CalicoPenn

You are a parent of one of the youths involved. If you believe the touching was inappropriate, then it was inappropiate. You shouldn't need our opinions validate what you already believe to be true. You say you are working with this ASM to come to some kind of resolution. When it comes right down to it, you really only have two options available. 1: Work to expel him from the unit or have him criminally charged or in some other way punish him for this. Or 2: Forgive him and trust that it will never happen again - keeping a quiet eye on him for a time to see that the trust is not mis

After reading both of Crossram's posts, I get a different vibe from this. It sounds as if the CO may have determined that the school is a better fit as a sponsor of the Pack than the Church is - and just wants to move the Charter from the Church to its School, and the new DE isn't adept at getting the task done without causing unneeded angst among the Unit Leaders. My suggestion - contact the COR directly - not through the Troop, not through the Council - and just ask. And let us know how it goes. Calico

I can't let this statement stand without challenge: "There are more trees in North America than anytime in Geologic history" This statement is complete and utter hogwash! There is no way you can prove this statement as no has ever kept records of the number of trees that are or were in North America - we don't even do so now. We don't know how many trees are in North America today - we don't know how many trees were in North America 150 years ago (back when the folks that lived here said that a squirrel could climb a tree in Eastern Virginia and could travel to Western Kentucky wit

Bob White, I have to disagree with you on the comparison to 4-H. I believe it is an aspt comparison. This is what 4-H says they do: 4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning Leadership, Citizenship and Life Skills. Sounds suspiciously like what the BSA does - teach Leadership, Citizenship and Life (including Outdoor) Skills. This is what the 4-H equivalent to the Scout Oath is: "I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my co

The Bureau of Land Management, an agency in the US Dept. of the Interior, might be a good place to start. They are responsible for managing wild Mustangs under the Wild Free-roaming Horse & Burro Act of 1971. I don't know what resources they have but they may have some educational materials and activities available. Calico

If I'm not mistaken, the Boy Scouts of America started gearing up to offer just this type of reorganized program. It was either called Scouting USA or Scouts USA. The name patch above the pocket on the uniform changed from Boy Scouts of America to Scouts USA or Scouting USA (or something like this - anyone with a better memory than I have please pipe up). The Boy Scouts of America was even in discussion with the Girl Scouts to combine and merge their programs to make this happen. It never fully formed - turns out, people didn't want it. Maybe it's time to try again, but I susp

Eric - right you are - I spaced that one. However, given a choice between Scientology and Pastafarianism, I'm gonna have to stick with Pastafarianism. Now if you will all open your Bibles to the ORIGINAL translation of Jeremiah and read with me: Jeremiah 1.1: Jeremiah was a bullfrog Jeremiah 1.2: Jeremiah was a good friend of mine Jeremiah 1.3: No one ever understood a word Jeremiah said Jeremiah 1.4: But Jeremiah never minded when we helped to drink his wine. Jeremiah 1.5: Oh yeah, Jeremiah always had some mighty fine wine. Jeremiah 2.1: Joy to the Wo

There seems to me to be a corallary question here as well - I think of it as the elephant in the room everyone hopes doesn't make itself known (and here I am about to prod the elephant). If faith disappeared from the Boy Scouts, would people (other than those in units that are truly meshed in with their faiths - Pappy's for instance) really notice a big difference? I'd argue that the most meaningless words in the Scout Oath and the Scout Law are "Duty to God" and "Reverent". Not that they don't have meaning, but that the majority of Scouts and Scouters just repeat the words because its

Santa Claus isn't a deity? According to Wikipedia, a deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural being, who is always of significant power, worshipped, thought holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, or respected by human beings. Santa Claus is a postulated (ie made up) preternatural being with significant power (anyone who can circle the globe delivering toys to millions of children from one sack of toys in a flying reindeer pulled sled squeezing his very chubby body into little chimneys to do so in one 24-hour period (ie Night - and its always night somewhere in the w

Or why he didn't seek out the view of perhaps the most famous "leftist" Eagle Scout: Michael Moore So who do you suppose ghost wrote the book for a busy governor? Calico

Stosh, I can almost see that campfire now. Except CalicoPenn is short for the Calico Pennant Dragonfly, and has nothing to do with cats (I assume thats why you think this Eagle Scout is a "she"), I live in the Chicago area and the only time I would be yelling "Go Pack" is if I was in the Northwoods of Wisconsin surrounded by rapid Packers Fans holding chain saws and other implements of potential destruction, and oddly enough, though I'll cook with it, I don't drink beer. But I'll still hand you the best darn Brat you'll ever eat. And I much prefer the Red Beret to a polystyrene Cheese

Ay yi yi yi yi. First an argument about whether Mormons are Christian. Then an argument about whether the Catholic Church is the first and one, true church. You people are making it really easy for me to convert to Pastafarianism and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster - the only religion to be founded by an Eagle Scout! Calico

Did your son get his Eagle?

I have a question: If we can't use wine in our camp beef stews, does that mean we can't use beer to soak our bratwurst, even if we soak it at home ahead of time? Gosh, if the answer is no, may as well just close up Scouting altogether in Wisconsin and Illinois, where no one who knows better would even attempt to cook bratwurst without first marinating it in a nice Beer & Onion bath. And don't tell us to just not cook bratwurst at camp - that would be more sacriligious than declaring that God is dead in these parts. I prefer a red wine in my pot roast, or if I want to get really fanc

I'd consider Costa Rica in the winter. River raft trips, hikes up active volcanoes, zip lines over the treetops in a rain forest, a visit to a cloud forest in Monte Verde, scuba diving and surfing in the Pacific Ocean, and learning about an entirely different way of life (in one small village, the highlight of the saturday night cruise down the main road was the young man in his backhoe - and he was quite popular with the ladies). Calico

Bill, Echoing what Oak Tree and ScoutNut have said - there is no minimum age or rank requirement to be a Den Chief or to receive Den Chief training. The BSA states in the job descriptions for Den Chief that they are an "older" scout (without ever defining what "older" means) and for Webelos Den Chief, recommends (but does not require) that they be at least 1st class and have once been a Cub Scout. This is what I would do (because I really dislike officious adults who use such terms as "national requirement" without pointing out the exact "requirement" to hold back interested Scouts)

Prof: I protest!! (In my best Foghorn Leghorn voice): I declare, sir, I say I do declare, that you have insulted Pond Scum, and I demand an apology on behalf of Pond Scum everywhere! Bucket, indeed!! Everyone knows the answer is A Bucket of Pond Scum is more entertaining. Calico

My two - though one of them is a two parter because they are related - hope that's ok. 1) Bring back time in rank to advance from Tenderfoot to Second Class and from Second Class to First Class, and change time in rank back to 6 months from First Class to Star. Let's give the Scouts a chance to grow into their next rank. 2) a) Eliminate "mandatory" Merit Badges for Eagle (or any other rank) - let the Scouts choose the 21 Merit Badges they wish to earn, so that they are based on his interests. (Not suggesting that the Merit Badges themselves be eliminated, they should remain in th

The argument that continuing to let the BSA use the building below market rate is a better option than the City taking over maintenance when the BSA moves out is a straw man argument as it assumes that the City won't turn around and lease the building to someone else for fair market rent, or to a non-profit that doesn't violate the City's non-discrimination ordinance at the current BSA terms. I haven't seen anything that says the City wants the BSA to move out because the City wants to use the building. I don't see any reason why the City wouldn't go ahead and market the building for lease

Ranger Rick magazine, a publication of the National Wildlife Federation, often has stories about people doing things to help the planet, and it's age appropriate for Wolf. Your local library may have a subscription.

Info, You are, of course, quite correct. There are national standards for day camps, which are known as the National Standards for Local Council Accreditation of Cub Scout/Webelos Day Camps. However, this doesn't mean I'm not correct either. The National Camp Standards for Resident Camps is a wholly separate set of standards than the National Standards for Local Council Accreditation of Cub Scout/Webelos Day Camps. I should have made myself more clear that I was speaking only of the National Camp Standards for Resident Camps in my original reply. NYLT would only need to

I believe you're referring to the National Camp Standards for Resident Camps. National Camp Standards is an accreditation program to ensure that resident camps meet certain requirements as set forth by National. Some basics: National Camp Standards only applies to Council-organized Resident camps and reservations. It does not apply to District-organized camps or day camps, to individual Unit camps, to National High Adventure Base Camps or National-organized events such as Jamborees. National facilities have their own standards which pretty much mirror the National Camp Standards, but

Though I certainly agree with the thought behind the plea, I can't make the pledge because I know that there will be times when I can't follow it. Since a Scout is Trustworthy, it would seem to me that making a pledge I'm unlikely to keep would not be trustworthy. While most of the time use of encouragement to try things the BSA way is appropriate, there are times when we may need to be far more aggressive in our approach - and I think most who have read any of my posts know that I believe those times are when someone needs to come to the defense of the Scouts. I refer to challenging th

On 3/02/07, it was announced by the US Government that enforcement of the provisions that apply to the states (which is really the meat of the Act, since that portion is about ID's and Drivers Licenses) would be postponed until March of 2009. On January 11 of 2008, it was announced that the enforcement of those provisions would be delayed even further, until sometime in 2011 - presumably to get more support for the act from the States. As it stands now, the majority of the States have passed resolutions, or have resolutions pending, opposing the Real ID Act. Only a few states have made any

How will protesting US policies by dropping out of the BSA help? Just curious, not trying to be snarky. Calico