Basementdweller

I posted the link for Jay, guess you didn't notice it was three beads No beading ceremony....not my style.

Wow that is really sad bordering on tragic. If you must have them here they are. http://www.ebay.com/itm/AFRICIAN-WOOD-BADGE-BEADS-3-BEADS-/380391016860?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item589112499c It is all about the bead Looks like my beads will be coming from ebay as well, being stonewalled by my Ticket Councilor. He is too busy to get with me and go over my ticket. I will give it another week and call the CD and ask to be assigned another one. Ya know, I am not going to waste $14 on bead, my scouthood or dedication is not measured by knots or badges.....Mine is measured by the growing Pack and troop and the smiles on the boys faces.

Eagle who said the LNT would cost anything?????

Need a Leave no Trace Trainer I might know one who is willing to travel

I don't pretend to be anything more than I am........ My boys both in the Pack and Troop are the most important thing in my scouting world. I will no longer waste my time on scouting other than my home units. I am no saint, I will not have district, council or anyone tell me NO when it comes to my boys an program. I will follow the rules and guidelines set by the BSA. I have thumbed my nose at the district......Haven't been to round table in 3 months now.......The stress I was under is gone. In the district and councils eyes, I am positive they view me as a trouble maker and a pain in the behind. Who cares I am not breaking any rules...... For those who know my opinion of the JTE.....we scored 2150 on it if I remember correctly. We did not score max points on webelos crossing over, I lost too many to sports and other interests.

We have a few over parenting........ Most of my boys come from neglect, mom works till 6 and they are home a lone from 3-6 and all summer on their own. Mom is also looking to date, so they are also often alone friday night or saturday night...

I was a farm kid growing up....drove tractors from the time I could reach the pedals and the farm truck at 11....I had mini bikes at 7, dirt bikes at 10 and 3 wheelers at 15. I know they are a blast, but I also know what I did riding it in the wood lot and to some fields....I also know how much money I spent keeping my equipment going.....Now I accept that it was very used when I bought it, but I spent every penny on repairing it......maybe that was my parents design???????????? The point is some kids will be ready and mature enough to handle it, others will not. I think other than legal ramifications, it is irrelevant who is the instructor, I have had horrible 60 year olds and I have had fantastic 10 year olds. just sayin

So, Skeptic and OGE...... Is it against the scout oath and promise to wonder how it is going to pay for itself?????? Not trashing the program, just asking questions........ how many acres will be consumed by the program????? I am going to bet that all of the mufflers and emissions will be kept in a stock state this will keep the noise down, well they will be quieter than the rifle range. I have no experience with jet skis beyond seeing the fools getting killed on our states waterways every summer. Usually speed and alcohol are involved.

es your council have accounts for units to keep money in for Scout Shop expenditures, dues, etc? If so; YES Do you get a statement on a regular basis (monthly or quarterly)? NO Does council have the capability to withdraw money without notifying the unit? YES, but the COR,SE and DE had a discussion about it and it will never happen to our unit again. It involved the DE removing money to cover apps. Have you ever had a problem with a council unit account? Yes again involving the DE removing money without permission.

In a nutshell SM's don't want anything to do with the OA because it has the potential to divert an active Leader position boy into something else scouting. Getting a decent youth leadership core is hard enough with out offering something else that would occupy his time. Maybe it is time the OA is put to out to pasture???????

We beavah.......I deal with boys who have been taught bad habits by non custodial dad in regards to firearms. ATV's are no different. So someone who participated......tell me about the trails and how big much of the camp they had access to????

If anyone in scouting told me to leave an event because I simply wasn't allowed to see it and raised his voice to me........I would have already pushed record on my phone and the next call would be to the Scout executive. I would have that person, youth or adult removed from scouting, just that simple. Of course I now understand the rules and homy don't play that game no more. The Order of the Arrow ain't that special

I forgot to add all three boys are very active and exceed their peers on everything we do. Rarely miss a meeting or event.

Accessing scout accounts with out permission is very bad policy and should not be done. As pointed out send an email out or have your den leaders call and tell them effective January 1 their scout may not attend any more den meetings until their registration fee is paid and a new application is filed. OR they can pay their registration fee now and avoid the application. If you pay their recharter fee chances are you will get stuck with a few and also register a couple of boys who are no longer interested in being members. Far as the Journey to excellence goes......Who flipin cares???? It is a way for your District Executive to earn his bonus. Besides it is only one line on the form.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

A case study...... Hispanic family of 8 both parents work. Grandma lives with them disabled....They do not drive new cars or have smartphones. Mom works at the corner hispanic market, dad does some sort of day labor. They claim an income of $24k. They have three cub age boys, they participated in popcorn sales at the storefront and sold door to door. Do you help them out??????

I was the second adult at this years camp..... I saw my scout at meals.....I saw him at the water front when I was fishing.....I saw him run by the swimming pool while I was enjoying the adult swim. He always seemed to show up when I was getting a slushy at the trading post......Never figured that one out. So I would end up buying him and his buddy a slushy. makes me smile even now.

You want to know why OA is so secretive??????? If the boys getting snookered into joining "Scouting's Honor Society" he doesn't want to know all he will be doing is working for the council and maybe trading patches. That was my experience.....We setup resident camp and then the candidates would tear it down. Now ArrowCorp sounded really neat and would have been fun. But it was well after my time. I understand but that it is about joyful service, but is that it???????

I have had some very bad experiences with boys on full scholarships.....they rarely last a year. A few questions to you. How long has he been a member of your troop???? In my eyes it makes a difference. New boy....our troop would require him to pay a minimum half of his fees. A scout with a couple year history may get a free ride or significant help especially if he has a great record of attendance and a positive attitude. Participation for both is mandatory in fund raising... No fundraising no help. Far as mental or physical issues are irrelevant in my eyes if the first two requirements are met.

Beavah.....you can't honestly believe that a troop program of ATV's will be safer and better than the councils??????? It might be better because you can actually take a trip and camp in a backcountry area designated for ORV recreation as a troop....... ASM's and Scouts of means showing up with $15k quads. How long before camporees become quad rodeos????? I know a number of very testosterone laden ASM's who already own very expensive quads that are capable of speeds near 80 mph. So you think adult scouters and scouts can get lost on foot????? Put them on a motorized vehicle and see how lost they can get.......Bad manners in the back country on foot...on ATV's it will be worse yet..... I like the idea, just not sure how it is going to get paid for...

I don't know what the magic number is......I believe 6 but I don't know for sure the COR attempted to recharter and let us know we didn't have enough youth. My daughter is only 9 and is the mascot for lack of a better label. The other advisers daughters are 10, 11 and 8. This is mainly Troop members sisters. She backpacks, hikes and rapels with the best of them. She is more adventurous than scout son.

While the initial ATV's were donated. I don't believe that Honda or suzuki is going to donate 5,000 atv's to the BSA for camps acrossed the country. The camps that did not participate in the trial will have to purchase them. $25 dollar up charge is very reasonable but I don't think you can keep the program afloat doing that. Our council camps are in horrible shape, needing new kybos, shower houses and swimming pools repaired. So now we are adding ATV maintenance and trail maintenance to the equation. A question for those who participated in the program or had boys who did.......Where were the trails and how much of the camp did they consume????? This has nothing to do with I didn't do it as a scout......

A decent ATV is about $5k.....Say you have 10 boys a week for the 6 week camp season who pay $300 each for the program. That is only $18k per year for $50k worth of ATV's.....That doesn't include maintenance, break downs and fuel....... I don't have any idea how the program can pay for itself.

that would be for the new ATV trails

Well that will make summer camp too expensive for my boys. They might as well make it legal the troops at the summer camp we were at were racing around on gators and golf carts.

It is irrelevant, the crew does not have enough paying members to recharter this coming year. We just need youth to recruit youth. I think the youth in the crew want the adults to do all the planning and they just show up to an event.