scoutldr

Welcome to the forum, SM Mike! Thanks for doing what you do for the inner city kids. They are the ones who need us most of all.

When I was involved in training, the course budget always included an "insurance fee" and a "council administrative fee". The latter was allegedly to cover the cost of photocopying, and office staff labor, etc, which I never used. I never did understand the insurance fee (which was like 50 cents per participant), since courses were always involving registered scouters and a neutral location such as a school or church, which I assume have their own insurance coverage should we accidentally set the place on fire from our heated discussions ;-). It must not have been very important, because they are now offering free training for new leaders within 30 days of registration. I agree the SE is always looking for a way to make a buck from every activity. The money has to come from somewhere, but quit milking the volunteers. We are giving enough. Perhaps the youth and their families who benefit from the program should be asked to pay more toward the fair cost, which in our council is estimated to be around $156/youth/year. A $7 registration fee that doesn't even stay local is way inadequate.

Reminds me of a Dilbert cartoon...the pointy haired boss says "Profits are down, so I laid off half the sales staff."

Source: Washington Post.com Paramedics will turn to a victim's cell phone for clues to that person's identity. You can make their job much easier with a simple idea that they are trying to get everyone to adopt: ICE. ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. If you add an entry in the contacts list in your cell phone under ICE, with the name and phone no. of the person that the emergency services should call on your behalf, you can save them a lot of time and have your loved ones contacted quickly. It only takes a few moments of your time to do. Paramedics know what ICE means and they look for it immediately. ICE your cell phone NOW!

I usually use the middle range...with lots of steam. Be careful that the tip of the iron doesn't snag the red threads of the arrow, though. They will start to unravel with time and use.

I have ironed mine many times. Hasn't melted yet. Darn thing does keep getting smaller, though.

I was reading along in amazement before I realized this thread is almost a year old! Mallway has not posted since last October. Is there an update as to how this melodrama played out?

For those councils in states where English is a dying language, what is the policy on membership for illegal aliens? Does anyone care? Or is an illegal youth on the rolls just as good as a legal one if it gets the SE a pay raise? A Scout is Trustworthy. If they see nothing wrong with breaking the laws to get here, why would they place any importance on the Scout Law? Hmmmmm?

On the other hand, why do COuncils keep forming new Districts? We recently went through a 3 for 1 split...we now need three of everything, including professional and commissioner staff, where before we had one. The excuse given was "national guidelines", however, 3 years later, we still have maybe one third of the district positions filled. There are no more units or youth that I can see...just more infrastructure.

We use the word "hump" at camp, too. It's in a song called "Alice the Camel".

You'd be amazed at the number of scouts who appear at their Eagle BOR and can't recite the Scout Oath and Law. Nervousness? I hope so. Yeah, that must be it...nervousness.

I'm not talking about adults, I'm talking about 11 year olds calling mommy in the middle of the night. At our camp, every program area has a 2-way radio. If there's an emergency, help is 5 minutes away by radio. If someone calls 911, the nearest help is more than 30 minutes away, and no one else in camp knows the call was made.

Whoa! Thanks, Backpacker...I needed that.

Your District Advancement Chair is the one who has cognizance over these matters. If the troop is not using registered MB counsellors, then those MB earned are invalid.

http://www.scottsbt.com/acb_sbt/webpage.cfm?WebPage_ID=15&DID=8

In case I was not clear, my opinion is the same as Bob's. If there is a need for new insignia, then let National know our wishes and hope that they agree. There is a precedent, since there is a square knot for those who have won awards in their fraternal organization or military (MOVSM). I have also seen a knot being sold on ebay for BSA Lifeguard. Since I am a BSALG and BSALG Counselor, it is tempting, but I do not wear one because it is not authorized. What I especially disagree with is creating patches and awards and other for-profit materials using BSA logos and trademarks without permission.

What you are describing is fodder for a Venture crew...they can design their own kilt-bedecked uniforms and pretend they are Scots all they want. Boy Scouts, however, are Boy Scouts, and their uniforms and program are proscribed.

Why don't we just make a rule that no adult leader may come within 10 feet of a youth. IF this is indeed a new national "policy", then we will just say that parents must make their own arrangements to get their son to the activity site.

If there is anything out there that will help increase recruiting and retention, then I say go for it. If the lady Venturers want a square knot, where's the harm? Are the guys just jealous that there will be a knot that they can't have?

Since we just returned from camp yesterday, I am resurrecting this thread. Another reason for scouts not to have phones at camp: Several of our first-years had personal cell phones (unbeknownst to us). Little Johnny calls parents who are out on a "date" for the evening, so he leaves a cryptic message on the answering machine, garbled by bad reception and his general inability to speak in complete sentences. Mom returns home late and finds the message, and immediately starts calling everyone she can...Leaders have their phones off for the night, since it is after Taps, and to conserve battery. Finally, the camp emergency number is called and the Camp Director had to come to the site to tell us that Mrs. Jones needs to talk to her son right away. We wake up Johnny (who has not been having any obvious problems), and calls Mom. Bottom line, there was no problem or emergency...he just wanted to say "hello". We wanted to throttle him. Next year there will be a definite policy. Personal freedom is one thing...until it inconveniences others for no reason.

There is no difference. Neither jeans nor kilt is an approved uniform item.

I agree, American cars suck. Now which "foreign" car should I buy...the Jaguar or Volvo built by Ford, the Ford built by Mazda, the Nissan built in Tennessee, the Honda built in Kentucky, the Chevrolet built in Canada, or the BMW built in SC? How about the VW built in Mexico...that would be pretty safe.

In my experience, scouts are actively discouraged from "walking around, enjoying the surroundings and, generally hanging out." (to paraphrase) Only group free time is scheduled (reminds me of the poster who said she actually scheduled time to be spontaneous!) I think the prevailing opinion is, that "idle hands are the devil's workshop" and if scouts aren't 100% scheduled, they will think up things to do that have nothing to do with scouting.

When neckerchiefs were bigger (the "full square"), they were actually useful. Now they are seen as hot and an unnecessary adornment...like a necktie.

Probably nothing, Ed. Fifty years ago, things like obesity, alcoholism, drug addiction, ADHD, tobacco use, weren't considered medical issues, either. They were weaknesses of character. ADHD was cured by a good paddling from the Prinicipal. Mental illness used to be caused by evil spirits (or masturbation, according to B-P). Bi-polar was just "moody". Now it's a "chemical imbalance". There is a fine, blurry line between normal variations in human physiology and bona fide illness. Fifty years from now, being addicted to Scouting will probably have a DSM IV code and be treatable with medication and attendance at "Scouters Anonymous" (to recognize the things we cannot change!). We can only hope.