BrentAllen

I haven't been to Okpik yet, but I believe they ask you to just bring your standard cold weather gear, and they provide the extreme cold weather equipment, including overbags (your sleeping bag goes inside) and down parkas, etc. They realize Scouts from Georgia aren't going to go out and buy a bunch of extreme cold weather gear that we will only use a couple of times, so they provide it. I just checked the recommended equipment list, and they say you can bring you summer or three season bag to go in their extreme cold weather bag. See page 2 of the Participant Handbook. http://www.ntier.org/Resources/Brochures/Okpik%20Particpant%20Handbook.pdf

Spoken like a true socialist. At least you didn't use any profanity.

Sometimes, the truth is just too hard to hide....

That sounds like a very interesting book. I have some Scout books I picked up in South Africa, and they tell a slightly different story of the left-hand shake: "Many years ago, Lord Baden-Powell met an African chief who held out his left hand in greeting. The chief explained to B-P that warriors fought with spears and carried shields in their left hand for protection. If a warrior met a friend, however, he would not need his shield, and his left hand would be free. So if a man held out his left hand to you it showed that he trusted you and wanted to be friendly. This impressed B-P so much that he chose the special handshake for Cubs and Scouts." Who knows which version is absolutely correct, if either one is. B-P may have told different versions, depending on his audience. Either way, I like it.

We add a transportation cost to every one of our trips, with the drivers being reimbursed. I calculate the cost at .20 per mile. For instance, if camp is 100 miles away, cost per vehicle will be $40. With 4 vehilces going, that equals $160. With 20 Scouts travelling, that equals $8 per Scout in travel cost. We build that expense into the cost of the trip.

What does the SM do with this? As SM, I have sit-down with the parents and discuss... my commission! If Junior is getting paid, what about the poor old SM? I'm doing all the work, after all! :-) In all seriousness, I wouldn't be fond of such a plan, but it is between the Scout and his parents. I would hope the Scout wouldn't need such incentives to advance, but we are all different.

Update: "Lansingburgh Central School District Superintendent George J. Goodwin, 55, said in a written statement that his district "has an established policy of zero tolerance with respect to the possession of weapons of any kind on school property or in school buildings." But nowhere in the school district's rule book, which is published online, is there any mention of a "zero tolerance" policy, leading some to question whether Goodwin, in fact, was compelled to suspend the youth." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,567700,00.html

I joined Boy Scouts in the summer of 1974. Tenderfoot required one merit badge, Second Class required earning 2 more, First Class required 2 more, with First Aid and Cit. in Community being required.

The doctors and hospitals around here set up payment plans. How is teaching our youth to go without insurance and to just pass their expenses on to the rest of us in line the BSA program? How is this teaching them to take responsibility for themselves?

If my son was in that situation, I would hope he would pay for the insurance. As his father, I would much rather help him out with a $5,000 deductible than a $50 - $100,000 hospital bill.

Gern, A $5,000 medical bill will set OJ back, but it won't wipe him out. A $50,000 medical expense without insurance will wipe him out, cause him to go bankrupt and ruin his credit, and put the financial burden on the hospital, and eventually on us all. He could pay off the $5,000 over time, that isn't an insurmountable amount of debt, whereas $50,000 would be. If I were counseling OJ, I would recommend purchasing the insurance. If he is healthy, he won't pay much more than the $1,200/year and he is covered for any major medical emergencies. Without insurance, he could get wiped out with a simple appendectomy.

Gern, I already did, on this site. http://www.healthinsurancesort.com/ppc/individual-health-insurance-A.htm?gclid=CK-Fqo-Bvp0CFUdM5QodCDmYiQ I didn't have time to did into all the details, but the quick quotes were around $100/month for a $5,000 deductible plan from Blue Cross.

Eamonn, Has OJ priced individual insurance? I wonder what a high deductible plan would cost him. If his goal is to prevent a financial catastrophe due to a costly hospital bill, I would think he could afford a plan like that. The Democrats keep saying we need a government plan, to provide competition. Is there really not enough competition out there now? If insurance businesses are making so many executives filthy rich (as the liberals claim), then why aren't there more people starting insurance companies?

In a time long, long ago, I would like to think that Scouts had a lot of pride in their Troop, and they would recognize that their Eagles carried the Troop's reputation on their shoulders. They would make sure any Scout who earned Eagle was worthy of the recognition. When I see Eagle Scouts committing murder, it makes we wonder - were they just really bad apples, or were they just passed thru an Eagle Mill program, checking off requirements. Were those boys ever "Eagle material?"

shortridge, I don't mean to cut lars off, but wanted to point out the resource for NT. We were given small booklets with the daily devotionals in them. They had separate devotionals for different religions. I was pretty impressed with it. It also included hyms, interfaith devotionals, and the daily timetables for dawn, sunrise, noon, etc. for Muslims. Northern Passages Worship in Canoe Country for Jews, Muslims and Christians

I hope I wasn't being too hard on him - I only learned of this in the past few years. I have seen it in a number of local Troops. I suggested to my son to limit those patches on the back to really big activities, such as HA, NYLT or big OA events. He agrees.

You can either tell him no, or treat the hunting as similar to a ball game (Scout goes to game and returns to campout). Point out the G2SS rule and tell him no firearms in camp. Let him make the decision.

SR540Beaver, Congratulations on your resume. In our Troop, we have a variety of religions represented - varieties of Christian, along with Jewish and Hindu. The SM should determine whether a Scout is being reverent before he ever reaches his BOR. The SM asks some very simple questions: How are you reverent toward God? How are you faithful in your religious duties? The EBOR should be able to make a determination with the same simple questions. I don't need to hear any "buzz words" or see any specific action "missions, etc." I need to see that the Scout recognizes that he serves a higher authority, and that he is fulfilling his obligation of faithful service. I would like to hear that they feel they have a relationship with God, depending on their religion, and get an understanding of what that relationship is like, or how strong it is. Is God and/or religion just something they think about once a week, or something more? What does faith mean to them. As leaders, we are supposed to communicate our acceptance of the boys by taking a real interest in each and every one of them. I find this hard to do if we ignore religion. As B-P said, "There is no religious SIDE to the Movement. The WHOLE of it is based on religion, that is, on the realization and service of God." Along with this comes respect for other's religion.

Uh... I don't recall saying take away their rank. I do recall questioning if they looked "sharp." To me, they look out of uniform, certainly not "sharp." Do they not have even one pair of uniform pants to wear for a photograph to run in the paper? Do they wear jeans when they go camping? "Smartness in uniform and correctness in detail may seem a small matter, but has its value in the development of self-respect and means an immense deal to the reputation of the Movement among outsiders who judge by what they see." Baden-Powell "One slovenly Scout, inaccurately dressed, may let down the whole Movement in the eyes of the public." Baden-Powell

What does reverent mean? It's right there in the book for you and this Scout to read: A Scout is reverent toward God. Hs is faithful in his religious duties. I think that is pretty clear. I would be interested to hear how this Scout believes he is being reverent. I believe Scouting is a service organization as well, with Service to God being the most important service of all. Do you feel a Scout should give service to his community, but not to God? So, you think he has courage to give the Scout sign and recite the Oath and Law, but yet not really mean it? Doesn't seem brave or honorable to me. Sounds like they are just words to some. Yep, don't let the *inconvenient* parts of the requirements stop this young man from earning this prestigious award. "The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God and, therefore, recognizes the religious element in the training of the member, but is absolutely nonsectarian in its attitude toward that religious training." BSA Youth Application

We have a couple of North Stars. They work well and are brighter than the standard two-mantle. The mantles seem to last a little longer, since they don't move around as much during transport. Only downside is they burn fuel faster.

That looks sharp?? And the Eagle rank takes yet another blow...

If I'm the SM, I just tell the ASM his services aren't needed anymore, and he is done. It would be nice to have the backing of the CC and COR.

Our Crew earned a similar award while at Northern Tier. http://www.ntpatches.org/images/NT/NT-PA-05.JPG

John, Why do you call that non-standard if wearing temporary patches on the back of the MB sash? It is allowed in the Insignia Guide.