Stosh

Instead of the dorky pants tucked into socks look, some say using flea/tick collars work as sock garters. I just go with cheap dorky so I don't know how well the collars work.

Hazing? Naw, I sing along with them. Always better as a duet with the SM.

Our council does a Spook-a-ree for the Cub Scouts and the Boy Scouts are encouraged to come and help out with the activities. Klondikes are limited to one maybe two of the districts if that. The spring camporees are down to 7 - 10 troops showing up....if they are organized by a troop. District no longer does it. Pretty much a crippled program from what it was 20 years ago. Took 2 Jambo contingents to Centennial Jambo, Managed to get one together last time. Struggling to get the boys to consider this next one. Might have to advertise slots in neighboring councils. Only people we hear going to BWCA in our area are scouters.

Self standing tents took all the fun out of campsite raids at camporees. Patrol tents - huge military tents were all 8 boys could fit comfortably in it. They were the wall tent style. We always got to do the mess-kit cooking if we wanted to at camporees.

In spite of my church stand on not supporting the BSA, I have continued with Scouting because I, too, believe in the importance the program has to offer young men in our society. My church does not "back" scouting because of the recent changes in the BSA policies, but the phrase, "help other people at all times" keeps coming into my consciousness and it's hard to ignore. Sure there are groups out there that are tolerant\/intolerant or simply does not want to condone the lifestyles of others, but one does not need to set aside a life long dedication to a program because of the church puts oneself into. Others have the freedom to do as they see fit in their ministries to others, I help young people by volunteering for church, community as well as scouting programs. Others have reasons for why they do the things they do, as do I. Welcome to the forum and thank you for your dedication to the young men you have been called to serve.

EAA stands for Experimental Aircraft Association. The Young Eagles project is a fantastic program. We had a camporee centered around the Aviation MB in which the EAA volunteers under the guidance of a certified Aviation MBC got all the boys through the ground school and a final flight for the weekend. It was really fun. One note, The EAA people probably know this, but one must be careful that BSA does NOT allow scout flights on experimental aircraft, only those commercially built and maintained. The weekend we did the Aviation MB, I was able to catch a flight in a 1947 Cessna that had been restored back to it's factory condition and won best-of-show at the EAA Fly-in in Oshkosh. While I had a great flight, none of the scouts were allowed to ride in that airplane. Make sure everything is up-to-snuff for insurance purposes.

@<3My2Eagles Wow! Polite, appreciative thankful for forum input? Is it any wonder he has two great Eagle Scouts for sons. Well done dad, you must be extremely proud to have raised your sons so well. I have no doubt the two boys fully appreciate the support and guidance you have provided for their journey in life.

I have received phone calls from boys where unless there was some clue in the context of the muddled message, I would even know who I was talking to.

@askyourspl You present all the necessary concerns posed by the lack of direction of the BSA. Well, when something goes wrong, they aren't caught holding the bag either, you are. There's a bit of safety in non-involvement. If dad wants his daughter to be involved in camping HE can take her, just the two of them. They don't need a BSA troop event as an excuse. It would seem there is enough evidence to show that this is a rather strong concern on your part and your participation in it is a tacit form of condoning it. I personally would have a ready excuse to take a powder anytime this ASM and daughter decide to go on the activity. Then again, I'm overly cautious about such things, but it has guaranteed me 40+ years of tenure in the program, too.

....unless one of the 75 is one of your scouts...

If done right according to GBB's training, everyone in the patrol has a responsibility. Some get patches (PL) some get patches and no credit (APL, QM, Scribe). Some don't even get patches (GrubMaster, CheerMaster, etc.) If one were to stop and think about it a minute, Hedge is correct, at one time or another throughout the day, each one takes the leadership role for their expertise. Some of the early literature reflects a bit of this in the nicknames for the boys. Would "Doc" indicate he's the expert on first aid? No patch for it, but if one gets hurt, he's the go-to guy. One of the reasons we have no leadership in many of our troops is because 1) the adults don't want to give it up and 2) no one really expects it out of these scouts. After all, they're just kids, ya know. Whadda dey know.

With the loop it lets everyone know it's to be worn on the right pocket where any and all bSA logo temporary patches are put. Way to go, looks nice.

I haven't tried it so I can not attest to it's validity, but I know vanilla deters gnats and I have heard that peppermint deters ticks. Youtube video shows putting a drop of peppermint oil on an embedded tick caused it to back out. Haven't tried it.

Granted it might be a stupid rule, but with a spot on the blue card for the SM's signature saying he's on board with scout taking the MB, it doesn't leave much wiggle room for discussion. Unfortunately in this case, specific policy has been clearly defined....and yes, I think it's a stupid rule.

No signature from the SM.....?

Yep, we got all kinds of them wild cats up here. If ya know what I mean.....

Inquiring minds want to know!!! Welcome to the forum. Unless it's a personal or confidential issue, PM isn't necessary. If it gets out of hand, the Moderators will toss it into the I & P ash can.

You forgot one other issue. There are a number of SM's out there that THINK they are using the patrol method when in fact they aren't. Just holding elections and grouping the boys up by name doesn't make it a patrol. Of course, troop camping and cooking doesn't reinforce the patrol method, but it is a lot easier to run a scout troop if the boys don't keep getting in the way.

The deer tick with Lyme's takes 5-6 hours to infect. This new one is on the wood ticks and takes only a matter of minutes. The bad part of it is, it's a virus and can't be treated. That's the part that makes it so bad.

A cougar tagged in Wisconsin died in Connecticut. A wolf has been documented to have traveled from Ely MN to Green Bay to Madison before making it's way just east of the Twin Cities and returning to Ely where it was shot and killed. A second grade class in Ely purchased a GPS tracking collar and had the DNR put it on for them. They tracked it's movement for a year every day they would get a GPS reading on it's location. A moose was hit by a car a few years back just west of Des Moines, IA. Ever wonder why Lyme's Disease started in Connecticut and is heavily populated in WI and MN? .... and for a long time, not in between?

Col. Love it. But that's too cool of an outfit although being prepared is half the battle. The brimmed hats aren't because ticks jump. We have a lot of ankle (tucked socks) and belt area covered (shirt tucked in) but the deeper the brush the higher they climb. Brushing up against tall bushes opens up opportunity. Thus the number of ticks on hands and arms. Ticks are advantageous, they hang around brush, not trees. Deer and animals walking along game trails is their ambush of choice. Of course scouts picking up dead fall and carrying it in their arms, produces just as many, if not more.

The flower gardens of suburbia are prime feeding areas for deer. The two road kills right in front of my house allowed me to fill my freezer full of venison and I got to sit and look for a trophy buck last season and none of the 17 that walked by fit the bill. I live on 9 acres in a metropolitan hunting area in the state.

Tuck your pants into your socks. Looks dorky, but it works. There's a reason scouters used to wear gaiters. Wear a full brimmed hat, they will drop out of trees. Campaign hat used to be standard equipment. Pull the necker tight. Duct tape your sleeves shut. Zippered garments work better than buttoned ones. And TUCK YOUR SHIRT IT AND WEAR A BELT.

My prayers go out to the families and friends affected by this senseless act.

Training in the patrol method in "modern" era of Scouting is constantly being sabotaged by the adults. No matter how much one tries, they are still viewed, like teachers, religious leaders and parents and the go-to person when needing help. Adults make the token gesture now and then to ease their guilt for not teaching it properly. For example, when a scout comes and asks for help from the SM, the standard answer is, "Go talk to your PL." Yeah, like he's been trained to handle it. No, when a boy approaches the SM looking for leadership, the SM takes the boy to the PL and asks the PL, "Why is he bugging me, He's your responsibility according to the patch on your shirt and you're not taking care of him or he wouldn't have to ask me to." If a boy came to the SM and said he cut his finger whittling, the SM wouldn't say, "Don't talk to me, go talk to the camp nurse." So what's with the blow off we give to the PL's. SM's are there to train and empower the PL's, not just check off the box on their record after 6 months and hassling them about not doing their job. Every boy that has attended NYLT has found it a waste of time and money. More likely they will say they learned more about leadership from me than what the BSA is doing, and I do it for free. A handful of my church youth got together, organized a group to go down to the local community dinner and help serve, the adults that went (and no, not just their parents, but other congregational members) commented that they were impressed with the "leadership" the kids were doing on this activity. Where was Mr. Stosh? In the kitchen running the dishwasher. I did exactly what everyone else in the group did. We walked in and asked, "What can I do to help?" How many of your PL and APL's ever ask that question?