Gone

I would add 4) Identify new Council leadership that has experience or knowledge in being able to turn around a financial mess. Without that all you have done is turn over the rock but forgot your can of Raid.

We had a similar issue in our Troop-based shooting sports. Had to stick to shotgun since .22 ammo was so hard to find. When we do find it we buy large amounts and stockpile it for a few years.

Thanks for the help. We are looking forward to it. I hear that Orr is a tough camp to get in to usually (or maybe that was Pioneer) for out-of-council troops. Did not want to travel too far this year (done NC and NM the last two years and wanted something a day's drive away). Going to hit Route 66 and visit that soda shop with the big soda on in OK on the way home. Boys and soda and a long trip...probably not a great combination. ;-)

Sorry to post here but the darn software will not let me creat a new thread. I have a few crews going to Philmont this summer. I am looking for a good source for an excellent topo map. Is the USGS store the best place? Does anyone have any experience with 7.5 series (or better) maps from USGS (or another provider) covering Philmont?

I posted this in another forum but it seems it is appropriate here too, so forgive the double post. There is training out there to be had to deal with ADD/ADHD and austism spectrum Scouts and is offered through at least one Council. Maybe your Council can incorporate it into your region's training if there is a need. Given 12% of kids are being diagnosed with this it might make sense. Food for thought. http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/03/06/add-adhd/

Found this article on ADD/ADHD... http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/03/06/add-adhd/

This is way cool. We have a game designer in our Troop who works for one of the major publishers. I have been dying to get him involved in MBs. Just found my hook. Thanks!!! Requirements here: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/03/06/game-design/

Could you get a trailer with electric breaks up/down that hill?

Smoking pot is hard to hide. That smell sticks around on people and clothes. If the kid has been around a long time in the troop it is hard to believe he is just now getting caught. We had kids in my troop growing up who smoked in the woods and the smelled like an ashtray. Why the adults never cuaght on (on did anything about it) still amazes me. There was no way to miss it and ALL the guys in the troop knew. *If* this has been going on a while the boys all know....though how it was missed by the adults would baffle me. Agree Eagle is out if the evidence points to drug use. If you have eye witnesses then that's it. If not, you have to assume he's telling the truth. Either way, he will likely leave your troop after the accusation is made and go elsewhere. You can put it in his record for your troop what you found. If other troops elect to talk to you that's up to them.

Not sure that's legal in the BSA's eyes.

@Pappadaddy...I really wanted to have a decent conversation with the guy but he was a bit confrontational, the boys were around and personally I would have likely disagreed with his position so I thought it best to thank him for his help and wish him a good day. The irony here is that his stated political leanings were very much toward the liberal spectrum and yet, as you point out, his beliefs about the BSA were hindering the accomplishment of one of the basic pillars of his ideology (feeding the poor). The money response came from a new Scout in my car, "That guy should watch less TV and help the poor more like us. I mean, his house must cost like a million dollars!! HE can afford a few more cans of food." (Fact is, the Scout was not far off.) ;-)

Give the Scout a "buddy" or two. Older Scouts who can encourage him. Have him lead the hike, not bring up the rear. Get with the PLC or your Guides and have them give words of encouragement to him. Sounds like something is bothering him. People are social animals by nature and only seek solitude when something is up. There sounds like there is more here than he's telling. May be big or may be small. Only he knows. We use older Scout mentors. They tag team kids who try to "hide in plain sight" by encouraging them; motivating them to help and lead. Ask them what they like. How would they do the activity? What do they prefer to do? Maybe that will help him get more invovled.

Agree with Perdidochas about it being regional. Many units in my neck fo the woods have privately expressed that things not change as they fear families will go elsewhere. Was doing food collection recently where someone said they would fill the bag larger if BSA "made the right decision", of course they did not say what they considered to be the "right" decision. When I told them that BSA could make a decision to end the ban but our CO (now given the power to do what they want) could keep the ban, it seemed to be news to this person. I don't think they really understood what BSA was doing. They were not ending the ban, per se, but merely leaving it to the COs. We know this, but I suspect the general public may not.

SSScout's satire brings up an interesting question: If "not a Scout" went camping and all that, I trust he is not, and was not, covered by an BSA insurance. What a risk for the troop!!!!

EDIT: This post took nearly THREE minutes to with the "working" tag at the top. A big barrier to frequent useage.

Not sure if anyone is having the same issue I am. Using IE, have FiOS, up-to-date java runtime and all those other plug ins, make sure my computer overhead is low and have a pretty fast PC. Navigation lags big time. Posting is even worse. It takes literally 30 seconds to over 1.5 minutes for something to post. I have tried this on two different PCs and my iPad. All PCs are directly connected to the home network (not wifi) and I have top speed FioS. This is the only website I visit with these issues. Checking to see if anyone else is having this issue.

Negotiate with the storage company. They might be able to write off giving you guys a small space or give it to you at a reduced rate. Trailers are pricey. As pointed out the upkeep, registration, etc., is not easy or cheap. Brakes are expensive to fix and if you get electric brackes only certain trucks with tow packages can tow them. I'd talk to storage companies and see what they can do for you.

Not only is the non-registration issue a problem, but how the heck did the kid meet the litmus test in the Guide to Advancements (4.2.3.1) for an "active Scout"? I have posted that section below to make reference easy. The first tenant of "active participation" -- a requirement for every rank -- is registration. Not registered? Not active...ergo not a Scout. This is where even "back-dating" to me seems wrong given you cannot be active unless registered and creates a chicken-and-egg scenario. I hope your council does not cave in on this. At VERY LEAST they should pay your unit's recharter fees for all those years AND register before they tix this and back date him. Otherwise we are just giving away an Eagle for nothing. 4.2.3.1 Active Participation The purpose of Star, Life, and Eagle Scout requirements calling for Scouts to be active for a period of months involves impact. Since we prepare young people to go forth, and essentially, make a positive difference in our American society, we judge that a member is “active†when his level of activity in Scouting, whether high or minimal, has had a sufficiently positive influence toward this end. Use the following three sequential tests to determine whether the requirement has been met. The first and second are required, along with either the third or its alternative. 1. The Scout is registered. The youth is registered in his unit for at least the time period indicated in the requirement, and he has indicated in some way, through word or action, that he considers himself a member. If a boy was supposed to have been registered, but for whatever reason was not, discuss with the local council registrar the possibility of back-registering him. 2. The Scout is in good standing. A Scout is considered in “good standing†with his unit as long as he has not been dismissed for disciplinary reasons. He must also be in good standing with the local council and the Boy Scouts of America. (In the rare case he is not, communications will have been delivered.) 3. The Scout meets the unit’s reasonable expectations; or, if not, a lesser level of activity is explained. If, for the time period required, a Scout or qualifying Venturer or Sea Scout meets those aspects of his unit’s pre-established expectations that refer to a level of activity, then he is considered active and the requirement is met. Time counted as “active†need not be consecutive. A boy may piece together any times he has been active and still qualify.

I sent an email to the the guy who wrote the article in Scouting Magazine when the change was announced. He said that if a Scout wants to use Cooking MB as a required MB they can do that AFTER Jan 1, 2014. So, if a current Star Scout earns the MB this month (Feb 2013) while it is non-required, he can use it as a required badge this time next year (2014). He also said that if the Scout wants to change out the non-required Cooking MB on his sash and replace it with the required Cooking MB (even though he earned it when it was non-required) he could.

Agree with the previous posts. I recently taught this MB to our troop and for #4 we used the "suitcase" stoves AND did a low-impact fire. For #6 it was a back-packing stove, both liquid fuel and propane. I will note we had some discussion about the menus for a backpacking trip. Since most everything is prepared and/or freeze-dried, there is really very little cooking involved. There is one or two national brands where you rehydrate the food and cook it. But realistically why would anyone do that on the trail when the pre-cooked, reconstituted eggs taste about the same with less mess and less time? Went went both routes just for fun. Lastly, we did a Top Chef competition for fun when we were done. Yes, we did not "add" it as a requirement; merely made it a fun thing to do. Had teams of two, they planned one entree and one side (or dessert). Entree could be from any meal. Three judges awarded points. Cooks cooked onsite, with patrol gear and utensils. Had 90 mins to prepare and cook and then present. Every kid told me it was the most fun they had doing a MB ever. ;-)

That is exactly what we use. Took a while to get the PLC to learn how to use it. They saw it as extra work but when they realized that having a plan, and back up activities in case something fell through, really helped things run smoothly.

[Raises Hand] Ah, doesn't the Cubmaster work for the Pack, so to speak? In other words, shouldn't the Pack Committee Chair run the Pack like a chairman runs the Board,and the CM run the Pack like a CEO runs the company? And at the end of the day isn't the CM responsible to the Pack Committee much like a CEO serves at the will of a Board? How does the Pack Chair feel?

It is an internet poll on a discussion list. Tons of ways this could be manipulated either way. Just takes someone with some time on their hands. Now, if there was a way to lock down by IP address so that only one vote per IP address you might have a different story. But who knows.