MikeS72

I carry Katadyn products; both filters and a SteriPen.

We also need to take into account the cost of the online platforms that councils used to conduct programs with, they are not cheap. Depending on the platform, your council may have been paying anywhere from $600 to several thousand dollars annually, an item that was probably not a part of the original budget for the year. I believe the cost for those sessions in my council was $5, and yes, it did greatly help avoid having people furloughed or laid off.

If my interpretation of the last two lines is correct, it would not cover abuse of a scout, as that is both intentional and criminal. While it may be argued that it could not have been expected, it was certainly intended (at least by the perpetrator).

We are no different than many of the districts we see discussed here, in that we do not have enough of us, but our core group of commissioners and district committee members are extremely active, and are right there in the trenches along with unit leaders. I consider myself to be lucky to be a part of what many look at as the best district in a well run council. Just an example of how our council leadership is looking at the big picture: when it was announced that councils could charge a program fee up to, but no more than the national membership fee, they institued that fee with a caveat. There are no longer any fees charged for district events. District camporee is free to all scouts and scouters. Cub family camp is free to all Cubs/parents/siblings. BALOO/IOLS free to all leaders. When national then raised the recharter fee late in the year, the council leadership told us that since we announced to units back in February 2020 what it would cost per scout to recharter, they would absorb the national increase. This is not to say that we do not have problems from time to time, but overall, I think the vast majority of scouters at both the district and council level are in it for the right reasons, and work to provide the best possible program to our scouts.

In my district most of those instructors are either members of the District Committee or are Commissioners.

What kind of device are you using to try to open the PDF with? On a PC, clicking on the links CynicalScouter provided above should open the file in another browser window. You should then have a 'save' icon in the top right of that browser that will allow you to save a copy to your computer, which you can then attach to an e-mail. When on my phone (Android, so not 100% sure for iPhone users) clicking the link also opens the PDF, and by using the 3 dots in the upper right, I again have the option to save a copy of the file, which I can attach to an e-mail.

I have seen flames run right up to the spout when I scout added just a bit to an already lit fire. Not a fun sight to see.

Welcome

Originally with Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge. I was elected and did my ordeal at Boxwell Reservation in 1969, and received the Vigil Honor there in 1972. I am currently a member of Tipisa Lodge, Central Florida Council. I still have many memories of OA events at Boxwell, and as a member of Anawaha Chapter in Cogioba District. I hope you and your son enjoy your time with Wa-Hi-Nasa as much as I did.

The tn in tnmule20 would not happen to refer to Tennessee would it, and if so, would you now be a newly minted member of Wa-Hi-Nasa Lodge #111?

National Service Territory Maps | Boy Scouts of America (scouting.org)

Nothing. Replaced by 16 National Service Territories

Our local OA Lodge does this every year, and presents a James E. West award in the name of a member selected by the general lodge membership at the same time that new officers are elected.

A large percentage of packs base there program year on the school year. Many have a few events during the summer, so scouts can earn the summertime pack award. As long as my cubs and families want to continue meeting, we will continue to meet during the summer.

We were told about 15 or 16 months ago that the fees would increase 3 years in a row. Since last year's increase came after we set council fees for 2021, our council chose to eat that $6 increase rather than pass it on to the families. My hope is that cooler heads will prevail, and there will be no national increase for quite some time.

My scout has shredded more than one set of Frogg Toggs, the upside to them is that they are relatively inexpensive, so not a big deal when they need to be replaced due to either being destroyed or out grown. I will wait until he is a bit older and is not likely to out grow it too quickly to spend the money on a quality piece of gear. The biggest downside of the cheaper version of Frogg Toggs in my mind is that wearing them in FL is just like wearing the rubber suit I wore 50 years ago as a high school wrestler trying to loose weight. Sauna City! I did recently pick up a new ultra light rain jacket that Frogg Toggs makes for backpacking (only a couple of ounces, and seam taped) and have used it a couple of times. I can say that it is much more comfortable than the cheaper version, and sheds water very well. The more expensive Columbia jacket is great for basecamp wear, when every once counts (or when I want something that compresses well into one of the pockets on a Camelback) the Frogg Toggs ultra light is a good choice for adults.

There is a reason that AOL dens are encouraged to visit multiple troops. No CO has the authority to mandate where those AOLs go once their Cub days come to an end. Some years we have had all of the scouts from the Pack that our CO charters choose to join our troop, in other years we have had them cross over to 3 different troops, always their choice. I sympathize with the treasury situation. As hard as it is to walk away from those funds that your scouts raised, it sounds like removing them from the toxic situation they are in is the best thing to do at this point. Good luck!

I would agree, as Protect Yourself Rules is much better for Cubs at all levels than Cybver Chip. Although I will not be surprised if it does not last much longer. As advancement chair for our Pack, I have not been able to get the Webelos pin for it all year, and was told by the manager at our Scout Shop that it will not be restocked.

Far too many of us packed in like sardines here in FL to be able to have much personal space 😜. On a more serious note, we are doing our 6th outing since Covid began this weekend. We have had to make adjustments, such as eliminating carpooling for the time being, and wearing masks at outdoor meetings, but the scouts have adapted and we are making it work.

Have you had the opportunity to view the current YPT program? It includes several very prominent experts in the field, and also includes testimony from a number of survivors, both male and female. As several folks have mentioned here, we encourage every parent to create a my.scouting account and take that YPT training. I would like to see national do away the the little abuse pamphlet in the front of new handbooks, and replace the rank requirement pertaining to it with all parents taking YPT training.

Not by an adult, but it is important to remember the fact that not all abuse is adult/scout; there are a fair number of scout/scout cases as well.

Only way to do that is to eliminate the online training and make it mandatory in person. The flaw in that plan is that there is a constant influx of new registrations, which would require in person sessions to be held pretty much on a weekly basis. It is hard enough now to get qualified trainers, asking them to constantly be doing in person YPT would be a deal breaker.

I recall an incident decades ago, where a middle school boy went home and told his father that his P.E. teacher made him go into a closet and take his clothes off. Naturally, the school received a very angry phone call the next day. I was asked by the school administration if I could verify if this had actually happened, as I was present in the locker room at the time. Indeed I could. The actual fact was that this was a student who did not feel like participating that day, so he just happened to 'forget' his uniform. The 'closet' in question was a 10' x 10' room with shelves full of uniforms of all different sizes that were availble to be borrowed by any student who 'forgot' to bring their own that day. They would change in that room, often 2 or 3 each period, and leave some item on the shelf, to insure that they would return the uniform, which would then be washed by the staff. I guess said student forgot to mention any of that to Dad. He also forgot that the policy back then was that if someone was borrowing a uniform, the teacher never went into the room with them, and was never in the locker room without another teacher present to verify that fact. It took all of 3 or 4 minutes for the whole thing to be cleared up, but had we not instituted our own '2 deep' policy it could have ended a good teacher's career. Context wise, this incident took place in the late 1970's.

The lack of speed seems to be new today. I have had no issues reading or posting lately, including yesterday.

Agreed