scoutldr

Agree with Eamonn and Crew21. I didn't say that the crew/ship program had to revolve around Boy Scout advancements. Once they join a crew, they're on their own. When they are ready for the BOR, they can let you know. MB work is supposed to be done mostly outside of the unit program anyway.

Hmmmm...possession and brandishing a handgun by a minor, threatening bodily harm, verbal assault using profanity. OK, let's give him a second chance. Sounds like Eagle material to me. You don't mention if the above acts were committed in a Scouting environment (meeting, trip, campout). If I were the victim's parent, you and the Scout Executive would be hearing from my lawyer and/or the police. Sorry...you need to draw the line somewhere.

Writing up the final report of the project is part of the "work".

Everyone's opinions notwithstanding, the youth crew members can NOT elect to disallow national rules. The national rule (currently) is that a male Venturer can continue the trail to Eagle if he is at least First Class when he joins the crew. The Crew Committee is obligated to provide BOR and Advisor conferences to allow for that. Those who disagree can make their opinions known to the National Venturing Committee at BSA. Meanwhile, you must deliver the program...even the parts you disagree with.

If LFL is separate in every other way, why don't they have their own budget? In my opinion, LFL should be self-sustaining, if they are to have different membership requirements. So, if I read Eamonn correctly, my FOS money supports LFL whether I am intending to support that program and it's standards, or not.

The OA Chapter Advisor is an ex officio member of the District Committee under the Camping Committee. The purpose of the OA, among other things, is to promote unit camping and provide service to the Council, District and Units, the nature of which is decided locally. I don't think there are any hard and fast rules...it's whatever you agree to do in a cooperative manner. The things you mentioned are just examples of how the OA can provide "cheerful service". If there is to be a tapout (callout) at the camporee, it seems reasonable that the OA be in charge of the campfire. From the publication, "Camping Committee Guide" (#33083C), The Order of the Arrow should be related to the entire enterprise. Their contribution will be to cooperate with the Camping Committee in organizing: - A "Where To Go Camping" guide for all units - Work parties to improve camp facilities - OA members to work with district Scouters to visit units to tell the camping story to youth as adults tell the story to adults (This message has been edited by scoutldr)

Welcome to the forums, knottedplace. But you are incorrect. If a Boy Scout is First Class when he joins a Crew, he may continue the trail to Eagle. He does not need to maintain dual registration. Please check your facts.

Lest the youth become demoraticalized, I say let them earn Eagle if they're of a mind to. As a 14 year old Life scout and SPL, I transferred to an Explorer Post and continued to earn Eagle in 1970, due in no small part to my Post advisor's encouragement. During that time, the Post went co-ed, and almost without exception, the girls were also Sr. Girl Scouts and went on to earn their First Class awards (the highest GS award at that time). After joining the Post, I completed 3 50 miler trips, and completed the same training that volunteer firefighters and rescue squadsmen took. Without that program, I probably would have dropped out, because the troop I was in had no older scouts, no high adventure program, and nothing left for a 14 year old Life scout to do, except teach knots to the incoming Webelos. FWIW, I think the current proliferation of Venturing awards is excessive and almost ludicrous.

Professor, thanks for your efforts and idea! While the caution expressed above is understandable in light of recent reports of widespread fraud in Katrina relief funds, I really can't see a huge profit motive in collecting used childrens' books. And the growing illiteracy problem among our young people is one of my pet peeves. I am going to forward your request to units in my district, my wife's elementary school, and the District Advancement chair. I see the makings of an Eagle project here! Thanks again.

The advice about calling home is good, however very difficult to enforce when every kid or their tent-mate has their own cell phone. It took us years to get the pay phone removed from the trading post because kids were lined up all day long to call mommy collect (or girlfriends)...and now this. If you are at a camp with no reception, consider yourself lucky!

One of my concerns with LDS scouting is the quality. Do they have a high percentage of very young Eagles because the scouts are highly motivated and exceptional, or are they being spoon-fed by a program where "showing up" is the only thing the scout has to do to advance? And even attendance is not optional, from what I read. I honestly don't know the answer...but it's a concern. The term "Eagle Scout" should mean the same things regardless of a scout's faith. Is there a difference between an Eagle Scout and an "LDS Eagle"?

Scout on, Kaji!

The subject line is really misleading. There are only 3 possibilities for assigning responsibility...the Army, the Contractor, and the BSA. The Council is part of the BSA. Finding the BSA "responsible" really has no meaning, since OSHA does not have jurisdiction over personnel working in a volunteer capacity. OSHA could "cite" the BSA (i.e., issue citations) only if BSA employees were found to have violated a regulation. The only one with employees on the site was the Contractor which has paid his fine and closed up shop. What it does, however, is open the gate for civil suits from family members against the BSA.

On the advice of my financial planner, I purchased a $2 million umbrella liability policy from State Farm. Cost was less than $300 per year. If something should happen (God forbid), I am not counting on BSA to be in my camp (no pun intended). You may not need that much, but with the escalating value of homes and 401(k) funds, it's not that much any more.

Unfortunately, this is one of those "undefined" requirements that's left up to the unit leadership to interpret. I have seen interpretations anywhere from "name shows up on the charter" to "must attend 100% of all meetings and outings unless excused in advance", and all variations in between. If you do not agree with the SM's interpretation, you can politely appeal to the unit committee, and then to the District Advancement Committee. In my own troop, we do not penalize scouts for being actively involved in jobs, school or sports activities. But we do expect regular communication, attend what you can, and not to just "disappear" for a year. Of course, if the scout is elected SPL, the criteria may be a little different. You can't lead in absentia. I will say that in my troop, your son would be a LONG way from being considered "inactive".

My council's policy is to provide half. The scout is expected to earn the other half, e.g., popcorn sales, odd jobs, etc.

If you post which years you need, perhaps we can help (provided you only need one or two of each). I have boxes full of patches and probably have some dupes. Another source would be ebay. I am also looking for a 2004 Quality District patch...we earned it, but my DE never came through for us, even though I offered to pay for them. Just need one to throw in the box.

I believe your initial premise is incorrect. The CO "owns" the unit and can select it's members any way they want, as long as the members meet the membership requirements of the BSA. The answer to the rest of your questions, I believe, is "yes". If a member does not agree with a Troop's religious customs, they are free to join other troops.

And I'm sure the NFL made a nice FOS donation to the local council in honor of the scouts' service?

There are several "misconceptions" in the above posts, I think. The DE's job is not to "help the unit"...that is the job description of the Commissioner Corps. In a typical council, most of the budget goes to overhead, not to direct benefit of the unit (some will argue it's the same thing). Things like salaries, utilities, rent, property maintenance, camp maintenance, paper, xerox machine rental, DE's vehicle lease (or mileage for POVs), travel expenses for Professional meetings and training, etc. I have no idea what the LFL program costs in this council...it's never mentioned and it doesn't seem to be a big presence in the schools (nobody I know has ever heard of it, and my wife is a school system employee). When we plan district or council events, the council has a budget planning sheet that we use to determine the cost. It always includes fees for "insurance" and "council administrative fee", even if the event is held in a school or church and even if we never use any council resources, such as copy paper (when I was doing training, I paid for all handouts myself). All event fees are paid to directly to the council, and all expenses must be reimbursed from the council. The volunteers must pay all expenses out of pocket, and then submit receipts and get reimbursement after the event....sometimes 6 or 8 months later. Exception would be a contract which can only be signed by the SE. I would have thought that the Council operating budgets were developed by the Council finance committee, with input from the SE (staff and office needs) and input from all the committees for program needs. Why do we have an Executive Board, if the SE is allowed to have unlimited authority?? Yes, I have seen DE's do all of those things...from meeting with prospective CO's to being the "staff advisor" to district committees, to helping a Tiger hold a bow for the first time, to splitting wood at a camp work day. Near as I can figure, my DE averages 11-12 bucks an hour considering all of the hours he puts in. Contrast this to the $128,000+ that the SE makes (2004 IRS form 900)...a guy we never see unless he pops into a district or council level committee meeting to read us volunteers the riot act and threaten us. Real nice chap. Things are way out of whack, and it's no wonder councils are floundering.

Is there a game on today or something? I hadn't noticed.

The Chaplain's role in Youth Protection Dealing with the agnostic or atheist scout

That would be fine...and a lot better than many voters, especially the youngest (MTV set) and many of the oldest ones (there should at least be a test for dementia before a ballot is issued, regardless of age). If they "like his personality and trust him", that tells me they at least know who's running and why. To get a flavor for what I mean, tune in to the Sean Hannity radio show when he does his "man on the street" interviews in downtown Manhattan. These are the clueless people who are cancelling out your votes. They've NEVER HEARD of Cheney, Condoleeza, Colin Powell, or even Kerry, but they can quote the names and lyrics of 25 Rap songs. And most of them are recent high school graduates. Scary.

Second what Beavah said. This illustrates a disadvantage of having "multiple" EBORs, but it's not a show-stopper. One solution would be to have a 30 minute "buffer" betweeen them to give the scout and his parents time to leave before the next one comes in. I also participate as the District rep on EBORs, and they are handled much like any other BOR. The decision must be unanimous, and the Scout must be told the reasons why and what he needs to do to close the gap, if indeed it's possible. I also have had one "deferral" in which one of the troop committee members thought the "offense" was an egregious violation of the Scout Oath and Law (morally straight), there was no repentance, and there was no acknowledged effort to change the situation. The Scout appealed to district, got a new EBOR and is now an Eagle Scout. I still don't know in my own mind if the right thing was done.

Feb 3, 6:20 AM EST MySpace.com subject of sex assault probe HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Police are investigating whether as many as seven teenage girls have been sexually assaulted by men they met through the popular Web site MySpace.com. The girls, ages 12 to 16, are from Middletown and say they were fondled or had consensual sex with men who turned out to be older than they claimed. None of the incidents appeared to be violent, said Middletown Police Sgt. Bill McKenna. He said it was difficult to determine the exact number of victims because some girls have been reluctant to disclose that they met their assailants online. The social networking Web site allows users to create profiles that can include photos, personal information and even cell phone numbers. In a statement Thursday, MySpace.com said it was committed to providing a safe environment for its users. The site, which includes safety tips, also prohibits use by anyone younger than 14, though a disclaimer says the people who run the site can't always tell if users are lying about their ages.