Free Republic

Celebrating Our Survival: Why May 16 is Special for Scouting http://www.scouter.com/features/0026.asp May 3, 1999 By MaryAnn Gardner The founding of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910 was the establishment of the National organization. It opened the door to fun and learning in the outdoors to thousands of American boys. It's founding, however, did not guarantee that the organization would survive. Certainly, Baden-Powell had supplied the basics for Scouting in America along with Ernest Thompson Seton, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and Daniel Carter Beard, founder of the Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone. Seton and Beard brought emphasis...

Scout’s honor? Time to bring the Boy Scouts of America up to date http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/article.php?id=3353&IssueNum=17 http://tinyurl.com/k96l2 By Hannah Naiditch About two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America could use membership criteria that excluded homosexuals and atheists. It was a big victory for the Scouts, but its rules have backfired. Its donations have declined because it is in conflict with many of the donors’ anti-discrimination policies. Recently the Boy Scouts made news again. The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Berkeley did not violate the rights of the Scouts when the city revoked their free berthing...

A devout Muslim, Lallia Allali was drawn to the Girl Scouts because it shares many of the values of her religion, such as an emphasis on moral character, service and charity. That's why about two years ago, Allali founded three Muslim Girl Scout troops at the Islamic Center of San Diego, the largest mosque in San Diego County, where her husband is the imam. “In Girl Scouts, it teaches you to be confident. In Islam, it says you should be confident and never give up,” said Layla Elmi, 10, who attends school at the Islamic Center. “You can be friends...

Scout's admission of being Wiccan leads to turmoil http://www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006605090308 http://tinyurl.com/klgp8 Article published May 9, 2006 By Melanie Crownover Special to The Town Talk ANACOCO -- The camp is going well so far. Boy Scouts have gathered from around the area in khaki button-ups and red scarves, eager to earn their God and Country badge. The leader in a room of about 20 Scouts decides to break the ice by showing how religiously diverse the gathering is. By a showing of hands, he asks who belongs to the Baptist Church, the Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, continuing on until two boys...

PALOMINAS — The Naco Border Patrol Explorer post added four new members Wednesday with a ceremony at Valley View School honoring the newest graduates of its training class. “You came in as individuals and now you graduate as a team,” Darcy Olmos, Patrol Agent in Charge at the Naco Border Patrol station, told the graduates. The new Explorers are Alexalyn Hardgrave, 15, of Sierra Vista; Sammy Collins, 16, of Sierra Vista; Devin Humphries, 16, of Hereford; and Christopher Tillman, 15, of Sierra Vista. Humphries was honored for having the group’s highest test score average at 91 percent. Hardgrave also was...

California may refuse to provide subsidies to the Boy Scouts of America and other nonprofit groups that fail to comply with government antidiscrimination policies, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday. The state high court's decision gives cities and government agencies the ability to impose antidiscrimination conditions on any group that receives a public benefit. The ruling was one of a handful across the country in which courts have permitted government agencies to exclude the Boy Scouts from programs because the Scouts bar gays and atheists. In a ruling written by Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, the court upheld a decision...

These two ball teams really support Scouting March 4 Scout Day at Tucson Electric Park (TEP)Sidewinder Home and Spring traiining location for the Diamond Backs it's Diamondbacks vs. White Sox May 5-6 at TEP The Scout Show/Youth Expo and we get the stadium. This will be the Pinewood Derby Compitition to find the Council winners and for the Scouts to Show off their skills and crafts. June 23 Scout Day and Sleepover in the TEP Ball stadium. Game, Scouts Parade on the field after the game, fireworks, midnight pizza madness, the movie "Follow Me Boys," Sidewinder/Scout patch, and sleepover on...

Lay Off the Boy Scouts !! I’ve had it with the vicious attacks on the Boy Scouts of America ! I’ve seen them called “ a Brownshirt Taliban” , “KKK for Kiddies”, and worse ! The main bone of contention seems to be that the organization uses its free association rights (upheld by the Supreme Court) to screen out potential Boy Scout leaders who are openly gay : a precaution most parents whole-heartedly endorse. “This is discrimination !” , the protestors howl. “ There is no scientific evidence that gays are more likely to be pedophiles than heterosexuals are.” I’ve...

Concord boy awarded one of the organization's highest honors for saving friend's life. It was the usual father-son camping trip at Dillon Beach, but what happened that weekend made it anything but routine.By the end of the day, a disaster would be averted and a boy would become a hero. That hero, 12-year-old Michael McAnelly, was honored this month. The Boy Scouts of America presented Michael with the Medal for Heroism Award, one of its highest medals of honor, given only to those Scouts who save a life.It all started one cool Saturday last May when a group of boys...

N.Y. teen performs Heimlich on nurse who gave him CPR years earlier Call it a simple twist of fate — times two: A teenager in western New York state has saved the life of the same woman who years ago saved his life.

Monmouth Boy Scouts to Charge Annual Fee(MARLBORO, N.J.) The Monmouth Council of Boy Scouts will start charging a $52 annual membership fee, beginning March 15. Previously, parents paid a one-time registration fee. The group says it needs the money to help erase more than $1 million in debt that was caused by expenses and professional fees. The group also is asking parents to match the fee with a voluntary donation. Families with more than one Boy Scout will get a 25 percent discount on each additional child. Membership in the Scouts has been on the decline in recent years. Monmouth...

MAHWAH - The hill was steep, rocky and muddy. And members of Boy Scout Troop 334 of Montvale on Saturday had to figure out how they would guide their 100-pound-plus homemade sled down the slope to a paved road. They tied rope around their waists, they pulled hard, but a series of rocks and logs didn't make their challenge any easier. Instead, it caused one of the sled's skis to snap. "These old skis couldn't take the stress," said Anthony Dobbs, 14. After about 15 minutes of trudging through water, mud and fallen trees, the team emerged, wet and tired,...

Following on the heels of a major pedophile scandal this past July during the San Diego Gay Pride Festival, radical gay activists have now targeted the San Diego Boy Scouts for atheism, homosexual and transsexual infiltration. Scouting For All, which recently participated in San Diego Gay Pride, was also involved in the same festival that featured pedophile Martin Ramirez, better known as Marty the Clown, who worked in the Gay Pride's Children's Garden. Scouting For All exists for the purpose of forcing the Boy Scouts of America to change its current policies and allow homosexuality into the organization. Additionally, it...

Contra Costa Boy Scouts just got about 1,000 prospects. But the new, might-be Scouts, members of predominantly Latino soccer leagues in Concord and Richmond, don't know it yet. In an agreement with Liga Latina and Richmond Sol soccer leagues that has yet to be discussed with parents, the Mt. Diablo Silverado Council of the Boy Scouts of America will introduce "Soccer and Scouting" when the fall season starts in September. It's part of an aggressive recruiting program to bring Latinos into the Boy Scouts of America, whose enrollment numbers are stagnating nationwide. The group listed nearly a million members in...

FORT A.P. HILL, Va. -- About 43,000 Boy Scouts departed this Army installation Aug. 3 after 10 days of scouting, camping and learning. As part of the 2005 National Scout Jamboree, Boy Scouts nationwide gathered to make new friends, practice their scouting skills and earn "merit badges." Thanks to retired Lt. Col. Tom Sawner, a former pilot, about 1,000 of those young men left the Jamboree with a new merit badge and a greater appreciation and understanding of aviation. The aviation merit badge is particularly difficult to get, Colonel Sawner said, because the resources needed to complete the requirements for...

WASHINGTON - The Senate voted Tuesday to allow U.S. military bases to continue to host Boy Scouts events, responding to lawsuits and a federal court ruling aimed at severing relationships between the government and the youth group. The vote came one day after four adult Scout leaders were killed on the opening day of the National Scout Jamboree at the Army's Fort A.P. Hill in Bowling Green, Va., when a tent pole apparently struck a power line. In a 98-0 vote, the Senate approved the provision continuing the hosting of Boy Scout events as part of massive bill setting Defense...

WORLD | UTAH | BUSINESS | SPORTS | OPINION | FEATURES | COMMUNITIES | CLASSIFIEDS SUNDAY June 26, 2005 Quick Search Enter search term Advanced Search News Contents Photos Utah Politics Obituaries Archives RSS Feeds Polygamy Rolly Mullen Reader Advocate Closeup TribTalk Forums Weather Floods Opinion Bagley Cartoons Editorials Commentary Public Forum Sports Real Salt Lake Stingers Utah Jazz College Sports Prep Sports Features Film Finder Arts Travel Home & Family Health & Science Food Outdoors The Mix Faith Entertainment Lifestyle Shopping Classifieds Retail Ads Cars/RVs Real Estate Jobs Education Guide Bride Guide Utah City Guide Hotel Rooms Grocery Guru...

'To support and defend... So help me God' Mark Alexander May 27, 2005 "I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means...." --John Adams Monday is Memorial Day, set aside to honor our fallen Patriots -- generations of American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen -- who served their country with honor from 1776 to this...

It's a remarkable achievement for any Boy Scout. The Bruns triplets managed to do it together. BY MEGGEN LINDSAY Pioneer Press Laughing at the memory, the Bruns boys knew they were a handful at Boy Scout summer camp. At age 7 — their first year at an Oregon camp — one brother wandered into the forest while sleepwalking, another forgot to change his clothes for the trip, and they all ended up covered in dirt by the end of the week. They were so dirty, in fact, that their mom hauled along soap, shampoo, towels and three changes of clothing...

Scouting best prepares boys to become the leaders America needs as it faces new challenges in an unstable world, said Texas A&M University President and former CIA Director Robert M. Gates. "There is no finer program in developing Americans for leadership than the Boy Scouts of America," said Gates as he spoke Wednesday morning at the 2005 Character Counts Breakfast for the Last Frontier Council, Boy Scouts of America. The breakfast, served at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, was the kickoff of the 2005 Friends of Scouting Campaign. "We are at war again as a nation," Gates said....