SWScouter

Wow, and to think I thought this thread would be about Personal Digital Assistants. (This message has been edited by SWScouter)

I meant ALF, not ELF. ALF: Animal Liberation Front. PETA would be very pleased in giving animals the same legal status as humans. For example, If you hit a deer driving, you could be indicted for manslaughter, and if you intentionally killed a deer, you could be indicted for murder. That is, after all, what animal rights means, and yes, animal rights does go completely against judeo-christian doctrine. Ingrid Newkirk of PETA, among others, does have quite a radical view of things. Ozemu, if you were driving at night and happened to go around a curve and hit and kill, e.g., an emu, do

Scotiacat wrote, "Is there anything this group won't do????" Considering that PETA is a front for ALF, a terrorist organization, I don't think so.

My son will be crossing over to Boy Scouts this February so I got him a Boy Scout belt, hat, neckerchief slide, red loops and one of those cedar scout boxes with the BP scout drawing on it to put it all in. SWScouter

Assuming that you'll have access to a car, I'd get an inverter and then, when needed, you can charge your battery overnight. The drain on the car battery is essentially negligible. SWScouter

Trevorum, let me flay your confusion. Now, I don't know if this is n4ari's situation, but it is common that new neighborhoods fall under the CC&Rs of a Home Owners Association. CC&Rs can be considered neighborhood laws. All home owners in the association have legally agreed to abide by the CC&Rs. Now it happens that many CC&Rs have rules about how the flag can be displayed. This usually means restrictions or bans with flag poles. I hope your confusion has been duly flaid. SWScouter

SemperParatus, thanks, those were great ideas. I was thinking along those lines too but anothers ideas and experiences are helpful. Does anyone else have any other ideas or experiences with how you closed out your den? I think moving beyond just what to do with the den flag is important. Thanks again, SWScouter

I've been the den leader for my son's den since they were wolfs. Right now they are Webelos 2s and are finishing up work on their AOL award and will be crossing over to Boy Scouts at the Pack's B&G this coming February. Currently, the den has a flag they designed (Fox den) that is adorned with many ribbons the den has managed to earn over the past 3-4 years for various things such as Natl. Den Award, Den Challenge at a Webelos Encampment, and so on. It also has a big glove hanging from it that they won at resident camp a couple summers ago. So, my question is, what should the den

CalicoPenn, I enjoyed most of your post that I forgot it was you that wrote about the archery bear hunt. A big problem with archery hunting, is that a lot of bowhunters don't understand that the bow and arrows needed will vary with the game being hunted. A setup adequate for deer may very well not be for bear and probably won't be for bison. Most people seem to know that, for example, a 22LR is fine for rabbit but completely inadequate for deer. The same issues occur for bowhunters too, but fewer seem to take that into account. When Howard Hill hunted elephant in Africa, he used

It seems there's a fair bit of misinformation running through this thread. Game management is a science and most states G&F departments are getting pretty good at it. There has been plenty of mis-steps through the years but things tend to be run pretty good nowadays. Game herds today are much better off now than they were a hundred years ago. I imagine that if we didn't have G&F departments to manage our wildlife we wouldn't have much wildlife left to enjoy. I think Prairie_Scouter should be very thankful for hunters because if they weren't around his photo safaries wouldn't be very su

One thing to consider is that currently, LDS chartered Packs do not have Tiger cubs in their program. Perhaps, if there is a kindergarten aged program the LDS church may reevaluate having the Tiger Cubs in their program. That may be another reason why BSA has been integrating Tiger Cubs more into the Cub Scout program. Of course, this is just pure speculation on my part. SWScouter

I believe the 72 hours differentiator between long/short term camping has to do with whether a class 1, 2, or 3 medical form is needed or not. Check the medical forms, they should state that. I think (may easily be wrong) that a class 1 form is fine for up to 72 hours of camping for people under 40 if medical help is nearby. SWScouter

Well, since your son was removed as SPL, is the troop now SPLless? I would think perhaps so. If the SM now wants to start doing things right, there should be an election for a new SPL and new PLs. You may suggest to your son to again run for SPL and really rally the troop to vote for him just to send a message to the SM to help the boys lead their troop instead of it being run by the SM! Just a twisted thought on a possible course of action... SWScouter

First, congrats SemperParatus on 20 years of marriage! My wife and I are a bit over half way through our 15th year of marriage. Sometimes it's been good, sometimes bad but I really do adore her. I'm a Webelos den leader and on Cub Roundtable staff. I try to keep a balance with things but so far this year the den's been doing a lot of stuff. We had five activities in Sept. and six in both Oct. and Nov., then last Sat. we spent the day with a troop on a camping trip. We thought it would be a bit too cold for the Webelos so we just spent the day instead of staying overnight. It has been

2972!

Most every morning I tie two knots. Yes I'm tying my shoes with a bow. Anyway, isn't a bow just a fancy square knot. Shouldn't those scouters that are trying to rebuild a troop at least know how to tie a bowline, after all, it is the rescue knot. My Webelos den went to the last spring camporee. One contest they did was to pitch a lean-to. Since they were Webelos, the adults got to help. While the boys were staking the two back corners and driving the two front stakes, I tied the ropes to the tarp with a two-half hitch and put a taut-line on the other end. We didn't work fast, we just

The requirement does state, "Successfully complete." I interpret this to mean that the scout must pass the BSA swimmer test to complete the requirement. SWScouter

Thank you ljnrsu, that is what I meant. SeattlePioneer brings up another great example of my point. He wrote, "If a Scout completes a 25 mile bicycle trip on an outing, is there really anything really wrong with making a point of recording the date of that achievement so the Scout receives credit for that when he gets around to seriously earning the Merit Badge?" Requirement 8 of the bicycling merit badge is: Avoiding main highways, take two rides of ten miles each, two rides of fifteen miles each, and two rides of twenty-five miles each. You must make a report of the rides taken.

Seattle Pioneer, I'm having a little trouble following the benefit of what you're suggesting. It's my understanding that a scout would have a blue card and the MBC would note completion of requirements as he/she approves the work, and then, when all requirements are met, sign the blue card. I fail to see how the advancement chair (or whomever) marking requirements as complete on a blue card can suffice. I as a MBC will not sign a blue card as complete if a scout shows me one with all the requirements marked off by someone else. What I will do, is talk to the scout, go over the requirements one

The pack I'm in charges $30 per year for dues. That inclues the $10 for registration and $1.20 for insurance. If the boy wants BL that's another $12. That gets the boy all the awards he earns and a pinewood derby car. The pack also has a fish fry the first Friday of lent for a fundraiser. Den finances are completely separate from pack funds. I charge another $5 per month for den dues. Also, the boys sell Scout-O-Rama tickets. The commission goes straignt to the den's general fund. The past two years, boys in the den have sold popcorn. All commission a boy earned was put into an account to

Oh my gosh! Break out the champagne, err a bug juice, OldGreyEagle has two posts in one thread and neither of them double posted. Now, back to your regularly scheduled topic...

Meamemg wrote, "The blue cards haves two spots for the SM to sign. One giving permission to start the badge, and one saying it was completed. whether the SM can not sign it after the councelor has, I don't know, but there is two spots for the SM to sign." This is basically true, but the second signature is a receipt for the scout that the merit badge application was turned in. It is not to say the badge was completed and it is not on the application part (the unit's part) of the blue card, it is on the part of the card the scout retains. SWScouter

TheScout wrote, "Merit Badge Counselor does not have final authority Scoutmaster must sign the blue card that the merit badge has been completed." This is wrong. The SM signs the blue card when it is given to the scout, not when the scout turns the blue card in after completing the MB. For example, scout goes to SM and says, "I'd like to work on the Golf MB." SM replies, "Great, here, let me sign this blue card for you and here's a Golf MB counselor you can work with." Scout says, "Thanks!" Once the MB counselor has signed the blue card as complete, the scout has earned the MB.

Another good reference for the qualification to be a SPL is in the SPL handbook. There is a whole chapter named, are you ready, Qualifications of a Senior Patrol Leader. It basically says that the troop can decide what the qualifications are, whether they be age, rank, tenure, etc. It does mention that a newer smaller troop would most likely have more lenient qualifications than a larger, more established troop. This basically makes sense since the SPL is the highest youth leadership position in the troop and there is a larger pool of boys to select from. SWScouter

Grand Canyon Council will be having it's annual Scout-O-Rama, Nov. 12 this year. I think it will be the 51st or 52nd annual SOR. There won't be one in 2006 though since the council is moving SOR from the Fall to the Spring; the next will be spring 2007. It is a pain immediately going from SOR ticket sales to popcorn sales. I don't know if that has anything to do with switching. SWScouter