The Blancmange

Why should BSA say anything? The BSA is a member of the WOSM. One of its more influential members, I presume. The leader of another member organization has taken a position advocating an egregious human rights violation. Does it matter that he took this position outside of a scouting context? I don't think expelling the Ugandan scout program is the appropriate remedy as a first step, but the WOSM needs to demand his resignation, in addition to condemning the legislation.

Alright. That's twice today that I posted replies where someone else posted essentially the same thing while I was typing. I give up. :-/

Can anybody spell out what "trained" will be as far as actual requirements? http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/Home/BoyScouts/Adults/Training/Trained%20Leader.aspx

He just needs to fill out a youth application and check the transfer option. It would help if he had his membership number, but I believe they can locate his record without it, espcially if you are in the same council.

I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for blood donors. Sounds like a good idea to me. Thanks to everyone who donates.

Several times lately, I have received a response when trying to access this site of "502 Bad Gateway" Are others experiencing this, or is it a problem with my computer or ISP?

Thanks. It was a busy event and I didn't have a chance to ask him. I have not seen anyone else from our council wearing something like this. Maybe he moved here from another council. Interesting.

If the COR wears silver tabs, wouldn't he also NOT wear a unit number? That seems counterintuitive since he is so closely tied to a unit. I'm not suggesting this interpretation is wrong, just doesn't make a lot of sense that the COR would not be identified with the unit.

I was at a council event recently and saw a leader in uniform with a long string of beads - perhaps several dozen, which were on a leather string that went around the neck and the end was attached to a front pocket button. These were round beads of differnt colors, along with some other shapes. I've never seen these before and was curious what they are.

Council letter of denial is dated June 24, 2009 Justins letter of appeal to National was dropped off at Council beginning of Sept. Is there a time limit for filing an appeal?

Here is a nice article from our local paper about our coucil's birthday celebration yesterday, including quotes from some long-time scouters: http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=272504

They also had a nice story earlier this week about a special needs unit with a scout with an intellectual disability who made Eagle. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123378499

If this policy goes national, our council will be without a camp. We are a small, but healthy council, operating in the black, with a solid balance sheet and stable membership numbers. The camp operates near capacity, but for only 4 weeks. I don't know for sure, but I am guessing with less than 900 participants. I'm sure we're over the 60% troop participation requirment, though. It is a high quality program. The camp budget is also subsudized by the council. When I look at the FOS page on our council website, it specifically states that the donations are intended to reduce the cost of camp for the scouts. If I understand the requirement correctly, a camp must recover 100% of its expenses from camper fees in order to stay open. If this is the case, then most councils will need to modify their FOS presentations and be prepared for a large drop in donations. I can't imagine a camp in any small, predominantly rural council meeting these requirments. Is that the real goal here - to force consolidation of smaller councils?(This message has been edited by the blancmange)

Welcome to the forums. I'm sorry to hear about your experience. It sounds like you landed in a poorly run unit. My guess is that none of the leaders are properly trained. The lack of activities is obviously a major problem, but it sounds like poor communication is underlying a lot of this. I'm a Webelos den leader and send monthly, if not more frequent communications to parents regarding upcoming events. On a monthly basis, we have a pack meeting, two den meetings, and an additional activity, such as a day hike, camping trip, museum visit, service project, among other things. The point of Webelos is to start introducing boys to the way things are done in boy scouts by letting them get more involved in planning and learning through hands on practice. You might try talking to your son's den leader about your concerns, but it might be best to look for another pack. Your experience certainly isn't the case everywhere. It might look like that here on this site, but a lot of people come here looking for help to solve problems. There are plenty of well-run, active and fun units out there.

"I'm going to tell our PLC about it and see if anyone bites." Pun intended?

Cool. The voice of reason prevails. I'm going to suggest this to our SM and PLC.

Add to that the increased cost of higher limits on the auto insurance and it's a lot more than "just a few bucks." The minimums required by BSA are 50K/100K or 100K CSL. While this is more than most states' mandated minimum, it's a bad idea to be driving around with less than the 50/100, if only for the UM/UIM coverage when some knucklehead with no insurance runs into you. Some insurance agencies have a 100/300 agency minimum, where they won't sell you less than this, which I consider to be responsible advice. Also, unless the driver is in a high risk category (in which case I don't want my kids riding with them), the cost of going from 20/40 or 25/50 to 50/100 is usually pretty minimal. I agree with the rest of your post about the need to provide better info about who/what is covered.

This is certainly bizarre. Resurrecting a 3 year old thread to badmouth someone who hasn't posted on this site in two years? Take your vendetta somewhere else.

It's a Webelos activity badge: http://usscouts.org/advance/cubscout/technology.asp#Scientist

It's your lucky day. See Scientist activity badge requirement #8: "With adult supervision, build and launch a model rocket. (NOTE: You must be at least 10 years old to work with a model rocket kit sold in stores.) Describe how Newton's third law of motion explains how the rocket is propelled into the sky."

Hopefully, this post isn't too much of a change from the original topic. My intent is not to hijack the thread, as it seems related. This topic got me wondering, wouldn't it make sense to teach methods of building a traditional snare or trap from natural materials in the context of survival? The G2SS ban on hunting appears to be directed toward traditional hunting activities ("The purpose of this policy is to restrict chartered packs, troops, and teams from conducting hunting trips."). But, looking further, the last requirement for the Wilderness survival MB states "Explain why it usually is not wise to eat edible wild plants or wildlife in a wilderness survival situation." I can understand the discouraging of eating plants as it requires high level of familiarity to avoid poisoning, but the risk of eating a cooked wild rabbit or sqirrel is no greater than eating a freshly caught fish, which as noted above, is a fishing MB requirment. Would it be worthwhile to teach the skill of building the snare, even if you don't actually use it? Actually using the trap would require compliance with game regulations as well. Thoughts?

Ask the objecting parent where they think the chicken from KFC or the steak they had last night comes from. Would they object to their son visiting a farm and seeing where their food comes from? I don't exactly see the nexus between outdoor survival and butchering a domesitcated animal, but it is still a good thing for a scout to learn about. The closest thing I can think of is to point out that the fishing MB requires the scout to clean and cook a fish that he caught

We usually do the same thing mentioned above - the Pack provides a main dish and families are asked to bring a side dish or desert. We divide the alphabet in half to avoid everyone bringing deserts. This has worked smoothly so far. I have no suggestion for what to do about gluttonous or rude adults. I'm sure you're not the only one who noticed their behavior, though. BTW, love your user name if TT is your real name :-)

you missed IOWA! LOL Not entirely - Yellow River SF, right on the river, is on there. Another vote for Maquoketa Caves from me. It's good for a wide variety of ages and abilities. Both our pack and troop have gone there. Nice group as well as hike-in campsites. Although Porcupine Mountains in the UP is slightly outside your 500 mile range, I think it is worthy of inclusion.

Sorry, started the last post before I saw your most recent one. I think as long as he hasn't completeted third grade, there is nothing technically wrong with him staying a cub. The problem is, at this rate, he will be a 13 year old Webelos. Maturity-wise, is he ready for Boy Scouts? What do the boy and his parents want? I would sit down with them and discuss what is best.