scoutldr

I guess there's no recession in Irving. The reality is...I can pay for increased uniform prices and training fees...OR...donate to FOS. But not both.

I have nothing against training...if it's worthwhile information and doesn't waste my time (learning how to use a flannel board and make stupid little race cars in TDC comes to mind). I AM against charging volunteers ridiculous fees. I'm fat, so maybe it's a moot point anyway. I keep getting little subliminal messages that Scouting doesn't need nor want my services any more.

I turned in my Uniform Police badge a while ago, so I really don't care ;-). I was in cubs early 60's, Eagle 1970. My sons, now 27 and 30 were cubs in the early 80's, but neither one was a Tiger. As to the metal slides, I never bought more than one. We preferred the handmade variety and had several to choose from at any given time. The metal ones never stayed on.

This is not simply a matter of signing off on the SM conference. The Application for Eagle Scout Award http://www.nesa.org/trail/58-728.pdf requires the "approval signatures" of both the Unit leader (SM) and Unit Committee Chair, before a EBOR can happen. That being said, if the SM had no intention of signing, why did he approve the lad's Eagle Project? And, if he feels the lad has serious character flaws, why wasn't this mentioned at Life or Star? I'm afraid I don't have any answers, except talk to the District Advancement Chair, or transfer REAL quickly to another troop/Crew. PS: I just read some of the other posts...apparently this has been festering since at least Nov 08? And your son hasn't done anything about it yet? Sounds like the SM is a piece of work, writing the lad a letter saying "don't have your parents contact me about this". Sheesh.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

"Part of that is I think they want da council professional staff involved in instruction, so course fees have to take into account their salary." Pardon me, Beav, but that doesn't make sense to me. Pros are on salary and don't get overtime. They get paid the same whether they're teaching this course, or attending a B/G dinner. Salaries should come from FOS and popcorn, not by charging absurd training fees. Anyone up for a "Scouters' Tea Party"?

Nice try, but Cubs now has a different color necker, different slide, different cap and different belt buckle for EACH level, Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos. If I were a parent, I would "just say no". When I was a cub back in the dark ages, we bought one yellow necker and slide and cap and wore it all the way through. Only when we got to Webelos did we change our Den patch to the big W. I seem to have grown up without permanent emotional scarring.

Just explain in plain language that the choppers can understand...the BSA has weather training and guidance in the G2SS. Adhering to that will be the troop's policy, thank you very much.

Back in the day when I was a CM, we had the pre-race inspection, weigh-in and "pit repairs" the night before (Friday). Check in between 6pm and 8pm. Do all the mods and weighing you want, but when you hand it over the FINAL time, it went on the table and was never touched (or inspected) again until race time. More often than not, a car they thought was "spot on" weight, yielded a different result on the "official" scale (all cars weighed on the same scale). Then on Sat morning, RACE and have fun!

I would say about the lightning detector, "If you buy it, we'll take it along."

Here's what I would do. There are lots of "award" items in the BSA catalog (or see www.scoutstuff.org). Buy one of those and have it suitably engraved and present it to the CEO at a Pack Meeting. (B&G would be good). I recently had to have my truck towed to the nearest dealer, which happened to be a Lincoln Mercury dealer. While waiting for the repair to be completed, I had lots of time to wander around the showroom, where I noticed a display case with MANY plaques, awards, etc, from the Council for outstanding support. I have been quite active at the unit and district level for 30 years, and never knew they were such staunch supporters. Based on that, and a good experience with the repair, I will be a repeat customer...might even buy a new car there.

Well, I was halfway thinking about buying a new shirt...but never mind. Ebay.

"Worn by those honored for their personal donation of a minimum of $1000 to a local Council Endowment Fund" So the answer is no. The money is donated to the "Council Endowment Fund"...not to a unit. You are correct...the Council will keep all of it. There is no award for donating directly to a unit, unless you make one up. And keep in mind, for IRS purposes, they are donating to your CO, since in most states, the Unit is not a legal entity and doesn't have an EIN. The lawyers here will correct me if I'm wrong.

Boy, am I glad my PWD days are over! As an objective outsider, I vote with the former CM. The last race of the day is NOT the time to "notice" that a car is illegal. HOWEVER...the "former" CM has no authority and a unanimous vote of the current leadership should stand. What to do in the future? I would state in the rules that the "final inspection" is final, and once declared "eligible", the car can race and no further challenges to eligibility will be considered. Then make sure the people doing the inspections know what they are doing and what to look for. (perhaps a written checklist that each participant will have as well).

That's what I always say...for borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Sounds like a headline out of the People's Republic of China...which, coincidentally, may be interested in buying General Motors.

I noticed they didn't sit around waiting for the Govt to take care of them.

That's a 25-28% increase. I wonder how they justify that. Were the initial prices of the centennial uniform set artificially low to lure people in? It didn't work...at least in my council. So far, I have only seen a handful of people wearing the new uniform.

If he's been 11 since November, how did he get re-registered in your Pack for 2009? Doesn't ScoutNet prevent that?

Any BSA temporary patch can be worn on the right pocket. I think the only restriction is not to wear things that are obviously not meant to be temporary patches (e.g., youth rank badges), or patches that have another designated use, e.g. BSA Lifeguard or 50 miler. I sometimes wear the patch from my first year at the council camp, 1966. The choice is yours...choose one, or swap them out at will.

I'm just amazed that there's a PTA out there still chartering BSA units.

Pretty sure this was never a National knot sanctioned by BSA. There is already a Webelos Den Leader's knot that serves a similar purpose. Local councils are not authorized to make up their own knots...that's probably why you can't find it any more.

Trying to light our backsides on fire comes to mind...circa 1967. But that was a gas, not a liquid.

It's also not clear to me if NancyB is talking about her son's Scout Troop (the one he goes to meetings at every week), or the Council Jamboree Troop. THey are not the same troops, although they could be led by the same person. I was going to suggest Beavah's tactic. Write a firm but polite letter to the Council President (he/she is the Chair of the Council Executive Board), with cc to the Scout Executive and COR of your son's unit. Request a response IN WRITING that the Jamboree Leadership consists of adults in good standing who have passed a recent background check and are NOT CURRENTLY listed on any type of "offender" listing. As Beavah advises, do NOT name names or make accusations. There's always a chance you don't have all the facts and stuff like that can come back to bite ya. They may think you are some kinda whack job, but when it comes to the safety of your kids, who cares? The other point made in this thread is that if your son has not already applied and paid a deposit to be in the Council's Jamboree contingent, it may be a moot point (i.e., too late).

The title of the section refers to "Chemical Fuels"...not "Flammable Liquids". And the REST of the section outlines how to use liquid fuels (which, I believe are all "flammable liquids" - by definition)...safely. If the BSA intended to outlaw liquid fuels altogether, they should say something like "ONLY stoves and lanterns using compressed propane may be used." I interpret the part on "lighting fires" to mean campfires...not cooking stoves. And as someone else pointed out...there was "adult" supervision...the 18 year old staff member.

"Boy Scout policies prohibit the use or possession of flammable liquids, and the leader of the local Scout council said two adults are supposed to be present "in all situations."" I must have missed that memo.