ASM7

John D Who cleans up all those pieces of balloons from the bottom of the lake? LNT

Ozemu, It would be very hard to explain the OA, what it stands for, how it came about, and all it's intricacies in this forum, but I admire you for wanting this type of program in your country. Instead, I will refer you to the National OA Director to give you information. Clyde Mayer Order of the Arrow Director Boy Scouts of America P.O. Box 152079 Irving, TX 75015-2079 There is nothing secret about the OA, but it lends itself to be more meaningful to new members the less they know about it beforehand. I think the Scouts of Australia would benefit from such an organization. Wimachtendienk, Wingolauchsik, Witahemui. (that's going to really confuse you) Doug

Rooster Sorry. The statement was meant for NJCS and not you. As the kids say today, my bad. littlebillie I said sex was activity that is ultimately related to reproduction between a male and female. I believe part of that activity is also any foreplay that may occur. You be your own judge of what those activities are, but the point is it is intended for reproduction between male and female. It is impossible for two adults of the same sex to reproduce. So, I will not call it sex, but will be more apt to declare it an act that defiles what God intended as an act of love between married men and women.

NJCS According to Webster's, gays can only have a desire to have sexual relations with each other, and cannot actually have sex. Sex is activity that is ultimately related to reproduction between a male and a female. Rooster What do you mean by, bad behavior by these gay people? Let me be morally straight here and not politically correct. Gay behavior of desiring sexual relations with one's own sex is bad period and illegal. I think that Rooster was referring to the lackadaisical morals of the politically correct view that gays have a right to pursue these types of activities. The city or county police and citizens have a resposibility to clean up the illegal activity in that park and any other place where this goes on. Why let these people take over a place that every taxpayer has paid to use. I say take a stand and take it back.

le Voyageur Sorry about the previous misspelling of your name. Doug I've never studied French, but I have taken a couple of trips to Haiti on medical and building missions. Trying to learn Haitian Creole.

Le Voyaguer I assume you are referring to the Virginia Creeper trail for the 50 miler. Where does it say that this is cheating? The requirement 9 for cycling states: After fulfilling requirement 8, lay out on a road map a 50-mile trip. Stay away from main highways. Using your map, make this ride in eight hours. It may be easier than what you or I think they should do but it fulfills the requirement. I think the fifty mile downhill would be fun for all the scouts. Of course you can always choose to run the course the other way, and most could not make it. Doug

What is Mic-O-Say? How do you have an alternative to OA in BSA? Doug

As for your question of who can test. According to the Policies and Procedures, the Patrol Leader, Scoutmaster, assistant Scoutmaster, a troop committee member, or a member of his troop can do this. The Scoutmaster maintains a list of those qualified. Doug

I've got the 1999-2001 guide so this may have changed, but it states that female leaders wearing either the traditional yellow CS leader blouse or the optional tan leader blouse may wear one temp insignia centered above the BSA strip. Females in Boy Scouting and Venturing place the temp insignia the same as on the men's shirt. So, my take is it's only for CS female leaders. Doug

In the AC Procedures and Policies, it states that a Boy Scout badge recognizes what a young man is able to do; it is not a reward for what he has done. The four steps of advancement are; 1. The Boy Scout learns. 2. The Boy Scout is tested. 3. The Boy Scout is reviewed. 4. The Boy Scout is recognized. These four steps are expanded on, on page 24. Under troop advancement goals, page 25, it states that it is necessary that the Scoutmaster understand the purpose of of the advancement program and the importance it has in the development of the scouts in the troop. The troop's program must provide advancement opportunities. By participating in the troop program, the scout will meet requirements for rank advancement. As for your question of who can test. The Patrol Leader, Scoutmaster, assistant Scoutmaster, a troop committee member, or a member of his troop can do this. The Scoutmaster maintains a list of those qualified. For merit badges, the counselor teaches and tests. Because I need to know what he is able to do, I observe the scout at a distance to determine his grasp of skills. Doug

We have an unwritten rule in our troop where the scouter parent doesn't sign off on his/her son. You may want to adopt this rule. Slontwovvy, I hope you weren't referring to non-scouter parents. Parents should never sign there boy off in Boy Scouts. Doug

We just purchased the Primus Omnifuel. Its an improvement on the award winning Multifuel. Some stoves are all out or nothing, but most of the new stoves have great simmer capabilities. I like the fuel bottle on the Primus because you just turn the bottle over to turn the stove off and it burns the residual fuel in the lines. This eliminates the messy and dangerous fuel spills. Doug

We do keep up to date Epi-pens (adult and child sizes) in our troop Firt Aid Kit. My son was just on Fall Fellowship weekend for OA and was stung by a yellow jacket. His hand was really swollen, but did not have respiratory problems, but it could happen. I wasn't there but I'm sure the OA didn't have Epi-pens available. Something to think about. We started carrying them when a scout with allergies to peanuts joined the troop. We even had lessons on the use of the pens for the scouts. Out in the woods is where they are more likely to be stung and you may not have time to get him out. And what if poison ivy gets into the campfire somehow? For those who are allergic, this can be deadly if enhaled. Doug

Also if you do accept the responsibility, make sure the medicine is in the original container with dosage instructions. Its too easy to make a mistake. I had a parent one time bring meds in a baggie. There was more than one medicine in the bag (no-no) and I was supposed to remember which was which. To beat that, the parent was a doctor!

Bob, I think that firearm ownership laws are state to state. In NC, you only need paperwork to purchase a firearm, not to own one. How do other states do it?

Eisely On our permission slip for each outing, there is a space for the parent to list any medications the scout is taking and any over the counter meds that they approve of to give the scout in case of minor emergencies. There is also a space for them stating they have informed the leader, gives the leaders name and another space for them to state if the boy is responsible enough to administer his own meds or if the leader should be responsible. All of this information has to be initialed by the parent. We also keep their most recent medical form with us. These are all updated before scout camp so they remain current all year. We also request the class 3 form because of the high adventure outings we go on. Doug

OGE I like your web page. I had a question though. When we did Woodbadge, All members had to come with a stripped shirt. Meaning all patches were removed except the flag, council patch. Then we had to sew on our patrol patch and troop number 1. Has the program changed in that respect? Has anyone else taking the new course had to do that? Work that ticket. Poppie Bear SE-389 Kodiaks

Netscouter Go to Scoutingmagazine.org. This seems to be a very good issue. There's also a great story about letting go. As a scouter, you should be getting the magazine. If not, you can order it. Bob, I wish it was that way for the kids, but its not. Its not that they don't have self esteem as much as they are at a critical time in their development of who they are and where they fit in to risk any damage to the self esteem they do have. Having three teenagers, I know that things matter greatly to them that we wouldn't think twice about. The public school arena is a place that can give a student a great experience or just the opposite. And it all revolves around what others think of you. If for one day all BSA and GSA scouts and scouters would wear their uniform. It would change a lot of the misconceptions they have. They all seem to be pretty proud at COH. All we can do wear ours proudly. Doug

AS a scouter parent of a scout, I always encourage my son as any parent should do, but I treat him like all the other scouts at troop activities. I don't think the boys want to be singled out by their dad or mom. Being a good scout leader and being involved in his life is enough for him to know you care. Besides, I have witnessed some sons trying to use the fact that their parent is a leader for their own interests. It's best to remain impartial and fair when around the rest of the troop. Don't do anything with your own son that you wouldn't do with another scout. Doug

I think that boys of a certain age are afraid to be seen by their friends in the uniform. Somewhere along the way, letting someone know that you are in scouting is just not cool. Reading the latest "Scouting" magazine, there's and article about the changing Boy Scout uniform, the uniform used to be a draw for boys. And then in a section of the magazine about the Hargrave Military Academy, these scouts show pride in the uniform and are expected to wear it to class the day of a campout. Of course they wear a uniform everyday. Great article! I would like to see a national survey of the scouts to see what they think the uniform should be. Not that I don't like the present uniform but it has been the same since 1980. You are dealing with a problem that is common for most troops.

Le Voyageur I can't seem to find the "BSA National Standards for Council High Adventure and Specialty Programs" publication listed on the BSA website. Where did you find this? Just need some help. Doug

I wouldn't think of doing anything to the tent itself due to the high costs of those platform tents. We did have wooden nameplates tacked to the platform itself. Usually just the name and patrol logo. The campsite was personalized for our patrol. For the three weekends, it was home and we treated it like home. We had mailbox, doorbell, and doors on the entryway and all types of gadgets around camp such as wash station and weather rock. One platform was transformed into a kitchen or pantry where we kept our chuck box, by using the canvas tarp instead of a tent. Doug

All of this talk of Jefferson's adultery may not be warranted. According to birth and death records, Jefferson's wife Martha, who was Sally Heming's half sister by her father, John Wayles, died on 9/6/1782. Sally's first child was born in 1790, eight years later. Sally's mother was a mulotto and Sally and her sister were said to be almost white with long straight hair down their backs. Martha was a widow when she married Jefferson. Jefferson was a widower when this all supposedly happened, so do we still consider him an adulterer? Yes , if adultery is sex out of wedlock. Did he cheat on his wife? That depends on your religious beliefs. Do you have to maintain your marital vows after your spouse dies? It's a personal opinion issue. Doug

Ozemu I agree that the Scoutmaster Handbook is pretty vague on duties of the ASM. However in the Troop Committee Guidebook it states "Each assistant Scoutmaster is assigned specific program duties and reports to the Scoutmaster. They also provide the required two-deep leadership standards set by the BSA. An assistant Scoutmaster may be 18 years old, but at least one in each troop should be 21 or older, so he or she can serve in the Scoutmaster's absence." The main jobs of the SA is to oversee operations in the New Scout Patrol, Venture Patrol or Regular Patrol. It also states that many troops assign an SA to be responsible for troop membership. I also noticed the lower case "a" in assistant in the BSA literature. So I assume that the BSA sees the SA as a Scoutmaster. So, I wonder why the SA can't earn the Scoutmaster's Key. The book also says that many successful troops have three or more SAs. Doug

Howdy Loki Our leaders always act as a patrol. We have a patrol name, chuck box, and flag and try to set the example for the other patrols. We always have a menu, duty roster and set our patrol site up like we think the scouts should. It's great to watch the duplication of ideas in their sites. Although I don't think it is written anywhere, it works great and its a lot of fun. Lead by example. Doug