AnaMaria

I love fall, love being outside, but the yellowjackets are about to make me insane. Are the traps effective for short-term use, like at a picnic at a park? What about the electrified tennis rackets? They'd be very satisfying if they work!

Can you add or edit a leader "position"? The Scouter running the trial for us doesn't think so and I couldn't find a way to do it.

I'll be helping with Webelos Leader Specific training this weekend. What one thing is it vital to pass on to these leaders?

I'd get an official lid lifter. From what I've seen and experienced the alternatives do an adequate job - the lid lifter does an exceptional job. The one I'd get is a spring-loaded model. I don't think it's Lodge, but I was very impressed.

This is one of those that I probably know the answer, but would like confirmation before I have to be the enforcer! For this award, can you only have 1 qualifying event per month. In June, for instance, we toured a castle. We have scouts who didn't do the tour, but did go to camp in June. Can it be an either/or thing? The paperwork would make it seem you have to choose just 1 event per month.

What can we do to make the slingshot station more exciting? I'm director for the district archery/BB academy. We have 5 stations - archery, BB, slingshot, boomerang and something else (hopefully catapults this year). In my opinion, the slingshot area is one of the weakest links. We shoot dog food and about 10 paintballs per boy at targets. How can we liven that up?

We had a district training volunteer come and do YPT. I believe he had a DVD of the online presentation. He brought a sign-up sheet. We kept a copy and he took one for the council. The participants didn't get anything to keep, but I imagine we could get that if someone needed it. We had the adults fill out apps, but aren't going to turn them in unless the individual is going to hold a position that requires registration. I'm not sure what the Cubmaster had in mind, but I intend to destroy any we don't need in a few weeks, when things are set for the year. We only have a couple of spots that need to be filled, so we're not looking at a major issue. Since it's a new thing for me, I wanted to hear how others do things.

I'm not sure about the applications, that was the Cubmaster's doing. But we also did YPT for all the adults at orientation (26 of them!). We didn't announce the YPT ahead of time, just sent them off to do it while the boys played a game. I didn't hear any grumbling. I'm not sure what we'll do next year because only the new people will need it then.

Yes, he did. I initially missed the suspended license due to the fascination that he admitted illegal drug use! All new parents filled out applications at sign up whether they thought they wanted to be registered leaders or not. Maybe he has not interest anyway.

We are currently still chartered to a PTA. Council doesn't like it and the PTA isn't thrilled with it either. So we're looking for a new CO. Given the nature of the Pack, a church is probably not a good fit. The PTA has had no input/interaction and we're used to that and probably would like a new CO to be pretty hands off as well. The two obvious choices in our area are a Moose Lodge and a Lion's Club. Any feedback on either of these organizations, in general, as a CO? We would probably continue to meet at the elementary school with no issues.

Not new to Scouting, but new to this issue. I'm committee chair for a pack this year. Just finished up recruiting and orientation and working on plugging people in to help. If people listed references, do you check them? We'll be passing on the guy who indicates he uses illegal drugs and has a suspended license, but I'm not sure what to do with everyone else. I'm particularly interested in what you do with new adults not really known by anyone currently in leadership.

Webelos II isn't an official designation anyway, despite its popularity. Has an "Arrow of Light Scout" earned the AOL, or does it just mean a 5th grade Cub Scout?

Ask the den leader. I'd sign it. Not every requirement has to be done in a den meeting. If we have someone else lead an activity badge, I have that person sign the books.

Weather & camping - your threshold of ok? I dont' know how to link this back to the discussion, but this is the title of the initial post in the thread.

We've discussed similar issues in the past. I don't have time to look for the thread, but there was one I initiated in April/May. Good luck. I know it's hard to be the one making the ultimate decision.

.....

I have just inherited a box of stuff which includes youth applications dated 2001 (unused). It seems they should be outdated, but wanted to check before tossing them.

My son (2nd year Webelos) and his den mates went earlier this summer. If you're where you'll have electricity, take a fan. The 2 dads who went with the den felt that they would have liked a little more food (the dads, not the scouts) so you might want to take some snacks corralled in a raccoon-proof container. It's late here, but that's what I've got off the top of my head. The boys had a great time and I'm sure yours will as well. The Loveland Castle is very interesting. They have a web site with details and there's a good Wikipedia article as well. Tours are $3/person.

It doesn't matter what rank they were earned, he can still wear them (and on the Right pocket/flap). My boys have earned the Outdoor Activity Award every year and the patch flap just stays on and gets a new wolf track pin each year. As I understand it, any temporary insignia earned as a Cub Scout can be worn any time during the Cub Scout years. The hard part may be choosing which one - or getting someone to help change things out!

There are no issues with the construction of the bridge that I can tell. I may be wrong about the height, I'm not good at guessing that kind of thing. It seemed like the walk rope was about shoulder height for me the first couple of days, but was much lower today, maybe hip height. I'm going to call it a single span bridge, two supports - so entry section, main section and exit section. The bridge was much looser today, enough that I was concerned about it still being safe. The side ropes/rails were incredibly loose/stretched. The boys had trouble with it and most did not enjoy it today where they had the first three days. The Boy Scout helping said they had tightened it a couple of times, but you couldn't tell. My main concern was with how much spotting is necessary for safety. At most there were two Boy Scouts at the station, another Boy Scout who is our den's den chief for the seek and myself as den leader. There were 5 different setups in the ropes area. They were permitting boys to be on any of the setups - with only 4 supervisors there, there could not even be one spotter at each. They were allowing 3 boys on the bridge, one on each section. Today (after camp inspection yesterday) they were only allowing 2 boys - the 2nd could enter when the 1st reached the exit section. When we were at the station yesterday, the lone boy scout working the station left. At that point I was only allowing 1 at a time on the bridge, with me spotting. And only one other station in use supervised by the den chief. I was having some concerns about whether I was being too restrictive, but am comfortable that my judgement was at least reasonable, and maybe not strict enough. I do realize I was responsible for the safety of the boys at that point and even if I had been wrong, needed to go with my best assessment of the risks.

This is not necessarily a Cub Scout issue, but my interest is as a Cub Scout leader. At our day camp this week there is a "ropes" area set up. There are 5 different items, one is a monkey bridge. It's fairly long, but the central rope you walk on is no more than 4 feet high. What kind of spotting should be going on? Is it ok to have multiple people on the bridge at the same time? I'm going to do a general google search, but if you have knowledge or better direction on where to look for some guidelines, please share.

It's sounding like some type of aluminum pan and a few bricks will be part of the plan.

Guy, Yes, that was the question essentially. If the answer is no, what can we use? We'll be at a CampORee, no fire ring and we'll have to get whatever it is to our campsite.

I'll be with my Webelos this weekend at a Webelos CampORee. We're planning on using a box oven (upside down box style) for a couple of things, but will not have a cempfire ring/dirt area to set it up. Can I use a piece of cardboard covered with foil for the base? Would that also work as a spot for charcoal for foil dinners?

Family Traveler is one of the new additions to the belt loops and pins.