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beaglelover

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Posts posted by beaglelover

  1. I am not sure what the purpose of this inspection was, but I would assume looking for "contraband", the Den Chief had already inspected for cleanliness earlier when the cub scouts were present.  Neither the Den Leader or Den Chief have confirmed that the belongings were gone through, but they also have not been asked yet.  My son and his tent mate approached my spouse saying they thought someone had gone through their stuff, and then later reported the younger sibling  of the Den Chief confirmed to them that he went through their stuff while out of camp. I realize this is hardly concrete evidence, but it is enough that it has me questioning what happened.    I don't know if the adult's stuff was gone through because my spouse's trunk was locked and we have not spoken to other parents at camp.  

    Before I start asking questions, I wanted to get a frame of reference.  Is it typical for a Den Leader to instruct a Den Chief to do these inspections? Is it typical for them to do it on their own? Is in typical to inspect parents tents & stuff?  Is it typical to bypass the parents even when they are present for these inspections?

  2. I am looking for some information about the role of a Den Chief.  The kiddo just ranked up to Webelos and a Den Chief joined the den before they went to webelos camp. The Den Chief is the older child of the Den Leader.  

    While at webelos camp, it appears that the Den Chief may have "inspected" the cub scouts tents, including going through their footlockers/bags, while the cubs were out of camp at programming.  I have not been able to confirm this yet, but I wanted to inform myself first.  Is this a normal Den Chief responsibility?  For background, most cubs had a parent staying at camp as well (was strongly encouraged that a parent attend--most were not registered BSA leaders).  They had an initial inspection by the Den Chief while the boys were there that included picking up and the like but not going though their stuff.  It then appears the Den Chief came back and went through at least the boys stuff when they were out of camp (it is not clear if he also inspected the adults stuff, he tried to inspect the adults at the same time he did the first inspection of the boys, but was told no by several parents).  

    I do not know if he was by himself or with another adult (when he did the first inspection while they were in camp, he was alone).  I do not know if it was at the Den Leaders direction, but I know it was not at the direction of the Cubmaster.  I really don't have much in terms of details.  But is this a typical thing, for a Den Chief, or Den Leader, to go though Cub Scout's possessions at camp without notifying or informing the scouts or their parents?  

     

     

  3. We are decorating for a cub scout event and we are using a theme of Adventure and want to highlight the 4 high adventure camps in Scouts BSA.  I am looking for any ideas to help with this theme. My oldest is still in cubs, so we have not been to any yet, but I know about the shoe tradition at Philmont base camp sign.  Is there anything else similar that we can use to help decorate/highlight the high adventure camps?

    TIA

  4. So we are trying to get my spouses uniform up to snuff, which means we need to add either a neckerchief or bolo tie.  This is at the cub level, and he is a committee member, so he is leaning towards the bolo.  He has old BSA, Eagle, and OA bolos leftover from his youth, but he is no longer 16 and they look comically small on him.  To be fair, he has a very thick neck, size 19 in dress shirts. 

    Are there any "big and tall" BSA bolo ties?  

  5. Formed a new Pack last summer.  We had to get an EIN for our Pack, but the EIN was "applied for" by our CO (I had to get a signed form from the IH allowing me to apply on their behalf).  Therefore our CO still had ownership.  Having our own EIN also allowed us to apply for our own sales tax-exempt certificate, as packs and troops can apply on their own in our state vs. needing to do so through the CO. 

    For the bank, had to provide a signed letter from the IH/CO on who was who on the committee, and who was to be on the account.  Each person had to provide personal info, Picture ID, and come down to sign a signature card.  

  6. This is kind of off topic for where this thread has gone, but bearess, you can fill out and sign a temporary guardianship form for your BF, and I believe this should get you around some of the problems with Scout regulations, such as the tent and one-on-one issues.  You can google "temporary guardianship form" and your state and can probably come up with one.

  7. Oh, he is definitely socially awkward.  It is an area he has always struggled.  This, along with some other personality traits, are likely always going to make him a target for bullies.  It is one of the reasons I expect school to only get harder as he gets older.  It is also the reason I really hoped scouting would be an oasis for him.  

    I guess I am mostly wondering if anybody has had a similar situation that started as rocky as this, but ended up being positive.  

     

  8. Trying to decide if we should find a new Pack or give the one we are at some more time, would appreciate some advice

    Moved to anew pack mid-year (DEC) due to a job move.  Old pack is hours away, so not an option.  We were very involved in our old pack (CC DL), and were hoping to be involved here.  However, the reception we have received has given us the impression our help is not wanted.  We have volunteered several times, but are generally dismissed as thank you not needed.  The one project they did include us on was extremely frustrating, with no direction on  what they wanted that left us scrambling at the last minute to pull something together b/c after months of hearing nothing back on our questions we assumed they did not want us to do anything.  We tried our best, and thankfully it was not that important as it was just decorations for an event, but we felt bad it did not look better.

     

    Anyway, after all this, spouse and I decided to step back, stop volunteering for stuff and just participate as parents.  We are somewhat disappointed by this, as we had very much enjoyed being involved before.  However, neither of us are interested in spinning our wheels or trying to force our way into a group that does not want us.  We honestly have no idea why we ' seem to fit in with this group (they have always been very polite when turning us down), but it is becoming clear we just don't.  The Pack apparently went through some stuff last year, including ousting a Cubmaster and others that supposeldy got ugly, but I have only heard bits and pieces about this.  

     

    Anyway, we had planned on just accepting not being involved, when now our son has started complaining about being bullied at scouts.  He is admittedly an only child and is pretty sensitive. Some of it is pretty typical (they called me names, they would not let me play the game with them).  Others were a bit more concerning (a plan to do something they weren't supposed to do, and then blame it on him).  Further complicating the issue the person our son named as the ringleader is the Cubmasters son.  Most of the scouts involved appear to be from the older dens, so it has mostly been happening at Pack functions (campout, daycamp, etc.).     Because of our "adult" issues, we have been somewhat hesitant to bring this up to pack leadership.  So far they have always been polite, but I have no idea how they would react to this.  

    We were content just to stay with this Pack b/c we thought our son liked it, but now that he has been having problems, we are having some doubts.  When we ask him if he wants to move packs, it varies from maybe (directly after camp) to I don't know (a few weeks later).  I ask if he is having fun at scouts, and he says yes, but adds he had fun at all his packs.  If we did move, it would be his 4th pack in 2 years (we moved packs in our old town after his Tiger year, but pretty much the entire den moved as well, so it did not really FEEL like moving packs).    The one thing he is consistent about it liking his old pack better and wanting to go back to them.

    Anyway, just wanted some outside opinions.  We don't want the fact that my spouse and I are unhappy with the Pack to influence the decision.  We want it to be about what is best for our son, not for us, but it is hard not to let our feelings color it.  This is further complicated by the fact our son is somewhat wishy-washy about making decisions--one of reasons we wanted him to try scouts!   Admittedly, if we are going to go, now seems like the time to do it since he has not really made friends with anyone in his den (at camp, he hung out more with the kids in the den below his).  But these are the kids he goes to school with.  He has also struggled to make friends at school, and we were hoping scouts would help him with that like it did in our old town, but it just has not worked out that way.  Maybe it is the fact we went from a small, rural town to the suburb of a large city, but the kiddo  has had a much harder time adjusting after this move.  

    Most of all, I just don't want our son to start disliking scouts. I feel like scouts really helped him with some of his anxiety and confidence issues in our old town. He has already started disliking school due to issues there.    I realize that moving pack is no guarantee--we could walk into an even worse situation, especially since we don't really know any of the other area Packs.   We could possibly try to visit other packs this summer to test them, but I am also pretty sure that us doing so would get back to our current pack.  So I am torn as what to do, give  it more time to see if things work out, or make a break for it now when it will cause the least disruption.  

     

     

     

  9. Ok, desertrat, is this kind of what you were thinking:  I am thinking about pitching an idea to committee that we recognize specific scouts if they go above and beyond in respect to living the scout law.  No limit on how many kids get it, or how many times you can earn it--If you earn it, you earn it.  And if nobody earns it, so be it  For the reward, I found these mini (1 inch) fleur de lis dog tags for cheap.  I want to use an engraving pen to write the point of the Scout law they are being recognized for on the back.  Probably attach a lanyard hook or the like so they can hand it off backpack or similar.

     

    Does that sound similar to what you mentioned/did?  Somewhat new to Cub Scouts, so don't want to pitch the idea if it makes me sound stupid.

    • Upvote 1
  10. Does anyone else's pack have a "scout of the month" or something similar to recognize individual boys.  Our old pack had "Scout of the Month" that was given to 1-3 boys from the pack each month that was nominated by DLs or the Committee.  There really was no specific criteria, just who the leaders wanted to recognize for any particular reason.  

     

    Was not the biggest fan of it since a large number of the "winners" just seemed to be the favorites of the CC and one particular DL.  But I do kind of like the idea of recognizing the boys if they go above and beyond or set a good example of living by the scout oath & law.

     

    Anybody use some sort of recognition system like this?  Acknowledging good turns?  Setting a scout example?  What you got?

  11. Last year it was about 30.  Our only official communication from the pack was a once a month email newsletter.  Pretty much nothing else other than the occasional right before the event email with details.  Led to a lot of confused parents asking what was going on, esp. if they accidentally deleted the email.  Further more, the pack did not have a dedicated email list serve or similar for the parents or leadership, so people were frequently left off emails.  It was disorganized enough the one den was actually left behind when we went on a pack field trip b/c no one told them the pack was going on a field trip.  They showed up to have their meeting to an empty building.  

  12. Been researching, but wanted some opinions.  What does you pack do for an online presence for your pack.  I know there are several advancement software options (e.g. Scoutbook) but I am less concerned about tracking advancement and more interested in a one-stop shop for parents to see the schedule, contact the leadership, find forms, and maybe even pay online.  Communication and organization were a huge issue last year, and we are wondering if some online site might work better than what we have been doing.  

  13. So we are exploring the option of starting a pack, and as it turns out, we have 2 groups in town that are potentially interested in being the CO.  Both are civic organizations, both serve veterans, and both meet in the same building.  After researching, it appears to me that it is possible to have 2 COs, assuming this is the most recent registration manual http://www.scouting.org/filestore/mission/pdf/524-901_WB.pdf pg. 33.

     

     

    Dual Chartered Organizations

    A unit can be sponsored by more than one chartered organization. Two chartered organizations may want to organize a Scouting unit. Duplicate charters can be issued, if requested, so that each chartered organization has one for its own use.

     

    Anybody ever encountered this before?  Does this mean you have 2 CORs, or find one COR that is in both organizations? (would mostly likely not be hard to do, a lot of membership cross-over).  Having both on board seems like it would help with the building scheduling part.  But I could potentially see issues as to who owns what if the pack ever folds or if there is a difference of opinion on who/how the pack should be run. Any experiences anybody wants to share.   

  14. I was at national Jamboree and saw a troop from Arizona put their tents on oversized ground cloths.  I politely suggested they tuck them under.  I was informed that this is the way they always did it and that I should maybe tend to my own boys.  Two days later we had a good storm and two of the AZ leaders came over and apologized.  Even adults can learn along the way.

     

    I never understood that reaction.  Unless the suggestion is just truly dumb (hey, mix bleach & ammonia to get a great cleaning agent!) why not at least find out why a person suggested it.  I am not saying I would always take it, but why not at least find out the reasoning.  Respect for those leaders apologizing though, I have unfortunately met some who would not, no matter how wrong they were proven.

     

     

    We bought 3 new tents so that all our boys could go on this camp.  Ended up getting tarps to go under them that are exactly 1 foot shorter in each direction to avoid said problem.  I know a lot of good tents can get by without, but these are cheap.  I hope they hold up if it gets bad, but cheap was all we could swing after already having to fund a camp kitchen.

     

     

    And just to be clear--do NOT mix bleach & ammonia :)

    • Upvote 2
  15. I think what he means by "stay away air mats" is stay away from cheap, uninsulated air mattresses. A cheap air mattress, with no insulation in it, will let the heat from your body escape out the sides via convection and it will be no warmer than sleeping on the ground. What is needed is something that will keep the air from moving within the pad. Closed cell foam or an air mattress with insulation. I've had plenty of experience with sleeping on bad pads. For scouts, at the temps they're talking about, a fairly inexpensive closed cell foam pad will work fine.

     

    Yes, this is what I meant.  Not the time to bring your old pool mattress.  

     

    We do not have den chiefs, unfortunately.

     

    We have a pop up shelter we could bring and 2 10x20 tarps, hopefully that will give enough extra coverage.  There is a picnic shelter, but it is small enough it would be tough to fit everybody under and keep dry in anything but a drizzle.  

     

    Thanks you for the foot sandwich advice, I have never heard that before.  Our pack is not exactly in an affluent area, and finances are an issue for some of our families.  So while we know some will be well outfitted, others are likely not to have the $ for Frogg Toggs, therm-a-rest, etc.  We have some extra gear to lend, but I worry it may not be enough.  

     

    I appreciate all the advice. 

  16. Got a camping event coming up soon, and if the forecast holds, it is going to be both wet and cold (40's at night).  It is far enough out meteorologists are pretty much guessing at this point, but just in case, we want to put some tips together for our cubs/parents.  For a few, this will be their first experience with camping, and we want them to not hate it.  We have the usual stuff (bring tarps & trash bags, stay away from cotton, stay away air mats, etc.) but are looking for anything / tips / tricks to help keep these boys warm, dry, and entertained.

     

    TIA

  17. Sorry, I know I have been posting a lot of drama stuff, but this one has us really worried.

     

    Just learned from the CM that our recharter was kicked back from national and put "on hold".  Apparently the DE (which just switched over in Sept/Oct) did not file stuff he/she was supposed to and may have fudged some numbers.  We are not the only one on hold, apparently 5 troops and 20 pack in the district are as well.  In addition, apparently there were several problems with our individual charter, including have more scouts on record than reported on the recharter.

     

    No one seems to really know what this means.  We have been told we can not doing anything that is official BSA stuff since we no longer have insurance.  Can we still meet?  Have Den meetings?  Can the boys still earn the ranks they have been working hard for?  We are supposed to go to a Council Camp in 3 weeks, and have been told we cannot register as a pack, can we go as individuals?  

     

    Council has said they will only work with 1 person per unit to get this straightened out, so we can't even get information to tell our parents.  The person for our pack is the CC, who did not even feel it necessary to tell the DL this last night when we turned in our payments for camp.  

     

    Has anybody had this happen before?  Are our boys going to be able to get the badges they have worked so hard for since Sept.?  

  18. Perhaps I should clarify, these are the prizes that are offered trough the popcorn company for hitting certain sales levels.  For instance, a level 1 prize at $150 sales, a level 2 prize at $300 sales, a level 3 prize at $500 sales, etc.  If a scout sells $450 in popcorn, he would qualify for a level 2 prize.  The committee member wants to then take the $150 in sales above the $300 required for that scouts prize , and add it to a communal sales total.  Then to use that communal sales total to get a prize (offered by the popcorn company) for the pack.  The individual scout would still get the prize they would have--the CM just wants to use the "extra" instead of letting it go to "waste".  Problem I see is how can you do this without either inventing a scout or giving one scout the credit but having them turn over the prize.  Doesn't seem the most scout-like plan to me, but like I said, did not know if it was common practice.

     

     

    As for the budget, we are aware that the pack is using atrocious fiscal controls.  Our CC and treasurer are mother/daughter.  The only report on the bank account is a monthly word document from the treasurer, that as DL we used to get a copy of, but now that the mother of the treasurer has become CC, we no longer get a copy of.  We heard that they are going ahead with getting debit cards (against BSA policy) and last we heard the CC determined that the word document was sufficient reporting and that the bank statements would not be turned over to either the Cubmaster or Secretary for records.  All of this is secondhand, however, as the last "leaders meeting" we tried to attend we were kicked out of.  It is pretty much straight out of the "how to embezzle money" playbook.  But COR and Council have supposedly been made aware of it, and don't seem to mind.  Apparently we really trust this family.  If I had to guess, we don't actually have a written budget.  

  19. Popcorn is currently our only fundraiser.  The committee is tight lipped about what it spends on, but best I can tell, they use it to pay for handbooks, kerchiefs, slides, & advancements.  Most everything else is on the parents and/or den leaders.

     

    Using the above method was suggested with future popcorn sales to help stock the pack inventory (e.g. I think at one level a tent was a prize, or maybe some sports balls or something).  It seemed a bit like cheating to us, but never having been in charge of selling popcorn before, we did not know if this was commonplace or not.  

  20. We had a CM come up with an idea about popcorn sales, but I cannot find an answer if it is OK to do or not, so thought I would ask here.

     

    Can you take the extra popcorn sales from the scouts and then pool them together to get a prize for the pack?  

     

    (e.g.  If scout A sells $600, but only qualifies for the $550 prize, can we take the $50 extra from his sales, add it to a group total by doing the same for the rest of the unit's scouts, and then use it to get a bigger prize for the whole unit)

     

    Thanks!

  21. Ok, need some help.  We are trying to research to find out what is needed to start a new pack.  I know we need a CO, COR, 3 committee members, a cub master & a den leader plus 5 boys.  

     

    Who approves the charter?  is it national or the local council?  Can a charter be denied b/c there is already another pack in town?  Does it hinge on the local council's approval?  Are many charters denied?  

     

    Any help you can give would be appreciated.  

  22. Thanks for all the replies, gave us some things to think about.  Had been mostly thinking about the boys, but I understand and agree about the commit to the CO as well.  

     

    Also, yes, have owned beagles as pets.  Super cute and great with everybody, kids included.  But they pretty much suck at obedience. 

    • Upvote 1
  23. Ok guys, I really need a pep talk.  Spouse and I are about ready to walk away from den leadership thanks to the pack committee.  The new CC/Den Leader has been slowly putting all her family & den parents into committee--There is currently only one committee member not from her Den.  She now is trying to control every aspect of the pack.  She chooses all the committee members, she gets to determine what the pack does and does not do, and just generally tries to boss everyone around about everything.  She hoards information so other leaders don't know what is going on.  Simple things like obtaining extra sign up forms or ordering B uniforms do not get done for months, if at all.  It is not just being ineffective, she is actively being an obstacle to doing things (she does not want the pack to be in the local parade--who is opposed to being in a parade??)


     


    We heard the unit commissioner as well as a district rep was going to come in and straighten things out, and we had hope.  Yeah, they changed a few things, but basically rubber stamped most everything CC has done.  She still has her committee majority, still gets to be on pack bank account of which her lives-out-of-town daughter is treasurer, still gets to keep everything she does in the dark as the unit commissioner refused to let anyone who was not a committee member even observe the meeting.  She does have to give up being Den Leader (apparently on the charter we put down the name of parent who has not been involved, did not know his name was listed, but had wanted the job until the CC had taken it).  


     


    We just don't know what to do with this.  We are honestly pretty disgusted by the whole situation.  We have a great den, both boys and parents, and we have fun and do fun things.  But part of us thinks life is too short to deal with a situation like this.  We have been supporting the den ourselves, as the pack does not provide any resources or materials other than a den leaders guide.  This has been to the tune of hundreds of dollars, since the pack also has no camping supplies or camp kitchen to help on outings.  We love working with our boys, but equally dread every time we have to interact with the Committee (which is anytime we want to do anything not at our building, as field trips have to be approved by the committee).


     


    There is no other pack to join for 10 miles in any direction (rural area).  We have the resources to commute, but many in our den probably do not.  If we leave, we worry the den will fall apart--something similar happened to an older den when their leader quit without being replaced for months, and the den went from 15 to 5 scouts.  But dealing with the unit leadership is single-handedly causing us Hypertention and ulcers.


     


    We are at a bit of a loss as what to do.  Can you transfer an entire den from one pack to another (any of those wanting to go anyway)?  Can you have den meetings in one city while having pack meetings in another?  We want to honor our commitment to the boys, but are beginning to doubt our ability to even do so here.  We really had hope the unit commissioner would help, but she would not even talk to anyone not in "leadership"  (apparently DL's don't count).  The new District executive is apparently buds with the CC, COR is very hands off, and probably only hears what CC wants him to hear.  Part of us would really love to get this situation fixed so he boys can have the scouting experience they deserve, but frankly, the deck just feels too stacked at this point.  


     


    Anybody deal with a situation like this?  


  24. When I became an IH, I was told that the IH is the only person who is allowed to serve in more than one position in a unit. He/she can serve as IH and in one leadership position.

     

    Well, we are blowing that one out of the water, not sure there is a single committee member that doesn't also do something else.  Also, what qualifies as small?  I think we have 35-40 between all the dens.

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