RememberSchiff

State parks around here do not allow scout-age teens to camp without an adult. http://nysparks.com/publications/documents/NYSParksRulesRegulations.pdf No person under the age of 18 will be permitted to camp unless accompanied and supervised by a person 18 years of age or older who has been issued a permit; provided, however, that at such facilities as may be designated by the commissioner, no camping permit will be issued to any person under the age of 21. http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/recreational-activities/massparks-camping-info-generic.html Customers must be 18 years or older to make a reservation. Photo ID is required upon registration at the campground. http://www.nhstateparks.org/experience/camping/camping-policies.aspx A camping permit or reservation shall not be issued to anyone under 18 years old. Minors must be accompanied by an adult who accepts all responsibility for the camping party. http://www.vtstateparks.com/pdfs/rule_current.pdf The designated head of the camping party staying overnight on the site must be at least 18 years of age and is responsible for the conduct of all campers and visitors on the site Add to that, that many parks now use online reservation services which require a credit card. Never had those restrictions back in the day when I was a scout planning campouts, just typed a letter and mailed it (with cash) to the park ranger,

From what I have read of California legal actions and its system perhaps this is a "good start".

In this IRS matter, if the unit does not follow the rules, they are not at risk. The legal risk is borne unknowingly by the Charter Organization and then later by the parents of those scouts with SA's. Blindsided.

Returns are often deeply discounted. At a REI yard sale, I scored a pair of returned Merrell Moab's for less than $13! Like you, I need wide and these were not, but it was the start of an interesting experiment. The fit was tight on the plus side it mitigated my plantar fasciitis pain so I could go the distance, on the negative side colder feet from constricted circulation and inability to wear thicker socks. YMMV.

It's okay to step back or step out. Why not spend more time with your family and son, doesn't have to be scouting related either. This time and opportunity will not come again.

I also find adults struggle with the Uniform method Well, 1. There was no Uniform Method prior to 1982...just 7 methods of Scouting before then. 2. The uniform is still optional. 3. A scout is a scout whether he is wearing the uniform or not. 3. The Aims of Scouting can be achieved without uniforms.

Is Hillcourt's Handbook for Patrol Leaders (1944?) public domain?

No surprise coming from a military man. On the other hand, Seton was more focused on woodcraft and Indian lore than military customs. I have seen photos of Seton wearing functional outdoor clothing of the day, I have yet to see a photo of him wearing a scout uniform beyond perhaps a campaign hat. Perhaps others have. I have wondered about Seton's opinion on uniforming. Seton served as Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of America from 1910 until 1915. As his daughter put it, ‘Seton did not like the military aspects of Scouting, and Scouting did not like the Native American emphasis of Seton. With WW I, the militarists won, and Seton resigned from Scouting’ http://www.inquiry.net/traditional/seton/woodcraft/index.htm http://infed.org/mobi/ernest-thompson-seton-and-woodcraft/. My $0.02

That's the situation now which is not working well. Scouts leave, things disappear (often after a campout which steward did not attend), and then matters quickly go downhill, hence our simple request for storage space from CO.

My garage is a blue tarp.

News to me too. I attended a couple of Seeger's performances in the 70's and enjoyed them. He always seem to have a contagious optimism about him. I appreciated his concern for the environment and cheered his battles with General Electric and Dylan going electric Some other forums that I follow have dissed him as a "commie", so I did some research and surprise! I haven't been that surprised since I read Steve Jobs bio and learned Jobs dated Joan Baez. Strange world. My $0.01 P.S. If I were to judge Seeger harshly on anything, it would be his (and the Weavers?) bringing back Kumbaya. Ugh!

At age 7, Pete Seeger started reading Ernest Thompson Seton. "I read every single book by nature writer Ernest Thompson Seton when I was a kid". More than 80 years after he was given that first book, he was still crediting Seton's influence "[seton] boosted the idea of learning about the North American Indians. I learned that they shared everything that they had... There was no such thing as one person in the tribe going hungry and others having full bellies... That seemed to me to be a sensible way to live. Now today I know that anthropologists call that tribal communism. So I say that I was a Communist ever since I was age seven, when I first started reading about Seton." http://www.littleredumbrella.com/201...r-toronto.html In another interview, Seeger recalled reading Seton's Rolf in the Woods as a boy. It's available on Gutenberg and from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Rolf-Woods-Adventures-Indian-Skookum/dp/1620873869/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390958613&sr=1-1&keywords=Rolf+in+the+Woods

Hah, back in the day, your council was not stated on your uniform. Instead of a council patch, scouts wore red "community strips" with white lettering. The top was your town and the bottom was your state. Scouts take notice of "where you from" and not what council are you in.

When scout leaders will not talk (cop an atteeetood) to me (bad cop?), they will usually talk to another ASM or two (good cop?). Maybe at next meeting, say the PLC will be debriefed by ASM Mr. TooEasy and Mr.Softee, afterwards compare notes with those ASM's and go from there. Might be interesting to have the PLC take feedback from the scouts too. Sorry to hear about this nonsense. My $0.01

Not religious, They have chartered this troop for years as "a service to the community". No argument there and thank you. My previous troop had a church as CO, still mostly hands-off, but their cooperation was much better As mentioned we do the spring cleanup and a few service/Eagle scout project as they suggest. Currently no children of CO are members of our troop despite our recruiting efforts. Maybe we could more proactive with service projects. We have suggested building a storage shed on their property at our expense and received a firm "NO". They do not see storage as their responsibility, and I wish the Charter Agreement explicitly stated this. There is a wild rumor the some members of the CO are inclined to donate "their new found camping gear" to a local charter school outing club. Some children of the CO attend that school and maybe it would be a tax deduction too. Personally, I don't believe this.

Writ of habeas corpus was first suspended during the Civil War which would incarcerate many Americans without charges, without trial. Sorry to say, it has been repeated several times since. Sorry no liberty for you and your family George Takei, welcome to life in horse stables at a war relocation center (WW2).

We do a yearly spring cleanup for them. They provide 0 storage*. We are hoping the inventory list might persuade them to find storage, then again they might have other plans as in so long. They have been a hands-off CO and are perhaps annoyed by this discussion, as they believe they are fulfilling the "agreement". *Well not 100% correct as they do allow us to store our flags in a janitor closet.

We are going through rechartering and there has been some frank discussions. Reference the Charter Organization agreement. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/membership/pdf/524-182_web.pdf Unit: We need storage place for unit gear, which btw you own!! CO: So find/rent space, we are not required to provide storage. Unit: Yes your are. CO: Here's the agreement, we are only required to provide facilities for you to meet. There is no mention of storage! Unit: Well, um, well um CO: About the unit gear, you say we own the tents, stoves, etc Unit: Yes CO: We would like an inventory of that gear. Unit: Um, okay.

I agree but that scout virtue "do your best as service to others" often is not shared by controlling parents who feel "do your share and in fairness, others should too".

With the individual incentive removed, will units set stricter rules for member fundraiser participation, make do with a projected decrease in funds raised, use pay as you go, allow families to "opt-out" of fundraising?

Well maybe third time was the charm?

Well I agree with you, the Aims are clear enough without the corporate management speak. The Vision statement also shortchanges the Aims of Scouting. "The Boy Scouts of America will prepare every eligible youth in America to become a responsible, participating citizen and leader who is guided by the Scout Oath and Law." I would drop both the Mission and Vision statements and focus on the Aims which is what we should be doing. My $0.02

I have made calls to my Council and they know nothing about this. I would think distribution of this policy paper would have a High Priority. Clearly, if a unit continues with Individual Scout Accounts and gets their CO in trouble with the IRS, neither will get any help from National.

I see your point about unit fundraising dying. There has been a small but growing Pay-as-you-go/Thrifty movement in our unit for a number of reasons.

The first link http://www.fmaynard.com/scouting/archives/2511 , the Bobwhite Blather blog asks some interesting questions about impact and implementation. I think a big change will occur in high adventure attendance. I think it will be mostly troops and fewer council contingents. I see fewer individual scouts/families using their savings to join a council contingent troop. Hope I'm wrong. My $0.01