RememberSchiff

As far as camping night disparity, consider the distance disparity among the group Swimming, Hiking, and Cycling - 250 yards, 50 miles, 150 mile road bike or 52 miles trail.

Couldn't happen here. My understanding 1. The BSA disallows scouts from wearing the scout uniform while attending a political rally with the exception of briefly serving as color guard. 2. The stated reason that I have read over the years is because it might be interpreted as a BSA endorsement of some party or position. I have not read that "scout safety" was a reason. Q: Why is this the rule? A: The policy is meant to prevent someone from using our brand to convey support of a candidate or ideology. This prevents Scouts from being used by any party in campaign advertisements or materials. http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2016/07/22/can-packs-troops-teams-or-crews-participate-in-political-rallies/ Sadly, maybe this should be reconsidered.

In part, I am drawing this idea from high school outdoor clubs, Outward Bound, AMC. They tend to go on fewer but more adventurous outings. Seems to work for them.

So add to Backpacking 1. Must have the rank of First Class Scout or higher.* * I would add this to Camping, Cooking, Hiking,...

I am wondering if today's scouts would prefer a few adventure treks than repeated low adventure car camping. This is not a new idea to allow required merit badge selection in a "group" category. Current selection groups Hiking or Cycling or Swimming Lifesaving or Emergency Preparedness Environmental Science or Sustainability As Camping merit badge encourages attendance at summer camp, Backpacking could encourage trekking at area HA, eg. Maine High Adventure. My $0.02

The reporter likely went with the first sentence in wiki.

A similar thing happened here, no notice, he just didn't show. Parents questioned his service to the community, but the public school rubber approved. Very un-cool.

Around here, weekend campouts are being replaced with Saturday overnighters - a 7am Sat to 10am Sun activity. Everyone is over-scheduled. Camping is becoming one of the last merit badges that our Eagle candidates complete.

Will we first see a female Chief Scout Executive, a female National President, or a female U.S. President?

Good points. Our Catholic schools still do speed arithmetic drills (100 problem sheets), memorize multiplication tables, no calculators,.. For my older son, Catholic class size was smaller from elementary school through high school (12-16 Catholic vs 28 public). Private schools have a huge discipline advantage - they do not have to take or keep your child enrolled. Don't follow the rules - good bye. Our lay teachers were all ex-public teachers who took a huge pay cut to teach in a safer environment. His high school took an enrollment hit when the sports director was fired. He was more popular and "winning" than the whole administration, BUT he hired great coaches who cursed and maybe did some recruiting, like Notre Dame. Now the high school no longer had a sports director who knew all the college AD's on the East Coast. No sense paying Catholic tuition if a college sports scholarship is less likely. My $0.02

Tip: Be sure scout wears the NEW unit number on uniform left sleeve.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/czech-girl-scout-whose-confrontation-neo-nazis-went-viral-now-n756076 I removed her name -RS The Czech Interior Ministry says that police are taking steps to ensure the security of a Girl Scout after a photo showing her confronting a neo-Nazi group went viral. The ministry's Center Against Terrorism and Hybrid Threats says the move was prompted by threats against the 16-year-old student, which included lynching, that appeared on Facebook. The teenager was among about 300 protesters who confronted a rally of the far-right Workers Party of Social Justice on May Day in the country's second-largest city of Brno. At one point, she was photographed facing up to one of about 150 supporters of the fringe party. Pavla Velickinova, a spokeswoman for the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington, D.C., told NBC News Sunday, "The most important thing really is that the police took [the threats] seriously from the very first moment," He also said the girl was worried by the threats of violence and appreciated the move taken by police. The scout organization, Junák Äeský skaut, said it did not have any details on the threats, but pointed to Czech media reports that a Facebook page was allegedly created titled "I support public lynching of the Girl Scout ..." Lukas Neuheisl, a spokesperson for the organization, said the group received a Facebook message physically threatening all of their scouts after the her confrontation photo went viral. "Information about her such as the school she attends and her Scout Troop, are public," Neuheisl said. "So I think these concerns [about her safety] are legitimate." Much to discuss with scouts here,

Agree about scandals. Cost too. Are vouchers coming? Another is a lack of services and accommodations (transportation, IEP and 504's). Around here IMO, Catholic education is one size fits all. Two or more schools close and a new school is opened. Kansas City closed two suburban elementary schools and opened an urban school. http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article57111728.html

Welcome to scouter.com.

Ok, why not transfer with a partial Camping blue card to that other troop?

Welcome to scouter.com Who is your son's merit counselor for Camping Merit Badge from back in 2013? Is it the Scoutmaster? If not the SM, this discussion should be with the Merit Badge Counselor.

Uggh another camp, but note the Council response. http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Boy-scouts-get-hands-on-experience-in-soil-and-water-conservation-421542233.html ANCHORAGE (KTUU) A group of nearly 150 boy scouts are getting hands on lessons in conservation of soil and water along with survival skills this weekend at Tozier Track. It's part of an annual camporee session that takes place three times a year. Ben Fish, camping chairman for the Great Alaska Council said it's a chance to unite local troops. "It's important in that it gives an opportunity for all of the boys from the different troops throughout the Anchorage area and through the valley to come together, get to know scouts in other troops," Fish said. Eagle Scouts like Puck Van Dommelen said they're also learning to lead by example. "Boy Scouts has helped me a lot with my leadership skills, learning to organize projects similar to this," Van Dommelen said. Leaders said while the scouts who are attending the camp are getting valuable experiences, they're seeing declining membership in Boy Scouts of America. The Great Alaska Council voted in December to close Camp Carlquist near Chugiak, citing funding challenges, under-performing popcorn sales and declining camp attendance. In a letter to its scouters and volunteers, the council said it would re-open the camp once membership and attendance improves. ... According to its website, Great Alaska Council has 3 other camps in operation: Camp Gorsuch, Eagle River Scout Camp, and Denali High Adventure Scout Base. Good luck with that approach.

Without an increasing number of first generation, non-Catholic students, our local Catholic high school would close. Their parents prioritize paying the tuition for a safe and disciplined academic environment that is found less often in public schools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TIbK8aaBK4

What a cool activity from Northern Star Council https://scoutingevent.com/250-dronetech2017 Northland Aerospace and Pathfinder will host a special STEM event at Base Camp Saturday, May 20th 9am - 3:30pm Each Boy Scout or Venturer will choose a specific discipline for the day from some of the coolest technologies available anywhere, including Drone Building, Geospatial Imagery Analysis, and some incredible surprises you won't want to miss. STEM DISCIPLINES FOR BOY SCOUTS or VENTURERS Drone Building (Limited to 40): Work in a group of 5 to build some of the most sophisticated drones out there. Trained, experienced guides will help you along the way. Geospatial Imagery Analysis (Limited to 20): Get hands on experience with geospatial imagery software. Drone Flight School (Limited to 20): Get a "crash course" on drone flying. You will work to master flying and complete an obstacle course. Composite Materials (Limited to 5): Work with a 3D printer to create some composite printouts during the day.

We challenged our PLC to camp at all scout camps within a 2 hour drive. In the last 3 years, they have camped at seven different camps, two of which are now in danger of closing. It stimulates concern in them. Of course, it is a coincidence that those 2 camps have the most real estate value.

The rush now? Maybe the World Jamboree coming here.

Spin and Marty takes me back (here he goes a again). A scout with a paper route could pay his own way to scout camp, no Scout Bucks, George Washington's. I did. On the books, I made just a few cents a week per customer, but I had one of the smaller routes with less than 40 customers. Customers wavered with the editorial policy. The key was saving my Christmas tips. My troop never went to camp, just a 2 to 4 scouts went in summer. We thought "Provo" was Indian for "poor". There were more rivalries between troops back then, and all troops dumped on Provo. All week there was trash talk and pranks, then the Patrol Olympics. This is where the Patrol Method shined. In a few days we had to form a patrol that could compete with the well-established patrols of our rivals. Since none of us had been to camp before, we had to find out what the events were and prepare. Our merit badge work took a hit, but then provo's led the camp in partials. Each event had to be completed before a patrol could proceed to the next. Also, you had to rotate members so whoever started the fire in the last event could not draw the bow in the next. First patrol to finish all events won. That was us, Provo Roadrunner Patrol. Felt great. My Dad picked me up on Sat and noticed my upbeat mood. So how many merit badges did you earn? I just got partials Dad. He wasn't happy but shrugged it off. Well your money.

I had not considered that. I checked the Charter Agreement and while the Council is obligated to provide camping opportunities, the Charter Organization is not required to accept those opportunities. So much for my idea.

Regarding "camp finances", my understanding is that camps are not their own separate cost centers. Council takes in camp revenue, year round, and parcels it out to various Council departments. Is that correct? If so, I wonder what percentage actually goes to the camp? My guess, Council overhead is greater than camp maintenance.