scomman

If Texas calims special staus as a former nation then how about Califronia or Hawaii which are also former nations shouldn't they get special treatment also?

My trusty Hickory hiking stick not a scout stave but a homemade one and a cotton sheet for my sleeping bag for thereasons listed above and a bottle of Advil for obvious reasons.

We restarted a troop with 2 leaders and 3 boys. We receuited heavily and now have 8 registered adults and 8 boys. The offical answer from our council was this was adequate to start the troop as long as we had the support of our CO.

It's scoman not SctMom. anyway what we have done is to move the adult tents away from the boys and let the boys have their own campsite close by but away from the fire ring. That way the adults can stay up and talk as well as go over the program for the next day.

We do the night hike when the kids are still a bit rowdy and have even had to change of tent assignments once to get a rowdy tent to quiet down. But we have also recieved complaints of the leaders beng to loud.

My scout troop uses a permission slip that has a medical release form on the bottom for us to seek medical attention for the boy in case of accident and illness.We do try to notify the parents but sometimes we are several hours away from home and have all the medical forms and records with us but the form is just a reminder of date and time we are leaving and are kept in a folder in the GTSS. We are required to have written permission slips for any outing by our CO as part of a youth program they have called "Safe From Harm"

I always thought all troops met year round. At least all the ones I have been involved in have even as a Scout. We go to a reduced meeting schedule of every other week and meet at tother locations beside our regular meeting places. Then we concentrate on outdoor activities during the sumer and long term camping last year we got 20 days of camping in the summer. It was fun and our troop went to South Dakota and to Tennessee and enjoyed it. WE do take the month of December off because all of the leaders are involved in the Bell Ringing campaign for our charter partner.

I work for The Salvation Army as a jack of all trades and master of none. I primarily work as a office professional and coordinate volunteers for different programs including Christmas Kettles, Homeless Feeding and organizing speakers for various United Way campaigns.

Thanks I will give them a try

Anyone know where we can find replacement poles for Eureka 4xt tents. We have called campmor and they have them for $13.00 each we need about 8 of them and am looking for a cheaper price.

I put my answer as very supportive due to the fact that my troop is chartered to The Salvation army and they have in the past given us a donation every year for our budget in return for us doing several projects for them throughout the year. We are also a successful program for them to reach out into a very transient neighborhood to be a force for good. They appreciate us and we appreciate them

Lord Baden Powell said "that without faith you cannot become a good citizen." That is a qute that is used by the International Scouting Movment in a report on their webiste about religion in scouting. The basis of religion in scouting has been there from the beginning and is an intregal part of the scout movement. I believe that if a boy is searchingfor God I will not turn him away from thetroop just he is huntig for God. On the otherhand if a Boy stands up in a meeting ad declares that he cannot deal with the promise because of the Duty To God or part or the last point of the law Reverent then I would seriously ask him to consider what the point means to him.

We had a fundraiser in my Council last year when the Norman Rockwell exhibit came to town and several troops were asked to provide Honor Guards for the paintings. Anyway to make a long story short The Adults that were present from the Council Exec on down were drinking in Uniform and in front of kids. Several of the other leaders present did complain about the open cash bar while the youth were present. Of course the Council didnt do anyhing about it except to say they will investigate it of course it has been close to a year now with no response.Of course the Council Exec heard a lot about it at our fireside chat but maybe someone on the Council itself should read the GTSS. As for another point please be aware that their are organizations that are charter partners that do not drink and would prefer that no alcohol would be served at any event involved in Scouting.(This message has been edited by scomman)

I apologize I posted this in a hurry and didn't realixe lilbillie had already posted it earlier

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Parents of a 7-year-old boy admitted scamming neighbors of nearly $700 by dressing their son in a Cub Scout uniform and going door-to-door seeking donations for a nonexistent pack. Anthony M. Herman, 46, and Sally Ann Gombocz, 45, of Bethlehem knocked on more than 150 doors between January 7 and January 18, collecting $667 as their son silently smiled, police said. At the couple's arraignment Wednesday, Herman said they perpetrated the scam because the family landscaping business was failing. "What we've done here was a desperation act," Herman told the judge. "I'm not trying to minimize what I did. It was stupid, very stupid." Bethlehem police arrested the couple after receiving tips from neighbors. Both were charged with theft by deception, corruption of minors, criminal conspiracy and related offenses. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. No plea was entered and a preliminary hearing was set for January 31. The boy is not a Cub Scout, though his parents convinced him he was when he put on the uniform, police said. He remains in the custody of his parents, who were released on $5,000 bail each, authorities said. "That's awful ... using the child like that," said Sharon DeAngelis, who donated $5 Friday. "The little boy had a smile on his face. He didn't talk, though." The couple told donors they were raising money for a camping trip for Cub Scout Pack 351, which does not exist, police said. Herman and Gombocz acknowledged spending the money, authorities said. Michael Stempo, who has two sons who are Eagle Scouts, became suspicious when his wife said the boy's neckerchief was knotted -- not held together with a Scout slide. Stempo also said Boy Scouts do not solicit for money door-to-door, though they sometimes sell popcorn or other items. http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/01/23/cub.scout.scam.ap/index.html