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Tiny1pj

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Everything posted by Tiny1pj

  1. Thank you so very much for your prayers and those who are helping to locate "experienced uniforms". Let me take this time to encourage those who think they have "insurmountable" problems, that, in my opinion, anyone can help our boys. God bless all, Paul Johnson Lander, WYoming
  2. Tiny1pj

    A real Flag??

    I have to agree with overtrained. My den meets in the same location as my troop. We were used to using the Troop colors for the opening and pledge. My scoutmaster had removed them for storage because we are selling the church building (and building another), so we had no flag to salute. I asked the boys what to do, and they decided to stand in a circle, saluting the flag on each other's shirt. Then had no thought that they were saluting each other, only trying to show respect to the flag. In a similar note, and one that probably only those with military experience will understand. I was o
  3. Now to the Jacket/Coat - Why not the less expensive, easier to care for, and attractive "Polartec", "Polarfleece" or similar coats, instead of spending $100 or more for the "official" pendelton wool shirt-jac? They can be found online and in local stores, even here in Wyoming, for around $20-40, in all sizes. Look at Sierra Trading Post, Cabellas, Sportsmans Guide, etc. The addition of the "BSA" patch on the left chest area, make it the official troop uniform. Just MHO - God bless, Paul Johnson
  4. Speaking of hats - I have worn all the differant forms of hats the BSA, Army, and Navy have used since 1973. Given that, here IMHO: 1. Beret - Looks cool when worn properly - Takes time and effort to train, and not really a useful item in the field. More of a "Dress" or Honor Guard/Color Guard item to me. 2. Overseas Cap (Envelope looking thing) - Easier to wear properly, looks good for formal activities, but NO useful purpose in the field. 3. Ball Cap - Most common and least expensive hat option. Not much more useful than the beret for keeping warm or cool. Lots more opti
  5. With the cost of uniforms so high, and living on Social Security Disability, I am having trouble finding experienced uniforms. Since July of last year, when I had surgery to help me lose weight, I have lost 185 lbs. I now need 2xl shirts (if the shoulders were larger, I could wear XLs) and 44x32/34 pants. If anyone out there has some they are willing to part with, please let me know. I have adjusted my old shirts as much as they can. Thanks, YIS Paul Johnson, (307) 332-5957, paj@wyoming.com
  6. Way to go! Just remember your training. It may seem like a big job, however you can do it!!! Paul Johnson
  7. This is a very important topic to me! As the father of 2, one now in the troop and one in the pack, it can sure be a challenge. I became my oldest's den leader when the person who volunteered did not do her job. That was 5 years ago. 3 years ago I was approached to start a troop as an option from the Morman troops and the 1 non-morman, but not boy led troop. I am now the committee chair for that troop, with 4 active boys. Last year I was approached to be the Cubmaster for the pack! So now I am a leader within BOTH troop and pack, so have to be careful of how I am seen by the boys whe
  8. Good for you Tim. I know that it is hard to take a stand, however, you are starting to reap the benefits of that. It is very unfortunate that some people are so stuck in the way they do things that they are unwilling to change. It goes both ways, in that BSA may be wrong and the unit leaders may be wrong. We need to be open, and use what we have learned to incorporate the PURPOSE and INTENT of what we have learned in training. 1) BOYS FIRST. If the boys are not why we are here, then we need to leave 2) BOY LED. Some of our leaders (at all levels) have forgotten this. If we do al
  9. I hope no one thinks that I do not want to support council. My troop has been gold card for 2 years (we are 2 1/2 years old as a troop). Our Pack sends almost $1,500 a year to council from FOS donations. It is the fact that the boys are forced to wait until March to get the commission that they have returned in November. That is 4 months after earning it that they get paid. How many of us would accept that from our employer. Even as a consultant, I was always paid withing one month of completing a project. I have several adults who are ready to say that their sons will not sell popco
  10. After reading all the posts, including mine, I wish to offer the following observations from MY district and council. The Council Executive is the individual who was hired to raise money (1st) and numbers of units and boys (2nd). He seems to understand very little about our state and especially the rural areas (which is 90+% of the state and council) Our DE is a very fine woman who is as helpful as anyone I have met. If she has a fault in her job, it is thinking that everyone knows where she has arranged to have our meetings is located! Our district include the entire county of Fremo
  11. I guess I just better go to bed! Sorry for the last post, as this is the right location for the one before that.
  12. Sorry for this last post, it belongs in another forum! I am not sure how it got here. PJ
  13. OGE asked: "The quesiton is do you (scouts and scouters) beleive that your council/disrict professional staff is more interested in providing a quality program or pumping up funds and units regardless of quality and why? " Please note, I am answering this one before reading other responses. So please forgive me if I upset anyone. pj That is an easy one. Our DE cares about nothing (that I have seen) but meeting or beating a monetary amount and increasing numbers of units and boys. He has never said anything about the program. Any time we hear from him it is about FOS/Sustaining Memb
  14. It sounds like some leaders at best were ignorant, and probably just plain idnored rules and local laws. If they are found to be guilty, they can be charged the ENTIRE amount of fighting the fire. Next time you have a leader that does not want to follow policy or laws, bring up the monetary aspect. That usually gets more attention. On our campout last weekend, we were allowed to have open fires, but only in established campgrounds, in the provided fire rings. I had personal phone contact (not messages) with the BLM person in charge of the campgrounds. We cooked over both a camp stove
  15. Our troop VOTED on the following. Fatigue (class C or field use): High quality Ts with screen printed unit info on the left chest pocket area. This cost us $7.50 each plus $10 for the screen setup. Hat: Black boonie with metal rank insignia. Other pins may be added, but the current rank is in front center. The boys voted on the boonie after discussion of the costs and benefits of all the availble hats. The second choice was the beret, and third the expedition hats. If the cost was reasonable, I think they would have preferred the expedition hats. As for the other, these are
  16. I would like to ask how other councils deal with money from popcorn sales and the commission rates. A few years ago our council changed its rate of commission to units for popcorn sales to 30%, they get 40%, from an even split - 35% each. They also REQUIRE us to send ALL popcorn receipts to the council, and then ask for a check to put in our local account. The last 3 years we have not recieved out commission until February, in spite of turning in money before Thenksgiving. Needless to say this upsets both the parents and the boys. What do other units and councils do? How ca
  17. In my troop and pack we use differant methods. First you need to know that we are in a sparsely populated county, the poorest in the state. The council takes 40% of sale, units getting 30% IF they make all the conditions set by council. In the pack, we typically sell $13,000-17,000 each year, with each boy averaging around $400 in sales. The pack budget is about $3,500 annually, and we usually have no problem making it. The boys are given a commission of 10% of their sales (1/3 of unit commission) in cash. In our troop, the boys commission is 6% of sales (20% of unit commission)
  18. Scoutnut's last comment is right on the money. I have used both, and the plastic boxes were much easier, unless at a long term camp. I did the design on the patrol box that my troop will be using. First decide what you want to take, and then it is fairly easy to make. I personally like the two-sided box for allowing two boys to be doing something at the same time. The idea of a dolly or adding wheels is a great one. Paul Johnson
  19. Bob has put the answer very succintly (s). (Please pardon my spelling) Most fishing (other than fly) can be done with very similar rods, the same line, and even use the identical rods and reels with differant types of lures and bait. The fly fishing rod is very specific, with a unique line, lure, and method. Although I do use a technique called "fly on a bubble" with my spin cast rig, it is differant from true fly fishing. As for why it came about, because the boys asked for it! I have volunteered to be one of the camp counselors to teach fly fishing at our council camp next ye
  20. PS. I forgot to mention that the RTs do not come back together after they have finished. Usually the CS finishes first, and it would waste their time to wait for the BS to finish. Each RT takes until it is done, or a set time is reached. Sometimes it is less than 45 minutes, but we have 1 1/2 hours planned for the night. Paul Johnson
  21. Only one of the posts mentioned the primary reason for having the BS and CS RTs on the same night, time and location. Many of us are registered and active in BOTH! Especially in districts with small populations, this makes sense. We have fewer people in our county, the size of Rhode Island, than many cities have! Other than the common information, and things like recharter, our RTs are seperate. There have been a few instances when the BS RT group wanted to join the CS because they sounded like more fun. I usually find out from the RT leader (may be differant each time depending on p
  22. Congrats Mike!!! Enjoy the fun that comes with this blessing. God Bless, Paul Johnson
  23. sctmom - Thanks for bringing this subject up. First I will give my summercamp experience this year. I took both my sons, an 11yo with ADHD and a Webelos, and one other scout, 12 with a processing disorder or ADHD. They went through the 1st year camper program, and were given an award by the class coordinator for being the most squared away troop in the program! Scout camp was the best thing my sons could have done this summer! Glenn's initial evaluation for arithmatic was the highest he has ever done! As for does ADD/ADHD exists, YES IT DOES! A common problem is that the child
  24. Bravo James!!! You have hit some points that none of us have brought to the discussion. The only thing I would change would be KISS to KISMIF. KISMIF = Keep It Simple, Make It Fun!!! To paraphrase BP - Scouting is FUN with a purpose. My troop loves to work with woodworking tools. They learn responsibility to take care of the tool, watch who and what is around them, careful handling of the tool, and first aid. All are useful and neccesary today. As for other "unused" skills, even though semaphore is no longer part of the program, we intend to teach it. It is the only way to
  25. As often happens when one or more immature or insecure people hold differant views, this thread has fallen away from a discussion of the use of tools that some would do away with and others use daily. It has denigrated to name calling and the call for mental health professionals by an appearantly insecure person. TAKE IT ELSEWHERE! I do not always disagree with Bob, however this thread he has attempted to be logical with his arguments. I did not see an attack, but rather a humorous discussion of the direction that "Y" was taking the thread. I have seen this same form of humor u
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