NealOnWheels

I am not sure it was an April fool's prank but it was a good one anyway. Early in my career as a computer programmer I played one a couple coworkers. This was back in the MS-DOS days. I wrote a program that simulated the MS-DOS FORMAT command and put it in their autoexec.bat file so it would run it when they started their computer up in the morning. I waited one evening for them to leave so I could install it. In the morning they started their computers. The computer program would display a simulated command prompt with the FORMAT C: command and then would ask them if the wish to procede. No matter what key they would press the program would display a Y for yes and then proceded to count heads, tracks and cylinders while it repeatably read a file off of the hard drive. Their reactions were priceless at first both had a look of confusion on their faces. When they pressed N for no it got really funny. One coworker immediately hit the power switch. I had never seen him move so fast before. They other coworker began screaming and yelling. I never heard so much profanity strung together in one sentence before. After calming both of them down they got a good chuckle out of it as well.

My council has a camp near Michigan City, Indiana. It would be about 1 hour a 15 minutes away. There are cabins if that is what you are looking for. The camp is located near I94 and I80 so it would not be too far out of your way. PM me if you are interested.

Then you as a parent can decide that you have no faith in the Scoutmaster's judgement and select a different troop.

Not all districts are structured the same. The District Chair should be able to tell you who. Are you sure it is the District making policy or is it the Council Advancement Committee?

It is quite simple... Let him be a visitor for the next two weeks and then submit his application.

Sure, http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/13-508.pdf I am supprised they did not mention this in BALOO training.

What does your son and his buddies say?

Whittling Chip is for Cub Scouts. It deals with pocket knives. Totin Chip is for Boy Scouts. It deals with knives, axes, and saws.

Each council does this differently. You need to talk to someone locally. Your District Advancement Chair would be a good person to ask.

And I wonder about #2. Did they mean Scouter instead of Scout?

And from January's newsletter... Are You as Smart as an Eagle Scout? 1. Hazing is permitted at OA events. Yes___ No___ 2. Scouts do not have to report verbal abuse. Yes___ No___ 3. An Eagle Scout can supervise a swim activity. Yes___ No___ 4. A float plan is only needed at Council events. Yes___ No___ 5. Hazardous Weather Training is an optional training. Yes__ No___ If you answered yes to any of the above questions, please read the following sentence outloud: I am not as smart as an Eagle Scout! Plan on taking our Are you as Smart as a Scoutmaster in the March edition of the Scroll. Have you read your Age Appropriate Activities lately? Check out the link to this important information at http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/ageguides.pdf ......Brought to you by your Risk Management Committee

Beavah, I have to disagree with your assesment of the purpose of BSA Youth Protection. I think it was meant to reduce incidents of abuse within Scouting. However, it does little to reduce abuse occuring outside of scouting activities between youth and adult leaders as happened in this case. I knew a DE who was arrested and convicted of abusing a scout he had contact with. The abuse happened outside of scouting. I do agree with you wholeheartedly about the Catholic Virtus training. It goes well beyond what BSA training provides in that it goes into details of offender behaviour that can often be observed by other adults. Maybe such a training could have prevented this incident maybe not. BSA could learn a lot from the Virtus training. (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

In regards to the $100 camp fee and the deductability of room and board. Publication 526 says that lodging and meals are considered "deductable travel expenses". http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p526.pdf

I am not a tax accountant nor an attorney. I am confused to all this 501C3 business. For the average citizen such as myself we rely on the IRS publications for guidance. We do not study tax law. Publication 526 discusses eligable charitable organizations. Nowhere in that document does it mention 501C3. If law does require an organization to be a 501C3 for a person to deduct a charitable contribution then the IRS has done a diservice to the average citizen by not mentioning that fact in publication 526. So to you who get paid to do this tax stuff - what is the real story here?

There would be nothing wrong with you joining but wouldn't you want your sons to have a part in choosing the new troop?

November's council newsletter is out: Are You as Smart as a First Class Scout? 1. Tour permits are not needed for Patrol outings. True___ False___ 2. All Boy Scouts can participate in horse treks. True___ False___ 3. Older Scouts cannot drive motorized off road bikes. True___ False___ 4. Older Scouts cannot fly airplanes. True___ False___ 5. Boy Scouts can participate in flight school. True__ False___ If you answered TRUE to any of the above questions, please read the following sentence outloud: I am not as smart as a First Class Scout! Have you read your Age Appropriate Guidelines information sheet lately? Download one at http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/Age-AppropriateGuidelines.aspx Plan on taking the Are You as Smart as an Eagle Scout? quiz in the January 2010 Scroll. Brought to you by your Risk Management Committee

Stosh, The references are used by the Board of Review to evaluate requirement #2. So the question is did this Scout "Demonstrate that you live by the principles of the Scout Oath and Law in your daily life"? If the answer is YES then write a recomendation to the affirmative. It need not be a glowing review. If the anwer is NO then talk to the Scout and let him know what you feel. The Scout then has two options. He could agree to your terms or he could insist on having his Board of Review now. If he insists on having his Board of Review now you would then write a letter listing why he has not met the requirement. The fate of his Eagle will be in the hands of the Board of Review. In any of these cases you have fullfilled your obligation as Scoutmaster. So first question for you is do you feel the Scout has met the requirement: "Demonstrate that you live by the principles of the Scout Oath and Law in your daily life"?

From the Guide to Safe Scouting: "Single-room or dormitory-type accommodations for Scouting units: Adults and youth of the same gender may occupy dormitory or single-room accommodations, provided there is a minimum of two adults and four youth. A minimum of one of the adults is required to be youth-protection trained. Adults must establish separation barriers or privacy zones such as a temporary blanket or sheet walls in order to keep their sleeping area and dressing area separated from the youth area." Sounds like an issue for your group.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I think evmori summed it up well. I pretty much knew this before posting but I wanted to give an example of how Scouting urban legends begin. I plan to do some outdoor cooking with my Bear Den. It will be interesting what fellow leaders will say about this now that this has been published in our Council's newsletter. They plan to have a similar article in November dealing with Boy Scouts. I will post that as well. It should be interesting to see what they have to say.

The following is from my council's newsletter. So all you mythbusters go at it... Are you as Smart as a Webelos? 1. Cub Scouts can use power drills. True___ False___ 2. Citronella fl uid can be used to start campfi res. True___ False___ 3. Bears and Webelos can do outdoor cooking. True___ False___ 4. Webelos 2 can use propane stoves. True___ False___ 5. Tiger Cubs can go horseback riding. True__ False___ If you answered TRUE to any of the above questions, please say the following sentence out loud: I am not as smart as a Webelos! Have you read your Age Appropriate Guidelines information sheet lately? Download one at http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/Age-AppropriateGuidelines.aspx Plan on taking our Are you as Smart as a First Class Scout? in the November Scroll. Brought to you by your Risk Management Committee

From the Guide to Safe Scouting in BOLD print: "Except for law enforcement officers required to carry firearms within their jurisdiction, firearms shall not be brought on camping, hiking, backpacking, or other Scouting activities except those specifically planned for target shooting under the supervision of a currently certified BSA or National Rifle Association firearms instructor." Let him have a choice. He and is son can either participate in the Troop activity or they can go do their own thing and not show up to the campout at all.

No problem Lisabob, I was under the impression that it was Swedish as well but researched it when I heard it was being awarded in Oslo. - A fellow ignorant worm (and proud of it)

Actually the Peace Prize is selected by 5 members selected by the Norwegian Parliment and is awarded in Oslo, Norway. The remaining Nobel Prizes are all based in Sweden.

Ahhh Lutefisk... Going against my heritage I boycotted this long ago. What were my ancesters thinking. But I will never let go of my Lefse. Noble Peace Prize or not.

After doing extensive repairs to the troops tent zippers... "Scouts must completely unzip the doors when going in or out of a tent." Prior to that I was amazed at the size of openings they could fit them selves through.