CalicoPenn

I wouldn't be so quick to give up on this boy, nor would I be quick to lay out rules and expectations, or give other responsibilities because something very important was missed here by the Adult Leaders (and it's not your fault either - BSA training is pretty good, but it doesn't adequately prepare us for how to deal with emotional issues). This lad expressed that he hoped to become SPL and get his Eagle Scout. Then a barrier was put in his way. He was NOT elected - by his peers - to become SPL. For many lads, this is a heck of an emotional slam and a set back to one's self-esteem.

Sometimes, its a matter of practical considerations - especially with those that not only received their Eagle just in the nick of time, but have also gone off to college before a COH can be held. Have had a couple lads in this situation pass up the COH and for them it boiled down to time. They had no time to plan a COH because they were busy with the new challenges and opportunities of college academics and life, let alone much time to plan a trip home that would be convenient for others to attend a COH. They considered the Thanksgiving "break" a time for family, and were busy working

Blame Canada

My advice will be a bit dated as well - Maine High Adventure, based out of Matagamon Base, is now run by the Katahdin Area Council. When I was on staff, it was a National High Adventure Base (like Philmont). How much time do you have on your trip from the airport to the base (or vice versa)? If you have lots of time, you could drive from Bangor through Baxter State Park from the south gate to the north gate, stopping in one of the campgrounds within the park for the night. Baxter State Park is not a typical state park - it is very very large (209K+ acres). The road through the park is

I wouldn't worry too much about terraforming Mars. By the time we're ready to do so, we won't be launching anything into space anymore because with all the junk we're leaving orbiting the planet, it will be too dangerous to attempt to gain orbit, let alone leave orbit. It's inevitable at this point for a shuttle, or the space station, or a vital sattelite to be critically damaged when it impacts with some little bolt thats floating around in orbit. Calico

Pack, I propose that your question, while a good one, is impossible to answer, at this point in time. It's been a bit over 2,000 years and I do not believe that we even have a handle yet on what it means to be Christian, let alone try to determine if a church that follows one set of doctrines is any more or less Christian than any other churches. There are still people out there that don't believe Catholics are Christians (despite one of their most iconic images being a crucified Christ). There are churches that still preach that their church is the one and true Christian churc

Though hating the thought of feeding the Merlyn/Ed Road Show, some things I wonder about. Ed says it will now be a tax burden to the City? How?? The property is already City property - and in most jurisdictions, government property is not taxed. I don't believe this property is taxed now (its City property with a Non-profit IRS 501c3 Organization in it). Its not likely to return to the tax rolls unless the City sells the property. Maintenance burden? Yes - but as Merlyn points out, not if they get another person to lease the building. Calico

First the good news - I believe the knife you're refering to is the Two Blade Leaders Classic made by Camillus Cutlery, of Camillus, New York. Now the bad news - Camillus Cutlery shut down their operations for good in February 2007. The workers went on strike in May 2006 and remained out on strike until November 2006 to protest drastic decreases in wages and health benefits. The United Steelworkers (the Union to which the Camillus Cutlery employees belonged) reached an agreement in November 2006. Shortly after the agreement was reached, Camillus went through massive layoffs before shut

What in the Sam Hill is a "Patrol Advisor"???? The Patrol Leaders have an advisor - his title is Senior Patrol Leader. Part of the SPL's job is to be checking in with his (yes - HIS) Patrol Leaders and making sure they get access to the tools they need to be a successful Patrol Leader. Another advisor for the Patrol Leaders is the Scoutmaster and HIS Assistant Scoutmasters. Patrol Leaders have another advisor to go to for help - I call them "Mom and Dad". Yep - when I was a Patrol Leader and we planned a Patrol outing (campout, hike, etc.) I looked to good ole Mom and Dad to help me take

I'm agreeing with LongHaul here, Its Me. I find a dearth of ManScouts (and WomanScouts) on the forum here. Sure, we may be checking the forums and posting a lot, but there is a big difference between the forum posters and the ManScout. As I've read through countless posts, I see one very common thread among all of the posters - those seeking advice, those giving advice, those telling their stories (which are pretty much used to illustrate a point - not just for bragging), those that are regulars, those that are irregulars, those that are occasionally posting "lurkers" - to a one, its all ab

It's quite possible for a question about the Scout Law or the Scout Oath to become a test in a BOR - it really depends on how the question is worded and what the expected response is. I would suggest the following wording of the question is a test: "What does A Scout is Loyal mean?" The proper way to answer this question is with a rote answer - with the book answer. Now re-word the question: "What does A Scout is Loyal mean TO YOU?" Now the question becomes personal so the answer becomes personal - the book answer isn't the appropriate response (I'd interrupt a scout giving me the bo

In the case of merit badges, the merit badge is earned when completed to the satisfaction of the merit badge counselor. It is earned the day the merit badge counselor signs the merit badge application indicating that the work on the badge has been completed.

What is the purpose of the dues and what is the purpose of the fundraising? That's a basic question each unit needs to ask itself. In general, dues are for rechartering, for awards, and for day to day operating expenses (bank fees, office supplies, program supplies, library books (merit badge books, handbooks, etc). Fundraising money is for equipment purchases, outings, etc. I wouldn't apply fundraising money to dues (unless as part of a "scout account"). In cub scouts, the best motivator is the chance to win prizes (and it doesn't have to be the top salespeople either - you can s

I can sympathize with you on the interference, err.. questions by the TC - I'd love to know what your response to them was. My response would have been that I'm not holding those boys up to any higher standards than I am any other scout who has earned the first aid merit badge - anyone who has earned the badge should expect to be called upon to teach the skills to the rest of the troop. Now, I'm not suggesting it be sprung on them the night of the meeting - on the contrary, I'd make sure the boys were given plenty of planning time (ie... Scout Johnny, the PLC wants to have a session on the f

Ok LH - I'm game. I'm going to ask the Scout if he feels he has truly earned the badges, is satisfied with what he learned, and wants me to sign off on them. If he say's yes, I'm going to sign off on the cards and get him his merit badges - a merit badge counselor signed off that the lad met the requirements to the merit badge counselors satisfaction. Note the wording - met the requirements to the merit badge counselors satisfaction. There is nothing in the advancement policies and procedures that state the scout has to meet the requirements to the scoutmasters, or the committees,

My first question for the lad that brings me six signed blue cards that I have never seen before is "Where did you get these cards?" The answer to that question leads to my response to the lad. He may have gotten them legitimately (as a Scout in another troop, or under a previous Scoutmaster and he hadn't completed the requirements until much later). He should be getting the blue cards from the troop in some way or another in the first place. If mom or dad picked them up at the scout shop, the Scoutmaster and Committee Chair needs to buy the parent(s) a cup of coffee and explain the proced

Except that they may not have actually gotten the ok from the Election Commission to proceed. The Committee Chair claims that they got the ok from the Election Commission on 2 occasions but he hasn't produced any thing in writing from the commission to verify that they received the OK. According to the Election Commission, the units (a Troop and a Ship were doing the drive), contacted the Commission to ask about the project and the Commission told them that the Commission has to get written permission from all of the polling places to use these places as polling places but that this perm

I think California would take umbrage at Texas and Hawaii being the only states that were once countries as well. For a period of about a month, the independent California Republic (aka the Bear Flag Republic) before it became part of the US. Granted, it was only a month, but for that month, it was an independent country.

Yes - the equivalent of the red vest would be a patch blanket, though many Scouts continue to use the red vest, at least until it no longer fits them. I'm more likely to see 11 and 12 year olds wearing a red vest - its interesting that they start to outgrow the need to display all of their patches on a red vest about the time they start to outgrow the red vest. The merit badge sash is used for merit badges only - offically, no other patches go on the merit badge sash, and no patches go on the back of the merit badge sash (for those very motivated Scouts that earn a great many, or all, of

White bowline on a tan background? I believe that's the College of Commissioner Science knot. I would have loved to have earned the Antarctica Service knot - a white square knot on sky blue background with black border - alas, I wasn't invited to go to Antarctica when I was 18-22 (or any other time, either).

Considering the (now - and not your doing) acrimonius split, don't count on any money or the donation of any equipment to your new unit from the old unit. Each individual parent could ask for a return of pro-rated dues payments but the troop may not be obligated by law to return said amount (depends on the state you live in - in many states, once annual dues are paid, there is no requirement to return any pro-rated amount) or by practice (the BSA National Office doesn't refund money paid for dues - if you pay your annual dues to the BSA at re-charter time and quit two months later, the BSA is

So what would be the corrective action? Serve another six months to complete a requirement they have already "satisfactorily completed"? Make the Scout do the requirement twice? What's next - make a Scout go earn a Merit Badge twice because the BOR wants him too? This reads to me a way of saying to a Scout "You met the requirement but you didn't meet the requirement". Huh??? It also reads to me "You will never be a Star (Life, Eagle) Scout because you met the requirement but we decided you didn't do a good enough job and we can't make you do the requirement over again since you alrea

Of the three research projects currently being done by the Center for Minority Health, only one is restricted to a single racial group. As for the other two - the Vitamin D study is open to any child 6 to 12 years old and the other, the Pittsburgh Influenza Prevention Project is open to any child as well. The brochure (you can download it) for the Pittsburgh Influenze Prevention Project features three children. One black boy, one red-headed white boy and one white or very (and I mean very)light skinned hispanic girl. Looks like whites are more than welcome to take part in their pro

Sounds like a good project to me - but then I have a soft spot for nature centers. Sounds like the beneficiary organization approves this project. Sounds like you like this project, despite your reservations on planning time. To get approval to start the project, your Scout should be developing an outline of the plan first. Not walking the trails to determine where signs and maps go (though walking the trails to get an idea of what needs to be done wouldn't be a bad idea)- that's planning - and planning is part of the project itself, and should be done after the project is approved. I

I don't think it's really about the knots themselves. It's about the recognition. Humans of all ages gain a sense of satisfaction by being recognized for their work and accomplishments. It might even be argued that we have an innate need to be recognized. Recognition is a great motivator - a merit pay increase feels better to us than a cost-of-living increase - we feel that our employer is recognizing and rewarding us for our hard work and we respond by working harder and better. If all you get is a cost-of-living increase, there is no real motivation to do any better, or to keep wo