scoutldr

I councsel swimming, among others. I recently got a call from a Mom (not the scout) whose son is on a swim team. She wanted me to come out to the pool and "just watch him swim and then sign off the badge". I politely declined.

This goes to prove the old adage..."80% of the things we worry about never happen." (and most of the rest don't matter)

One of our long-time scouters (RT commish and Executive Board) likes to ask how many think that "half a uniform" is OK. Then he goes and changes and comes back in "Half" a uniform...the right half is BSA perfect, and the left half is civilian...he had a seamstress make it up for him. It really drives the point home. I have also heard the argument that we wouldn't send our boys out on the baseball or football field wearing the proper uniform on top and blue jeans on the bottom...so why is it acceptable in Scouting? The coaches would never allow it...why do Scout leaders? You either "dress out" or you don't play.

In this area, year 'round schools are just at the elementary level. Scouting is supposed to be a year round program, so it shouldn't be a big deal. If it does go to the middle and high school levels, I wonder what will happen to summer camp.

funscout: what makes you think I didn't have an ADHD son? He's now 28 and a successful manager of a country club.

We have summer here until Labor Day. Schools do not start until after Labor day by law...so the tourism industry can have that minimum wage labor until the tourists go home.

I may get blasted for this, but I think the ADHD/medication thing is irrelevant and should not be used as an excuse. Children need to learn that there are consequences to their inappropriate behavior, regardless of the perceived reasons. Pulling out a knife in the heat of anger is never acceptable behavior. We should also have zero tolerance for "bullying". Not sure I would categorize this as bullying...sounds like a typical spat between adolescent boys. I don't think I would have sent the scout home if it was a first offense, but I won't second guess your Committee. That being said, I think the other scout was equally at fault and should have received equal punishment. As we say in this forum, all we have to evaulate is what you write, and we assume there are always more sides to the story that we can't see. Welcome to the forum...

And off we go!!!!!

How can I describe this year's camp cuisine? Flashback to your typical elementary school hot lunch from 1965, 35 cents, including a half pint of milk. That was it. Everything out of a can or freezer bag, including the french toast sticks and egg disk things made from powdered eggs and then frozen. I think think they were discards from Burger King. Mayo-based pasta salad served at room temperature, which we refused to eat based on food safety rules. No juice or milk for breakfast, except to put on the generic sugar bomb cereal. The kids ate mostly PBJ sandwiches 3 meals a day. The adults ate mostly salad (the salad bar was the only saving grace). The hot food was heavy and greasy, while we were having 90+ degree/70% humidity weather every day. The kids unanimously voted the best meals were when we made foil dinners (jazzed up with spices we brought with us)in the site Thursday (staff night off), and had grilled BBQ chicken, baked potatoes and corn on the cob (we made ourselves) for family night on Friday. The best part for me was we didn't have to don our "Class A" and sit and sweat in the 110 degree dining hall for an hour. Managing the dining hall was a college-age camp staffer and a staff of younger scouts. Our best years were when we had a 35-year veteran retired Army Sgt mess cook, and some years when we had a staff of nice ladies from the local community who could cook southern soul food just like grandma. They all quit after disputes with the Camp Director. This year we paid $180 per person...the most ever.

Yes, "their" award can be worn "there".

Each District maintains a list of REGISTERED MBC. If they are not registered, MB earned are not valid and "could" be a problem when the Eagle app is filed. In reality, I don't think they are checked, as the list changes yearly. We don't have a MBUniv (thank God). All MB are earned either at camp, or with an approved counsellor. Most registered counsellors work within their own troop, but they still must be registered and have YP training.

As the Army says, "Peeing white, ready to fight!"

OSHA Campaign Focuses on Teen Worker Safety Teen workers are the focus of a new campaign launched recently by OSHA. The Teen Summer Job Safety Campaign is a multiyear project to increase awareness about workplace hazards among young workers and their parents and provide possible solutions to those hazards. The campaign will focus on industries in which young people are likely to work during their high-school and college years. The landscaping industry is the first to be targeted. This years campaign theme is LandscapingPlant Your Feet on Safe Ground. OSHA has developed a resource kit designed to help prevent injuries related to landscaping. The kit includes materials from OSHA, the Wage and Hour Division, EPA and other organizations on potential industry hazards, including machinery, sun and heat, and pesticides, and ways to avoid them. The kit can be downloaded from OSHAs Teen Workers web page at www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers/index.html See a list of prohibited work activities for teen (under 18) workers: http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/docs/haznonag.asp(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

I've been told that when room and board are factored in, the minimum wage rule is satisfied. One of our perennial complaints is the lack of qualified and motivated camp staff. I think this illustrates why. In order to give staff adequate time off, you would need to run two shifts...hence more bodies on staff. What's the answer? The bottom line is that no one wants to pay $500-1200 a week for scout camp, which is the going rate for a non-scout camp (spend some time on Google if you don't believe me). Ours this year was $180 per scout and parents griped about the $20 increase. You get what you pay for.

I only wish our camp had no cell phone reception. Just got back, and had a 3rd year camper who cried every night after talking to Mommy on the cell phone she gave him (without our knowledge). Next year there will be a Troop rule...NO CELL PHONES. Either the cell phones stay home, or I don't go. I'm not spending every evening listening to crying from a 13 year old. I'm afraid I will have some un-scoutlike things to say to him.

Not sure what this discussion is all about. The Eagle Application cannot be procecessed without the signatures of the Unit Leader (SM or Venturing Advisor) and the Unit Committee Chair. No one else has a vote. If they refuse to sign, the scout should be told the reasons why and that he has the right to appeal to the District Advancement Committee. If this has been an ongoing problem, the scout should have been counselled along the way (Star, Life) and this should come as no surprise. It's not fair to push a scout along by rubber stamping his book and then saying "I don't think you're Eagle material". If he's not Eagle material, then he wasn't Life or Star material, either.

Sounds like, as a last resort, she is playing hardball. Any district or council activity needs to have accounting of the funds collected. The event planner needs to submit a budget which outlines expenses and expected income. At the end of the event, the books need to be reconciled so that there is a record of where the money went. This is not unreasonable, and is probably necessary in order to comply with the laws of non-profit corporations.

Can't quote chapter and verse right now, but I believe the short answer is "NO". You are only eligible to join the lodge which serves the Council in which you are registered, and you may only wear the lodge flap if you are a member in good standing (dues paid). If you want to belong to another lodge, I believe you must transfer your BSA membership to a unit in that Council.

I grew up in the 50's and 60's. What were we exposed to? Polio Chicken Pox Measles Mumps typhoid/tetanus (from swimming in flooded streets) Broken arms Sunburn (routinely and severely) Second hand smoke (at home and in the car - constantly) No seat belts or airbags Cars filled with sharp chrome stuff Jellyfish Heat (no A/C in school) Killer toys (like arrows, BB guns and gasp-sheath knives) Child molesters (my wife was a victim - her best friend's father) Dirt and germs So tell me again why it's worse now?(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

A recent article in the paper said we can't use the word "obese"...it's too harsh and hurts their self-esteem.

Agree with the above. This is a local council issue. Our council issues a UofS temporary patch with "segments" for each level of training which surrounds the patch. All go on the right pocket as a temporary local issue patch.

Short answer...no. If a prospective staffer has the skills and personality, and is willing to work for what amounts to one third of what they could make at McDonalds, we don't turn them away.

Just a reminder that anything, including Eagle patches and brand new presentation kits are routinely available on Ebay. Most Ebay sellers don't give a rat's patoot about the BSA rules or customs. If BSA were serious about it, they would ensure that brand new Eagle stuff is more tightly controlled, e.g., one presentation kit per approved application...I would even go so far as to imprint each one with a serial number for tracking purposes. Apparently there are councils where you can buy whatever you want and then resell on Ebay.

Oyster beds are created by the oystermen dumping empty shells back into the water. That's what the newly hatched oyster larvae hold onto while they grow their own shell which attaches to the other shells. Othewise, they would just be plankton. In this area, the Lynnhaven oyster was once described by the English settlers as "as big as dinner plates". Now, we are lucky to have 2-3 inch sizes. I believe it was Thos. Jefferson who decreed, "'Twas a brave man that first et an oyster!" Glad your ship enjoyed the trip. I'm adding it to my list of things to do.

I saw Trevorum's response before it was "edited by a staff member" with no explanation. I saw nothing offensive in it. As Beavah would say, "wassup wit dat, eh?"