RememberSchiff

Thanks. I couldn't help but notice have well beehaved members were during the hive's stay in I&P.

Hillsborough, NJ Boy Scouts from Troop 1776 who will soon become bee caretakers once the Queen Bee and her colony are settled into their hive. Members of the Hillsborough (NJ) Rotary built the park compound where the hives will be located and protected by an eight-foot fence. Scouts are busy working with the Rotary to refurbish and paint the compound's utility building and the slats that form the hive framework. Eventually, the hives are expected to produce sufficient honey to cover yearly costs. More at link. https://www.tapinto.net/categories/news/articles/hillsborough-rotary-turns-over-bee-hive-project-t Arrggh, I have no idea how this ended up in Issues & Politics.

Machetes are ok.

Yeah mergers. When asked about the drop in membership, I have heard more than one council SE respond. "Oh no our council has expanded and we have MORE members than..."

Perhaps I missed it, but I have found no BSA documentation stating that a scout MUST wear MB's on a sash, sleeve, or anywhere else? Could a scout just keep his merit badges in a box and skip the sash?

Tahawk: Not what we have seen here. Don't get me started on scheduling our troop program AROUND OA weekends. Ever notice where "hassle" ends up in Scouting? Not at Council, OA, Crew, Summer Camp, scouts, parents,...

T How about this instead, if a scout wants to stay active in OA, he must plan and lead a troop campout to a new location listed in OA Camp directory. The SM would then send a letter when a successful campout had been completed by scout. No letter from SM, OA membership canceled.

There is a difference. In my experience, our older scouts spend their time with older scouts in OA but return to the troop mostly to finish their Eagle and little else. OA can have them. Set it up that a scout who joined OA would have his unit membership transferred to his OA lodge. The scout could then seek Eagle through his OA lodge similar to a Venture Crew. My grumpy $0.02,

Ah, I see you have been through our "ordeal", welcome to the Order of Grouchy Old Guys*. We chant "OGeezOGeez" whenever we lose one of our prime older scouts to OA. *Note: We now accept women scouters who are Grouchy Old Gals.

I have used a Thermacell appliance/holster which has worked fairly well. I want to try these new Kite patches which are due 2016. http://www.kitepatch.com/ For scouts, as long as it is not a spray, sunscreen and repellents are parent's call. For myself, I prefer to steer away from lotions. The frequency of re-applying, safety, and long-term unknowns are concerns. Mosquitoes and ticks sure have gotten scarier.

Definitely a lot of questions to ask. Did the bank or customer have any limits/safeguards on transfers from that checking account, e.g., total amount of transfer, number of transfers/day, transfer destination,..? I doubt the CO or troop will ever know for sure. I wasn't aware of the 1 day reporting restriction. Ouch. My $0.02 and it's staying under my mattress,

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, Long Island (WABC) -- A troop of Boy Scouts on Long Island became the victims of a scammer who stole nearly $10,000 from their checking account. Troop 517 in Rockville Centre works hard to raise money for their trips. It took almost a year to save up nearly $10,000, but only a few seconds for someone to steal it out of the scout account at Astoria Bank. The troop leaders were shocked to see their balance wiped out by a wire transfer to another account at another bank. They learned someone scammed the scout account number and used it to pay off a credit card in Europe. The second shocker, a little-known rule; business and charity account holders have just 1 business/banking day to report fraud to their bank. Since the scouts didn't report it for weeks, their claim was denied. The scoutmasters appealed to the bank but got nowhere even the Boy Scout sponsor was losing faith. "So many people put up roadblocks and I thought it was a lost cause," Pastor David Grainson said. [Channel] 7 on your Side was prepared for the challenge, we asked Astoria [bank] to take a second look and, hopefully, reconsider. Scoutmaster, Barry Goldman gave the good news, "Today, as of today all of our money has been restored." Astoria [bank] said the generous gesture was a courtesy to the local Boy Scouts, even though the bank tried but couldn't recover their stolen funds. And they surprised [Channel 7] Nina Pineda by making her an honorary junior scoutmaster! (Hmm, first of course, she would be made an Honorary Scout ) Now the scouts have their funds to make their scheduled scout trip to Williamsburg after all. http://abc7ny.com/news/boy-scouts-need-help-after-bank-fraud/1242236/

Almost, BOTH involve picking up trash dumped by said "others" in the community, but only ONE group IS UNIFORMED. The inmates wear orange jumpsuits, so the two service groups are easily distinguishable.

My meaning of neighborhood was "local" to scout so as there is a rather direct benefit to "scout" and his family. Clearing the fire hydrant across the street benefits your neighborhood and the scout. A neighborhood is usually a small subset of a community. I suppose if your town is so small that the neighborhood is the town, maybe the scout is a Lone Scout? Anyway semantics aside, I want my scouts to start thinking outside of their neighborhoods towards the needs of their community, then nation, and world.

A service project should teach citizenship, i.e.,what we as scouts can do for our community. There's a difference between being a good neighbor and being a good citizen. Doing a Good Turn ("does not provide a benefit to the general public"} in a Private Community where YOU live is being a good neighbor. Shoveling out the fire hydrant on your street is being a good neighbor. Doing a Good Turn for your Whole Community is being a good citizen and more in the scout spirit of helping others. Put another way, as SM/ASM, I and anyone else should be able to go see the finished work and perhaps benefit. I don't want to visit And the sign said, Anybody caught trespassin' would be shot on sight http://www.yccbsa.org/OrgHeaders/406/Service%20Project%20Guidelines.pdf

No. It would be akin to a scout picking up trash in his backyard. Try raking and cleaning up a community park or school. You might connect with a local garden club and do some planting. Earth Day is a couple of weeks away. Hope this helps.

Can wind up with gastric distress. An adult planned a culinary surprise on a recent outing. All he would say was it would be made only from raw ingredients using a dutch oven. The rest of us focused elsewhere so as not to spoil his surprise. Well SURPRISE he didn't make it to lunch. He had abdominal pain and nausea. He mentioned he had coffee. a powerbar, and a few beans at breakfast. What beans? Friday night, he emptied a bag of raw kidney beans into a dutch oven and added water to soak beans overnite. The next morning he sampled some beans before adding more water and placing the oven on some coals. He skipped rinsing beans before soaking and draining and rinsing beans after soaking and before cooking. So he ate raw beans, raw kidney beans, and learned the hard way that beans must be cooked before consuming! Here's a link to explain food poisoning caused by lectin in beans. Kidney beans are particularly bad. He was rather lucky. http://chemistry.about.com/b/2014/02/05/hemagglutinin-and-food-poisoning-from-beans.htm Beans are not the magical fruit that we sing praises. They need to be cooked.

I don't see a problem with either. I found no specification as who the adults have to be. Now, there have been issues with high school graduation service projects being framed as Eagle projects. Locally the powers that be follow the old "nod and a wink and don't make a stink". Like Stosh, I mostly lean on a shovel but I watch like a hawk for safety concerns and I occasionally run interference on some adults.

I hope the striked (by me) sentence has finally disappeared! The Eagle Scout service project provides the opportunity for the Eagle Scout candidate to demonstrate the leadership skills he has learned in Scouting. He does the project outside the sphere of Scouting.

Uncheck everything in your profile Notification Preferences and good-bye PM's.

Scouts have died on campouts, canoe trips, hikes, tree falls, swimming.... We learn from mistakes, educate and train ourselves to be prepared for the risks that life presents. What is the current marketing slogan Prepared for Life? Or it that BS? It is tragic that a scout died falling off a ladder, in whitewater rapids, from self-afflicted gunshot wounds, screwing around with hand sanitizer, lightning strike. But many, many more scouts were taught by adults how to safely face those risks, how to setup a work area, properly use materials and tools, and first aid. Sure it is safer to opt-out of every new challenge; let someone else lead the path for the wagon train west, explore Antarctica, or go to the Moon. Those someones used to be called scouts. My $0.02

Doesn't apply, any more than Child Labor daily/weekly time limits apply to school extracurricular activities. No one is doing these tasks as a requirement of employment. My sons also remove/install screens and recaulk windows while up on ladders. Teach boys to work safely and to safely use tools.

"New for 2016, the Cradle of Liberty Council will be offering the opportunity for units to apply for membership grants to support unit recruitment and retention efforts." Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Varsity Scout teams, Venturing crews, and Sea Scout ships are eligible to apply through their unit leader (Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, coach, advisor, or skipper) and unit committee chair. Grants are to assist with expenses related to membership that might not otherwise qualify for financial assistance. Projects must have measurable outcomes. Units that have their grant applications approved by the council membership committee will be awarded a maximum of $500 per year. More conditions here. https://www.colbsa.org/rocket-into-scouting/membership/membership-grants.html Are other councils offering this financial help?

With my permission, my 16 yr old did the same project (but different beneficiary) by himself for school graduation service hours. It's the BSA, not the state, school, or church that is the nancy here.

Yeah 60/70's. The main emphasis was it was YOUR project start to finish. You were not helping with some existing service. There was no template, workbook, advisor nor was there any need. As desertrat77 stated, paperwork was minimal but your paper had to be neat and legible. There was no requirement that you lead others, the labor could be performed by the scout himself. Your service to the community and your work ethic were key. With permission, I used power tools on site just as I did at home and school. Job site preparation, safety, and cleanup were questions asked at my board. Adult labor was minimal as in driving. P.S. I forgot, I also used ladders. I doubt my project would be approved today. Too many no-no's.