...the COR, Unit Commissioner, DE and Pack Committee Chair.

Welcome to the forum, rich! The best slides are those that are home-made! There are many possibilities...leather, wood, rope, even plaster of paris (think candy molds). My den (circa 1985) made slides out of 35mm film canisters ... containing a mini-firstaid kit. Your scout shop may have some leather slide kits. There are some that require whittling, but Cubs are probably too young for that. You can check out eBay for some ideas...search on "neckerchief slide" and "woggle".

If they really meant it (the disclaimer), then the previous statement should read, "The goals for all Elementary School CHROME Clubs are: To provide a support system for ALL students that encourages their natural ability to excel in science and mathematics;" How welcoming would it feel, if BSA said, "we really want God-fearing heterosexuals to join, but if gay atheists insist on showing up, we can't stop them"

Unless things have changed, I don't think young scouts are supposed to "see the Ordeal being done"...non-members are not invited, except for parents who have a right to observe. I disagree with doing such things during summer camp. Mixing the two events dilutes them, in my opinion.

Also lurking on this thread, amazed at the seeming blindness to the obvious. Gonzo, there's a BIG difference between "not making one feel welcome" and having a written exclusionary policy. I dare say that NONE of the school clubs mentioned have such a written policy. For example, we have a club in our area called CHROME. It is designed to get minorities and females interested in math and engineering. From their web site: "The goals for all Elementary School CHROME Clubs are: To provide a support system for underrepresented minority and female students that encourages their natural ability to excel in science and mathematics; To provide enhancing experiences for students, showing what jobs are performed by engineers, scientists, and mathematicians; To provide role models for students; To provide career education information; To provide opportunities for students to develop speaking and writing skills; To provide stimulating and fun mathematics and science activities that enhance classroom instruction; and To provide a vehicle for students to share their interest in mathematics and science." AND, the meaningless disclaimer which makes it all legal: "While CHROME is an organization designed to benefit underrepresented minorities and females, it is NOT exclusionary; any student who is interested in a career in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology, and who wishes to join, may do so." This is something that the BSA has steadfastly refused to do, which, I believe will lead to its eventual demise, except maybe as an LDS program. Open discrimination is no longer socially acceptable in the US, just as it is no longer acceptable to have separate "white troops" and "black troops", which I remember from my youth. If the BSA doesn't become relevant to the times, they will go the way of the Dodo bird. We can be ethical and moral without being discriminatory. As my Lutheran Pastor was fond of saying...the Church (BSA?) is a hospital for sinners...not a country club for Saints.

Ice cream social night and Arrowmen are asked to wear their sashes at evening colors and dinner. Not sure the OA Lodge actually has anything to do with it, though.

If the issue is the patrol method, then that's the issue you need to address...then the sleeping issue will take care of itself. The only camping allowed in Cub Scouting is family camping. That's a CS policy, so naturally you won't find that in the SM Handbook. Gern, no one mentioned that there were special medical concerns in this case. Of course, there should be exceptions for medical issues.

That must mean they found a new supplier...Vietnam? Bangladesh?

The original post said "their family tent". The "temporary replacement" for the SPL should be the ASPL. The PL should sleep with his patrol. Agree with the others, "need more data"...

Way to go, Ea! If the units around here had been told "this is a mandatory event", the District staff would have attended it alone! There is no "district" to support. The district is just a geographic boundary. The only thing that would have been supported is the DE's performance goals. Not that that's a bad thing, but there's a more "courteous" and "friendly" way to go about it.

OK, I'll go first: Which one do you find the hardest to live by? Reverent - especially this week. I find myself questioning my faith a lot lately. So I should keep the 33 VT families in my prayers? Why would God bless them now, when He failed to bless them and protect them on Monday? 'Splain that to me so I can explain it to an 11 year old. Which one do you find the hardest to explain to a new Scout? Reverent - because if a Scout has not had a religious upbringing, they're not going to have a clue what I'm talking about. And that's a lot more common than when I was a scout. Do you feel one is more important than the others? Trustworthy - because if I can't trust you, none of the others matter and I'd rather not be around you.

Could be finances. Price of gas here is $2.79 - $3.05 per gallon (and I know that's relatively low compared to other areas). It costs my wife and I $10 a day just to get to work and back, not to mention other trips around town.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

I've seen the patch on eBay, but I wasn't aware it was a current award.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07108/778891-84.stm More details on Eagle Scout Kevin Sterne, from Troop 1313, Eighty-Four, PA

One of my favorite people was Harry "Give 'em hell, Harry" Truman. He said, "I don't give people hell...I just tell them the truth and they think it's hell!"

Just got a newsletter from our COuncil...cost of 2007 Philmont contingent will be (conservatively) $1300-$1600. Cost in 2006 was $1425. "We will to fly into Albuquerque, visit the Atomic Museum, Sandia Peak, white water the Rio Grande, and bunk at the Marriott for two nights before checking into Philmont for a 10 day 80+ mile trek through the New Mexico high country."

The buddy can be anyone. Similar to a SM conference, the encounter should take place in plain view of another person, but they don't necessarily need to participate. It's usually more fun if two scouts work together on a badge, but it's not required. I've even heard it said that it's acceptable for the MBC's spouse to be the "third person", however I would not recommend it. The bottom line is "no one on one contact".

All of my scouts are now accounted for...Tommy lived on the 4th floor of West AJ...the same floor where the shootings occured. All three are on their way home for a long weekend. I sent them all an e-mail offering the love and support of their Troop... A Pastor interviewed early on admonished people not to blame God for this tragedy...that "God does not plan for people to be murdered". I'm having a real hard time with this...if God is omniscient and omnipotent, why does He just stand by and watch...

"Finally, what happens if a scout moves from my hometown to yours. He's a Life Scout with 28 MBs, but almost all of the counselors fail your council's rules. Do they approve his Eagle? It seems unfair to the boys who grew up there if they do, but unfair to him if they don't." If a scout moves into my area, I will ask for his transfer sheet (or book)...if his SM has attested to the fact that he has "earned" 28 MB, who am I to question it? "I hope that people don't expect the Scoutmaster to be a robot, teaching the same-ol' Tenderfoot-to-First-Class stuff year after year. What happened to having some FUN and CAREER-BROADENING with my own son, a Life Scout? Why can't I have the latitude to teach him as many Merit Badges as I feel like?" No, we don't expect SMs to be teaching the "same-ol' Tenderfoot to First Class stuff"...that's the job of the SPL and PLs. The SM's job is to train junior leaders how to lead. Some seem to be losing sight of the fact that the MB program is not designed just to teach a subject. It is to teach the scout much more: Initiative: Hey, I still need Citizenship in the Nation! I'd better ask Mr. SM for the Counsellor list so I can get busy, because I'll be 18 in 6 months! Overcoming shyness: Mr. Counsellor, this is Tommy Scout from Troop 1. May I meet with you at your convenience to work on Citizenship in the Nation merit badge? Thanks, that would be great!...Yes, I'll be sure to bring a buddy! Adult Association: Wow, Dad, did you know that Mr. Counsellor is a professor at Towne State and he knows the Governor! He's going to run for State Senator next fall and asked me what I thought about the proposed teen driving laws! Are these objectives fulfilled when a scout "earns" merit badges from "Jimmy's dad" who fills out a form and is all of a sudden an "expert" (either by vocation or avocation?) in 73 different subjects (even if only 7 at a time)? Does the scout get exposed to the "passion" that a professional has for his life's work? Or is the objective just to get them to Eagle by the most efficient and comfortable means possible?

When I was a DL, I taught my 8 year olds how to shave. You blow up a balloon, smear it with shaving cream and then "shave" it with a razor. The one who can shave all the cream off the balloon without it popping, wins. We did this at a ScoutORama and the cubbies loved it.

IMHO, the "swimmers test" is seldom administered the way it is designed. I have seen too many instances where the scout is passed if he can manage to thrash his way to the end of the pool regardless of "comfort" or technique. Swimming is not like hiking or cycling where the goal is to just go from point A to point B any way you can. If they are "not that comfortable in the water" then they are Beginners...not Swimmers.

Three of "my" scouts are at Tech. One lives in the dorm (West AJ)mentioned and he and another are engineering majors (Norris Hall). Another is in the Corps of Cadets, who have their own dorm. We've only heard from two of the three so far. Not wanting to bother the stressed out families, I can only pray and hope all is well. A student was quoted as the shooter wearing a "Boy Scout-type outfit"...not sure what that means, but I sure wish they had not used those words.

Now you know how we in Virginia feel about going to Philmont! So I guess we're even. Not many can afford that price tag, either, not to mention the 3 week time commitment for adults who have to work for a living!

Camp Dark Hollow goes on the auction block Modern Girl Scouts want modern amenities, the Virginia Skyline Council says. By Cody Lowe The Roanoke Times Today's Girl Scouts want an outdoor experience, but they'd like to have it with hot showers, flushing toilets and modern kitchens. That was the conclusion of the board of directors for the Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council in 2004, when it decided it was time to sell off the three most primitive of the five camps it owned. Monday at noon, the last of those three -- the 400-acre Camp Dark Hollow on Virginia 311 at Hanging Rock -- will be sold at auction. "Things continue to change in Scouting," said Jen Ward, director of marketing and communications for the Roanoke County-based council. "There's been a decline in use of the camps," she said, and Girl Scouting nationwide has been working "to develop programs for girls that they want to do, so they'll stay in Girl Scouting and not be seeking opportunities in other places." Dark Hollow, purchased in the early 1950s for $12,000, has always been a relatively primitive camp. There are two wells on the property to serve the bunkhouses and kitchen. Electricity is available in some buildings. But the outhouses, lack of showers and absence of a large flat outdoor spot for sports and other activities were a drawback. There is a stream on the property, but not large enough to be used for aquatic activities. There are still girls who are interested in primitive camping experiences, Ward said, and in traditional activities such as archery. But there's also a demand for other types of activities that today's Girl Scouts' moms probably never thought of, such as crime scene investigation. The council hopes to replace Dark Hollow with a smaller, more convenient camp somewhere near Roanoke. It is looking for about 20 acres, with 5 acres or so open and flat for sports and other activities, and with access to water such as a lake, pond or river. "Preferably, there would also be existing infrastructure there -- water, electricity, flush toilets and showers," Ward said. "We want hiking and primitive camping to be available, as well as progressive camping." In fact, such sites technically aren't even called "camps" by the Scouts anymore. "We call them 'program centers,' but we still give them camp names," Ward said. They are home to a variety of programs, she said -- science, technical programs, computers -- as well as outdoors activities and sports. Much of the Dark Hollow property is steep and rocky and most of it is still wild. Woltz & Associates, which is handling the auction, believes that is a great selling point. "Its potential use is limited only by the imagination of the bidders," said Jonna McGraw, who's handling the sale. The Web site describing the property received 40,000 hits its first week online, she said. Prospective buyers have talked to her about continuing to use the site as a camp or retreat center, as a hunting camp, or even as a "family compound." The property has been subdivided into five tracts, which range from 26 to 274 acres. "We tried to divide it in a way to appeal to most people. There are smaller tracts for a single-family buyer, and a larger tract with more wilderness area for outdoor sports, recreation, hunting," McGraw said. The property is zoned for agriculture use, so any proposal to create additional subdivisions or more intense development would require rezoning by the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. No one is making a guess on the total revenue the property may bring, but McGraw said she hoped it would be higher than the tax assessment, which last year was $776,000. Subdividing the site into five tracts, which will be sold singly or in whatever combination brings the highest bid, can help generate a higher sale price, she said. There is no minimum bid on any parcel. The sites will all be served by the current access road running through parcel 1, where most of the buildings and other improvements are located. All of the sites have been tested and approved for septic sites, McGraw said. Such a site so close to the interstate is rare, McGraw said. "There are beautiful old trees, wildlife, wildflowers; it's pretty neat." And, she said, "The good thing about the sale is that the money will go to buy a new camp." The Skyline Council spent some of the money from the sale of Camp Shawnee in Southside Virginia and Camp Massawomee in the northern Shenandoah Valley on improvements to the remaining two operating camps, Ward said. Camp Sacajawea near Lynchburg and Camp Sugar Hollow near Crozet serve the two other major population centers in the council's service area. The decision to sell Dark Hollow was a tough one, Ward said. "The board decided that we needed to move forward ... and that it would not work for what we needed." The board sought feedback from the 11,500 girls it serves. "We have to listen to the girls," Ward said. "If we don't, we're doing them a complete disservice. "Girls will always have new interests. We're trying to keep up with them."