mschwartz

I had submitted a Local Tour Permit application a few days ago (the first one this year) and got an email back from Council saying that someone on each trip is now required to have completed Hazardous Weather Training. Granted, this is an online training through MyScouting and doesn't take all that long - but I think I'm fairly aware of program changes, etc. and I don't recall seeing anything about this new requirement! Does anyone have any info? Links to official announcements? thanks much, Marietta

Our pack has used classb.com for T-shirts, hats, and custom patches. The people at classb.com are the most helpful, friendly, cheerful... anyhow, they're great to work with. And everything came through in a timely fashion, looking good.

I've been using HomeSite for years - I believe it is now a Macromedia product (at least when I installed Macromedia Contribute, which is required for web page updates on one of our servers at work, it came along for the ride - btw, I do NOT recommend Contribute as a web editor!). I really like HomeSite as it allows you to work with the straight HTML but also has a WYSIWYG preview function. Wait, was just going to doublecheck to see if it's still around - and apparently Adobe has gobbled up Macromedia! HomeSite 5.5 is available from Adobe - they also own Dreamweaver.

I loved Kelly's Heroes when I was a kid - probably saw it three or four times over the years (and now I want to go on Netflix and see if it's still available!). My son watched "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" for the MB and thoroughly enjoyed it. He and his friend (they were both working on the MB) kept talking back to the TV and pausing the movie and going back to watch bits again... it was great to see.

I wasn't sure if MA did a Scouting plate or not (was pretty sure not) so I googled "scouting license plates" and found this: http://www.angelfire.com/wy/gilwell/plates.html. It's pretty comprehensive, although I can't speak for its accuracy. But it's fun to look at the photos of license plates!

The group of boys in the Troop who were working on E-Prep (one of the ASMs is a firefighter and registered MB counselor for this one) did a really neat emergency rescue scenario. The town that we live in has a "reservation" (heavily wooded park with both paved walking/biking trails and more challenging hiking trails). The ASM got a "rescue dummy" from the fire dept, as well as a rescue basket. He and another adult went up into the woods and hid the dummy near one of the trails. The boys all met at the entrance and were presented with the scenario that a group of boys were hiking in the woods; one fell and was injured; the others managed to make their way out, gasping 'He's up there!' and pointing in the general direction of where they had been. So the scouts (we had about a dozen boys) did a grid search to find the dummy. When they located it, it had notes pinned to it regarding injuries. They had to do appropriate first aid, load it into the rescue basket, and pack it out, about a mile. (The whole thing weighed about 150 lbs - not a light load!). All involved thought it was a great activity, and the boys felt like they really did and learned something important.

I spent my Mother's Day morning delivering son #1 to our local "reservation" (hiking area) to participate in an Emergency Preparedness Rescue. One of the ASMs (a captain in the fire department) had hidden a rescue dummy up near one of the hiking trails. The boys had to do a line search to find it, perform appropriate first aid (per notes attached to the dummy), load it into a rescue basket, and pack it out. The whole apparatus weighed in excess of 200 lbs. Gorgeous day for it, the boys had a great time, and the "rescue" was successful. And while he was doing that, son #2, dog, and I did a three-mile ramble along the paved part of the hiking trails. All in all a great way to spend my morning!

Not sure if this is what you had in mind.. http://orderofthefork.org/ http://lenslinger.blogspot.com/2006/06/order-of-fork.html

http://www.geocities.com/~pack215/clipart-sanda-menu.html - look at the logos (the belt loop ones are actual photos of belt loops on a belt) http://www.derose.net/steve/guides/scouting/beltloops/ - scanned photos of the actual belt loops http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Gorge/6928/beltloops.htm - similar to above, smaller pictures

I know this is getting a little off the original topic, but having just had a group of boys in the troop go through the First Aid merit badge, this caught my eye. Requirement #1 of the merit badge: Satisfy your counselor that you have current knowledge of all first aid requirements for Tenderfoot Rank, Second Class Rank, and First Class Rank ranks. To me, that implies that if the Scout does not have those already signed off in their book, they have to demonstrate them to the counselor. In our situation, the counselor is also an ASM, so with a couple of the younger Scouts, once they had demonstrated those requirements, he signed them in the book. Technically double-dipping, but in this case the merit badge seems to require it! Just an observation.

Just finished watching the set. I especially liked the Jim Lovell video. I also passed the set of links around to the Troop Committee, Pack Chairman, and whoever else I could think of. Happy Birthday Scouting!

Ummm... why is this question in the "Scouting the Web" section of the forum? There is an extensive thread on exactly this question at http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=112410 in the "Advancement Resources" section. Lots and lots of good movie ideas. (The last group of boys I saw working on this badge watched "Mr. Smith goes to Washington", just to add that in.)

FWIW, if you have access to Internet Advancement, you can get a troop/pack roster that lists all adults and Scouts, and includes the BSA ID. I've had to look them up a couple of times for adults wanting to do online training and needing that #.

Well, that was exactly the problem. The wording on the form seemed to imply that 10% of the scouts should have participated in a troop activity (and it specified camping) every month. We were all extremely confused. We do easily have 10% of the troop participate in every campout, but it's not the same 10% every time. Our UC decided that we had enough camping activity and participation that we qualified. But hopefully next year's form will be a little clearer!

We actually invite parents/inexperienced committee members to sit in on the BoR (as long as it's not their son who's up for advancement!) to see how they work. We also distribute a guide (found at http://www.macscouter.com/Scoutmaster/BoR_Guide.asp) that explains a bit about the expectations at the different ranks and provides some sample questions for each rank level. We've found that extremely useful. We have also (with the permission of the scout being reviewed) brought in the newly-crossed-over Webelos-now-Boy Scouts to quietly sit in the back during a BoR so they can see what's coming.(This message has been edited by mschwartz)