SSScout

Naughty knotty Our District decided (somebody decided) some years ago we needed some more awards so as to recognize more worthy folks for their efforts. So besides the "usual" . . . . District Award of Merit: An over hand knot. Simple, necessary for the completion of every other SQUARE knot. Nominated by the District Committee, officially awarded by the Council. and we have ::: Bowline: For Scouters that "hold things up" unit Leaders that keep Scouting going for their units (decided by Unit Committee) Sheetbend: For Scouters that "hold things together" active in District events, training, etc. District Key Three decided) Oak Tree: award to the UNIT for supporting and doing . . . Sparkplug : To anyone who is just a go getter at the District and/or unit level. Decided by District committee and/or Unit committee. Acorn: Awarded to the SCOUT (Cub or BSA) who exemplifies the Scout Promise and Law in his Unit and Community. Nominated by Unit Committee and decided by District. Key Three award: Decided by the DCom, DChair, and DE, as a thank you to one person. Yes, it can be a looong District dinner....

""It Depends"" I am not a tax accountant nor do I portray one on tv. That said, if your bank account has immense amounts of money in it, and your bank statement notes a "withholding", then you must file to get the witholding back, assuming your unit is a non-profit and you need that money back. yeah, gotta file . If no withholding, and a paucity of money in your account, check with your tax accountant.

I remember the name, never had the honor of meeting her in person. By Packsaddle's recommendation, the Scout world is much less by her departure. My sympathy and prayers to the family.

and there are many European adventures available. Camino de Santiago, very well traveled perhaps too crowded for a Scout Troop actually. Northern Spain, excellent Albergues Hostels), well marked , good public transport/bus and train. Many trails and historic places in Belgium and Netherlands. Very Bike friendly there. I was on a WW1 history bus tour and met up with a Troop from Vancouver Canada ! Camping/bike touring....

With planning (or without?) the Great Allegheny Trail can be done on foot or bike. History, natural areas, public touristy stuff.... Take the train up tp Pittsburgh, it's all down hill. America's Friendliest Long-Distance Rail-Trail - GREAT ALLEGHENY PASSAGE (gaptrail.org)

Once upon a time, I worked for our local Transit system. I was the Late Desk, which meant I welcomed the last busses into the depot, closed up and locked the doors for the night (maybe 1:30am ). One Friday night, about 10:30pm, I answered the phone and the adult male voice on the other end asked if I could answer some questions about the Metro Subway system (???). I first asked how he had gotten this number (which was not generally available to the public). He said he had a friend who also worked for the "County". Well, okay, I'll help you if I can. He said his son was going down town the next day to attend a special class presentation at the George Washington University. Very nice, I said, he must be a smart young man. Thank you. How does he catch the train, where, how much , where does he get off..... Excuse me, sir, how old is your son? 15. Has he ever ridden the Metro before? No. And are you going down to GW with him? Of course not. Then shouldn't I be speaking to him? (Silence on the phone) . Yes, I suppose so. A younger voice appears on the phone. We had a good conversation for about 30 minutes. Having both driven around the campus and attended some classes there myself some few years ago, I hope I gave him some good information and advice. I hope he enjoyed the session. I did not hear back from them again.

*sigh*

Once upon a time auto rally courses were popular. The idea is to drive at a certain speed for a certain distance, following directions along a prescribed course. The driver who came closest to the "ideal" calculated time for the course without going over it was the winner. I remember one course I drove with my buddy as navigator, we came in , I think 35th out of 50 some contestants. There was one direction that I remember: "Take second right after 138 mail boxes." What??? Well, we passed a trailer park with over a hundred mailboxes all in a row! And if you took the FIRST right, it was a loop and you would come out facing the wrong way ! Such were the diabolical planning in some of these courses. And the fun and challenge. So one can plan the compass course in two ways: Serious ( degrees, distance, note station clue, move on...) or you an add some interest. Start at the Maple Tree with four main trunks. Face the quartz boulder and bear off at ... Reverse bearing twelve meters and at the Honey Locust ..... I like Qwarze's ideas. And yours. Nothing wrong with directing " Measure the height of the Church Steeple and round off to nearest meter. Travel that distance from the NE corner of the church at 175 degrees magnetic..."

And that's how you earn your consultant's fee. You want that chocolate cake donut? Just askin'....

Well, maybe. If the folks that "play the game well" might pay more , the folks that can't "play the game" might pay less. Perhaps time for another thread with very little to do about Scouting.... Nah, not today.

Yeah. It's like the state lotteries. Why not just make our taxes fair and equitable , and not make "school funding" (for instance) dependent on folks' greed and desire to beat out others?

My original "Handbook" is/was titled "Handbook for Boys". The Scout part was inside.....

Hornaday did much good. However..... Read thru William Temple Hornaday - Wikipedia but pay attention to "Racism at the zoo" section.

If it wasn't before, it certainly is now. The Troop of my yoooth did just about everything to make things cheap and affordable. We made our tents (plastic grommeted tarps), some cook sets (#10 cans etc.) . Now, of course, us kids had very little idea what the parents/adults did for us other than drive the car and help with other stuff (money?, How to hold a saw or hatchet? ) I never HEARD of a "District Executive" or "Charter" until I started getting called "Mr. SSScout". by my Scoutson's buddies. MBCounselor? My Music/Bugling was my school Band teacher. I had to call the Council office to get a MBCfor some MBs. My Aviation MB was 30 some miles away, dad drove me there twice. Now, just about any MB can be had by somebody in the Troop. YPT? I have no idea if there was ANY type of such requirement back in the 1950s, 60s, 70s,,,, It was never on the Scout's radar then, that stuff was the adult's concern. Now, and rightfully so, it is everyone's concern, from Lion Cub on up to Eagle and beyond....

Well let's see what the score board shows. Categories: US Constitution: All men created equal . . . Equal treatment before the Law . . . 3/5ths compromise? Sermon on the Mount: "Christianity" actually following Jesus' example? Even He did not have a "golden rule" that was called that. Q'ran: All are brothers (and sisters?) under God/Allah, if I read things right.... Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Adopted by ALL the United Nations in 1948 : All people, young or old, no matter the place or circumstance of birth, should be treated ,? how? The Scout Promise and Scout Law . . . Need I go on? It is almost (almost) never the fault of our ideals . The fault is in the child choosing poor parents. choosing poor schooling and poor role models. The fault is in NOT pointing out the consequences of actions. Nature or nurture? The BSA troubles started way back before I became a Scout. Not holding folks accountable WHEN they needed to be so held. Hoping if we send the trouble maker away, they would cease to be a trouble maker someplace else. Not being willing to face up to the reality of the occurrence. Now, the reaping of the sowing, even when the seed sown was not really known or recognized. "The fault, dear Brutus .... " and so forth. Societal cultural change? Hunger and lack of education and lack of good health care and overt greed and "me first" and less than equal treatment in pay and opportunity... Change is therefore inevitable. Can we guide that change toward the ideals? Do we still have ideals worth pursuing? I've got snow to shovel.... see you on the trail.

1) Check with your Troop's Charter Org and Charter Org Representative. If you don't know who that is, contact your District Executive (available thru the Council Website). I will assume the Adult Leaders you speak of are "trained"? and "registered"? and probably on the Troop Committee? Not much use then, in talking to them? 2) Talk to the other Scout parents. Any others of like opinion? There is safety and value in numbers. 3) Collect your evidence (sounds very persuasive to me) , include past years stuff as appropriate, and contact your Council Scout Executive directly, cc to the District Executive. She/he/they should be very interested in such diversions from Scout policy. 4) Most such "sport pools" of my small experience have only one purpose, the profit of an individual. Any charitable interest is often sidelined by the "organizers". Even 50/50 tag games. 5) Prepare for the self destruction of the Scout Unit as no one steps up to take over the leadership. 6) continue with your plans to move to a better unit. Good Scouting to you and your Scout. Always remember, they will be picking out your Assisted Living Facility.

Well whose fault is that? If one is "in person," that would seem to indicate that a hand can be raised and a question or clarification asked . The Instructor has three choices: "Here is the answer...", OR "That's a good question, but I don't know, I'll find out and get back to you". OR ... " Well, what do you all think? How would you handle this?" EDGE and all that. Make your "In Person" instructor earn her/his pay.

Possibly because it would benefit a private concern, not a public one? Improving the fishing on a privately owned lake might be seen differently than a public park one? Doesn't the city/county collect such? Ours does. No charge, part of the normal recycling service, trash pick-up. Several scheduled pick-ups after the turn of the new year. And, how many trees can you deal with? How big is the neighborhood you would draw from? What would you do with the trees that don't "fit" in your lake? Our county and several incorporated towns hereabouts cooperate and grind up many TONS of old Christmas trees into mulch that is blended with other mulch material and sold to private baggers who further mix and market the organic material. Then to, we have had some Scout conservation projects nearby that included using past their prime Christmas trees for erosion control, habitat formation, and bird feeder creation. Good luck to you and thanks for getting back to Scouting.

Delay the Board. "Extenuating circumstances require we postpone the Board of Review until . . ." No board, no need to approve/disaprove. No need for appeal. Yet.

Whoah... there is no such thing as "useless" information. One cannot tell when any piece of knowledge might be of use. Crossword puzzles, impressing girl friends, finding folks of common derivation at a party, preventing wife from hurting herself by repairing "something" . . . My freshman class in dynamics did not come useful until I started investigating traffic accidents 35 years later. The laws of physics cannot be denied, it turns out. But yes, indeed , we do thrive on such esoteria. Such is very useful. If the shape of an axe head is the "Michigan" pattern, or the shape of tent is a "Baker", it has meaning to them for whom it is needed.

There's a SM Minute in that. Once upon a time, Scoutson would roll his eyes when I would start off "back when I was a Scout..." Now he wants to hear the stories. Sometimes it is hard for the young to understand that yes, the world existed BEFORE they existed. There is a continuum. My dad drove a horse drawn milk wagon when he was 16.... and he confirmed the story that the horse often knew the route better than he did ! ((?? milk delivered to your house? Really?)) My favorite tale of this genre: We were doing history homework and Scoutson speaks up, "dad.... you had it easier than I do in history. You had less to remember !"

The odds of being eaten by a Bengal tiger in the middle of Main Street may be a million to one, but once is enough. One can be sued by anyone at any time for any perceived problem. Ask any doctor. Or EMT. Or school sidewalk owner. Or Busdriver. I was driving my transit bus in the curb lane, approaching a red light. A Pinto (!) dashed in front of me such that I slammed on my brakes and still hit the Pinto's right door and pushed it straight. I set my parking brake, jumped out of my bus, ran around to the driver's side and asked "Are you alright?" His first words to me were: "It's your fault, okay?" I went back into my bus and called the police and my dispatcher. The court case was interesting....

Aha... Something from the Faith and Chaplaincy forum. Oh, wait....

Yep. Search Owasippe here in Scouter dot com. It was an adventure to read, for sure. The CORs managed to wake alot of people up. The local county zoning board managed to take control of their county and by refusing to rezone the property in essence prevented the camp from becoming a lake resort. But Chicago Council still managed to sell off two of their three camp properties before National pulled the strings. I forget, who got the profits there? The CORs are the voting corporate board of a council.