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boomerscout

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Everything posted by boomerscout

  1. Pathfinding has nothing to do with hiking across country. Tracking/Stalking may
  2. someone proposed the school system (specifically NYC) becoming the CO. That cannot happen because of anti-discrimination laws regarding public institutions. Most of us realize teens are curious about, and experiment with, lots of things as they transition from child to adult. They have questions about sexuality, about authority, about drinking...Mom & Dad may worry about little Billy being "experimented" on after lights out and the tent flaps are closed. And, little Billy may be too afraid to ever say anything about it. Sleeping out under the stars may solve the problem -- except
  3. "I would really strongly object to utilizing a food bank to provide food for a scout outing" you have reacted instead of thinking this through! What is the difference if the Scout eats his share of the family's food bank food at home or out at camp -- NONE! Obviously you have never volunteered at a foodbank. the intake person requests D/L and current utility bill with matching addresses. our troop just finished our quarterly canned food drive for the foodbank. How many food drives do you do? Scouts are people too. they are just as deserving of food even if they are out camp
  4. my biggest cost is having to get up before dawn for many programs! sometimes we have a zero campsite cost because we do a half-day of volunteer work at the site. no patches for our own troop campouts it helps to do a lot of volunteer community service projects, especially if you get a photo & write-up in the paper. Makes the fund-raising a lot easier later. We don't do any door-to-door fundraising--too much a pita for the homeowners I suppose if a patrol & their parents are really strapped for cash they can pull their grub from the local foodbank
  5. it's my understanding that the Scouts gave the city the building in return for a lifetime lease. If the city doesn't want the Scouts in the bldg, then it should be no big deal to just take back the building into Scouting ownership????
  6. "Seems to me that for a facility of this type (HA base, Training Center and permanent NJ site), 10,000 acres is on the small side. Philmont is 10x that size. " New River Gorge is 70,000 acres. I'm sure that in BSA's mind they are seeing 10 + 70 = 80,000 acres to play in
  7. not knowing how to swim increases your chances of a sudden funeral. When I lived in a small town none of the public schools had pools, which meant they didn't teach swimming in gym class. It was understood by most of the citizens there that if you get into water over your head, you drown. Two years ago, two of these kids -- ages 12 & 14 -- went wading in a creek. They stepped into an unseen dropoff. The bodies were found three hours later. By not knowing how to swim you are blocked from an awful lot of the outdoors. No-one with any sense should ever allow you to get into a c
  8. "About a year ago there was a city gov't that laid off all of its grounds crew. The city then requested that volunteers show up a couple of days a week and mow the city's lawns together, a job that used to belong to the grounds crew. " Since when did unions become the county royalty? In a democracy no government job BELONGS to anyone. More communities should promote & expect volunteer citizen turnout as a way of enhancing community pride and spirit.
  9. "I don't even see why that needs to be a government job. Just bid it out." You may be unaware of all the patronage jobs needed to reward the loyal followers (with taxpayers money). Building trails takes a skill level most Eagle candidates don't have. You just don't go out and start hacking away with your machete! Surveyors and watershed biologists had to be in on the planning from the talking stage. Sounds as if the union was asleep, and some citizen ragged them with "hey, look, some kid has to do your job for you" They just couldn't, noway, nohow let such an egregious insult go u
  10. it looks like half the troops attending were ooc. if camp woebegone is so bad, why did so many ooc units attend? were any of these ouside councils represented all four weeks? Reason I ask is that word would have spread from week one, and no one would show by week four
  11. weren't the Native Americans also immigrants to this land? Didn't later waves of them push out the earlier waves? Not all Hispanics are illegal aliens. Many were already in this land for generations when John Smith landed at Jamestown.
  12. "This philatelist will not be getting one. Neither, I suspect, will most other Scout stamp collectors. " If not many get the first day cover, that will increase its value due to rareity
  13. Abel: I really believe we're saying the same thing here. The MBC has overall responsibility for his program. His "underage" helpers assist in the teaching, but he does the final review of each class. I am thinking of, for example, rifle shooting which is usually over-subscribed. One MBC can't handle the entire class by himself, especially when it's one-on-one time. If not for his helpers, there may be no class at all. Many council camps put age restrictions on merit badge classes. Some because the over subscription would swamp the facility. So, they suggest these mb are better for secon
  14. Abel: are the camp grounds used for anything besides the 4 weeks of summer camp? Do the Arrowmen do anything to improve the camp? Letting the camp fall apart may be on purpose if your council really wants to sell it to developers "See, no one comes here, so why do we need it?" Money has to come from somewhere for all those paid staffers! Minimum age for MBC is 18. However, camp merit badge classes may be taught by anyone super well qualified -- even if 14 -- although not younger than 16 is prefered. MBC still needs to do the actual sign-off.
  15. for hats I like the Tilley or the Indiana Jones style, maybe the Eddie Bauer. I really like the Australian hat with one side turned up, but we probably want something more American for uniform I like the fringed buckskin -- fringes keep the rain off -- with embroidered porcupine quills
  16. Agreed! Some sewing tech could be part of Textiles, some a part of Wilderness Survival or Backpacking (else why is a sewing kit most always listed in gear list?) and there could be a fabrics fabrication option within composites.
  17. what kind of training has your PL received? Are they elected or appointed? What age & rank compared to rest of patrol? Does he have a PL Handbook to refer to? How long has he been PL? Had other Scouts just loaded up on sugar?
  18. BSA had shirts without collars in late 50s/early 60s. They were used with the shorts & kneesocks. Concurrent was shirt with collar-to be used with the trousers (with the silly button flaps on the front pockets)
  19. "Or, if we're worried about oppression and human rights, there are a bunch of places in Africa that could use some attention, too." Better to start in Irving, Texas
  20. the younger ones may be their little brothers, and that's why they distance themselves. Good ol' sibling togetherness
  21. OGE: Our forefathers were aware of this when they worked on the Constitution. Majority rules, but there are supposed to be written safeguards protecting the minorities. This doesn't always work soonest as many of us are naturally xenophobic. As to declining Scout membership. Some have stated Scouting is a middle-class institution. Well, the middle -class has been declining for years thanks to government bungling from all parties. So, if middle class shrinks, number of boys shrinks.
  22. They could do both--Christmas vacation is long enough. They could even do some extra caroling while serving the homeless. Several have suggested ostrasizing the SM. Good idea if you're wanting him to leave altogether
  23. "Is there any way I can get you not to try to dominate and assume authority, and not to be defensive when that authority is questioned? Since you're a man, maybe not. :-)" How we pee seems to control our destiny. I admit to feeling rushed enough (for some reason) to have been using male shorthand. I should have taken the time to explain my reasoning instead of flashing back to a similar episode years ago that was finally solved as I suggested. So, this was definitely very poor leadership on my part. "How could I get you to consider that your comments (perceived as sexist) were pos
  24. "Leading change to become more diverse is critical for Scouting to remain relevant." This sounds like a mission statement dreamed up by some corporate consultant. They say they want diversity, but most all the line execs always seem to be WASPs. Any minorities seem to get shunted into support positions. So, that could change. It would be wonderful if all the Rangers at Philmont could be minorities. Ditto for the guides @ Northern Tier. If BSA drops the religious motif, then many church COs may drop the BSA. At best, I would perceive a split into Boy Scouts and American Heritage Boys.
  25. "but the whole posting comes across as a bit sexist." OakTree: Are you also female? When guys have a problem, they eventually work it out amongst themselves, even if it means getting in each others face a time again. I've noticed at work that women, on the other hand, seem to want to complain to the Boss. It's not sexist to say that male and female brains are wired differently. The suggestion for Toastmaasters was serious, and Toastmasters is not sexist. There are easier ways to change a campfire conversation than the PC approach. If you hear a conversation you don't like, and you try t
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