Free Republic

Two Richmond officers who resigned in the midst of a police Explorer scandal have been indicted on allegations they intimidated two young Explorers they illegally armed and put to work for their private security firm. A federal grand jury in Oakland on Thursday indicted 31-year-old Danny Harris and 34-year-old Ray Thomas on conspiracy counts for allegedly trying to prevent the Explorers from telling authorities that Harris illegally bought them guns and sent them into crime-plagued neighborhoods. Federal law prohibits people under 21 from buying or owning guns.

Explorer hopes Scout experience fuels career as federal agent http://bgdailynews.com/articles/2007/05/16/features/features2.txt http://tinyurl.com/yst7ut Last modified: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 11:22 AM CDT By NATALIE JORDAN, The Daily News, njordan@bgdailynews.com/783-3243 Andria Vansickle is planning to make a name for herself in the world of law enforcement. Vansickle, 20, is one of 300 selected from more than 2,000 applicants to attend the FBI Leadership Academy, a program through the Boy Scouts of America Explorers. “I sent the application off in February after finishing it in January. I had to write an essay about what law enforcement meant to me and get letters of reference,”...

(excerpt from full article) Easton Police Chief John Solomon used two teenage Police Explorers at Joel Barlow High School to uncover drug dealing activity there, and concealed this from their parents, newly released Superior Court documents reveal. But the covert operation ended when two police officers secretly recorded the chief talking about it and notified the teens' parents, the documents state. "No one should know. If you are an informant, you wouldn't want anyone to know. I didn't do anything wrong," Solomon said Tuesday. But Louis Salute, executive of the Yankee Council of the Boy Scouts, which oversees the Explorer...

ACLU threat causes Boy Scouts to drop public school ties; churches urged to fill void NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Boy Scouts of America is removing the charters of thousands of scouting units from public schools after an American Civil Liberties Union threat to sue taxpayer-funded institutions that charter BSA units. The ACLU sent a letter to the Boy Scouts of America in February threatening legal action against public schools and other governmental agencies that charter Boy Scout groups on grounds that their sponsorship amounts to religious discrimination and violates the separation of church and state. Boy Scouts open their meetings by...