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The Troop leadership has, and will continue to
make every effort to plan Scouting experiences which are both fun and safe.
However, accidents are inevitable and we will deal with these as they arise.
All Scouts must have a Class 1 and 2 Scout medical form (or Class 3 if
involved in high adventure activities) and a Troop 1208 Permission Slip
completed and signed before they are allowed to participate on any camping
trip. Medical forms and Permission Slips may be obtained from
Ton Link (859-6954). Also, if your son is taking medicine or has
a medical problem or allergy, please indicate this on his medical form.
If prescription drugs are taken on a regular basis, please let the adult
leaders know so the drugs can
be administered properly during outings. If your son has special
medical needs, please talk to Tom Link.
Scouts are never left alone without adult supervision.
If a Scout is not picked up after meetings or activities in an "appropriate"
time, the Scout will be taken to an adult leader's house. If you
expecting to pickup your son, are running real late, and no one is at the
expected meeting place, call the Scoutmaster (Robin Whitcher 467-4160)
to find out where your son may be. A minimum of 2 adult
leaders is required to attend every outing. Also, for every 8 scouts
in attendance, there must be one adult. If there are not
enough adults scheduled to attend an outing to meet these guidelines,
the outing will be canceled.
The major safety issues facing the Troop are
for water-related activities. Although many troops choose to avoid
the problem by staying away from lakes and rivers, Troop 208 takes the
opposite approach and w have had many water-related trips. We encourage
every Scout to earn his swimming Merit Badge fir first year at summer camp
and Lifesaving Merit Badge the following year if possible. Scouts
are only allowed in canoes after meeting swimming proficiency tests and
only if wearing safety vests (if they remove them, they will not be allowed
to participate on the following water activity). This policy also
applies to all adults, (no exceptions). Going on rivers can be fun,
but at the same time, running water presents more challenges. Scouts
must be coordinated and strong enough to handle a canoe. For this
reason, young Scouts will not be allowed to participate on river activities.
Based on experience, the troop has found that 14 year-olds are just about
at the right age to begin safely handling canoeing as a sport on rivers.
It is somewhat difficult saying no to boys who desperately want to participate
on all activities, but this is necessary to avoid injury. We have
a large group of Scouts with greatly different interests and abilities,
and our goal is to
meet every one's needs, but safely.
The troop has a policy that only uniformed leaders
and Eagle Scouts can sign for requirements in handbooks. We do not accept
parental signatures. Also, uniformed leaders do not sign their own
son's book unless there is a group activity. It is very important
to have the Scout's name in his book
and for him to carry it to all Scout functions.
Most advancement activities are done at campouts,
especially for Scouts working on Tenderfoot, 2nd Class and 1st Class requirements;
whereas Monday meetings are used for preparation. Adult leaders become
somewhat more strict on requirements as the Scouts works on 1st Class and
higher ranks. For
example, even though food was consumed, 1st Class cooking will not
be signed off if the meals were not cooked properly, on time and clean-up
done appropriately.
It is the Scout's responsibility to obtain signatures
when a requirement has been passed. If an adult leader's signature
is not acquired at the time an activity is completed, the requirement may
have to be done again. The only official record of accomplishments
up through 1st Class is in the Scout's handbook. If a book is lost,
a large amount of work may need to be repeated.
Merit badges are only signed off by registered counselors.
The adult leader in charge of merit badge coordination has a list of existing
counselors. If a parent has hobbies, specialties or job-related expertise,
the Troop encourages you to sign up as a merit badge counselor.
The Scoutmaster keeps a list of attendance at all activities and will track
merit badges, service hours, and leadership positions for Scouts during
their tenure in the troop.
Eagle projects are intended to give the Scout a
true planning and leadership experience. Parents, your assistance
will be needed, but please to not get overly involved and dominate projects
with either advice or time spent working. As a rule of thumb, the
project should include at least 100 hours of service (several in the troop
logged nearly 400). The Scout cannot account for more than 50% of
these hours, and the majority of the remaining hours should be by boys,
not adults. Fewer hours by the Scout and more by other boys is greatly
preferred because the project must demonstrate leadership. When a
Scout wishes to begin a project, he should contact Tom Allen (467-3608).
We ask all parents to attend both Troop and Eagle
Scout Courts of Honor each year. In addition to recognizing the Scouts
who have earned awards, even if a member of your family does not receive
one, we try to give information to parents about upcoming events.
Attendance is a good ay to evaluate the health of the Troop, as a large
number of Scouts should be advancing each year. Courts of Honor also allow
you to become acquainted with other parents and the troop leadership.
Families of one or more patrols will
be asked to bring refreshments.
The troop has the following rules:
The Troop policy has been to deal directly with the Scout and not take problems to the Scout's home unless there is a continuing and severe problem. If your son has concerns, or if there is a current potential problem, please talk to the Scoutmaster. Let's solve concerns before they become problems. We have not had a large number of discipline problems and do not anticipate many in the future. The leaders do not use physical punishments of any type.a. Straight-blade knives, knives with blades over 3 in. long, fireworks, and all weapons are not permitted at any Troop activity. If they are brought by a Scout, he will be suspended from the troop. b. The troop's leaders do not tolerate fighting, abusive harassment or dangerously unsafe behavior (playing with knives, axes or fires). c. On campouts, a Scout should tell his Patrol Leader or an adult leader when he is leaving the campsite (always with a buddy) and where he is going.If a serious problem arises, the Scout will be given a formal warning and after consultation with adult leaders, a Scout may be asked to miss a campout or other activity. This is unpleasant for both the Scout and the adult leaders, but with 40+ Scouts attending activities, the Scouts must not abuse adult leadership's trust or patience.
If your son has signed up to attend a camping
trip and decides not to attend, please have your son call his patrol leader.
The troop has lists of Scouts planning to attend camping trips and we try
to wait for the Scout to show up.
Patrols purchase their own food. Money
is always collected on the Monday prior to the event (usually $10).
Please send dollars, not a check, because the Scouts in charge of shopping
cannot cash a check. Money for food cannot be refunded after the
food has been purchased (usually the Wednesday or
Thursday prior to the trip). If a Scout cancels after food is
purchased, regardless of the reason, money cannot be refunded.
Members of each patrol take turns buying food, and
parental supervision and advice at the grocery store is needed when it's
your son's turn to shop. Although adult leaders try to check menus
and food lists, please help your Scouts be thrifty and not forget syrup,
butter, etc., if it is needed. Patrol funds are not to be used to
buy candy.
The Scoutmaster collects a large number of items
left on campouts and at meetings. Items are always brought to the
following meting. If you are missing something, call the Scoutmaster.
Please put your son's last name on items for identification (esp. neckerchief,
shirts, and pants).
The Troop has a uniform
exchange program. If a Scout has outgrown any part of his uniform,
please bring it to any meeting and give it to the Scoutmaster. It
will be added to the uniform collection. Contact Shirley Carlin (467-1225)
for a list of shirt and pants sizes that are available.
Parental involvement is strongly encouraged.
Please sign up to be an adult leader (contact Robin Whitcher 467-4160),
merit badge counselor (contact Les Horton 460-1449) or a committee member
(contact Sandy Trull 387-1940 or Laine Webb 460-1255). The long term
growth and stability of the
troop is related to involvement by parents.
We encourage fathers to camp with us, both to lend
a helping hand and to acquaint all families with a firsthand glimpse of
how the adult leadership runs the troop. Adults eat as a group and
we can supply a tent if one is needed.