Free Republic

Scouts Nationwide to Compete for 100th Anniversary Logo http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-27-2007/0004652077 http://tinyurl.com/37d52o Once-in-a-Lifetime Design Contest Celebrates Boy Scouts of America's Coming 2010 Milestone DALLAS, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Calling all Scouts! Nearly three million Scouting youth from every corner of the country are invited to participate in a special contest launched today by the Boy Scouts of America to design the new logo that will showcase BSA's upcoming 100th anniversary. Centered on the theme "Celebrating the Adventure. Continuing the Journey," the winning logo design will be chosen by a select panel of judges for use as the official symbol of the 100th...

35,000 flock to join the Afghan Scouts http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/12/wscout112.xml http://tinyurl.com/32cbkm By Eleanor Mayne in Kabul, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 12:35am BST 12/08/2007 After nearly three decades of war, never has the motto "Be Prepared" had more resonance. As the worldwide Scout movement celebrates its 100th birthday this month, war-torn Afghanistan has become the unlikely setting for a boom in recruits. More than 35,000 young Afghans have boosted the ranks of the Afghanistan Scout Association since the fall of the fundamentalist Taliban five years ago. From conflict-ravaged Helmand to the capital Kabul, Scout groups have been established in 24 of the 34...

The dawn of a new day signals the start of a new century for Scouting.At 8am on August 1st 1907 Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement opened the world's first ever scout camp, on Brownsea Island, by sounding his Kudu horn three times. One hundred years later, and the UK Chief Scout, Peter Duncan, was there to blow his Kudu horn three times to mark the beginning of the Worldwide Scouting Sunrise.Throughout the different time zones, Scouts from around the world renewed their Scout Promise at exactly 8am to mark the centenary of the opening camp.Meanwhile, at the...

Scouting the future http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2158120.ece http://tinyurl.com/2abldd July 29, 2007 Hal Iggulden, co-author of The Dangerous Book for Boys, believes the Scouts – 100 years after they were founded – can solve the crisis in 21st century manhood Roland White In a school playground way back in the 1960s I made the first significant moral choice of my life. My best friend had asked me if I’d come to a meeting of his Cub Scout pack: just to see what it was like. On the other hand, a girl in our class also wanted to know whether I’d be at all interested...

'Utterly cared for': Minister writes of finding peace, link to God in nature http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/Lives/707260476/1047/Lives http://tinyurl.com/2uf995 Jul 26, 2007 CHRISTINE COX Tribune Staff Writer John Lionberger, a United Church of Christ minister and religious author, admits there are times when he is tempted to not believe in God. "Faith just isn't a head thing at all. I could talk myself out of God just in a heartbeat," he says in a telephone interview. "But if I listen to my heart, I think that's the truer voice. That's the grounded voice. I guess, the ancient voice." It's a voice he didn't hear...

Elbert County commissioners on Wednesday gave Boy Scouts the go-ahead to host two weekend shooting-range events, to the dismay of neighbors who say the shotguns are too loud. The commissioners' decision went against the recommendation of their planning director and the county sheriff. They granted a temporary permit, on the condition that the Scouts conduct noise tests, limit shooting hours and give neighbors notice of their shoot-a-thons, which raise funds. But Jay Enyart, who lives across the street from the Scouts' Peaceful Valley Ranch, said after the meeting he was disappointed. "I feel like this was a political solution where...

It was good to read that Pope Benedict sent a message of support to the Scout movement on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. August 1 marks the centenary of the first Scout camp, organized by Sir Robert (later Lord) Baden-Powell on the island of Brownsea, in England. Boy Scouts, and the values which the Scouting movement inculcates, have attracted the admiration of great men from the movement's earliest days. Its beginnings were Edwardian, and it has preserved much of the best of that sunny and admirable period of Western civilization. In a letter addressed to Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, president...

Scouts' firing range irks residents Neighbors say clay shooting events disruptive By Ivan Moreno, Rocky Mountain News July 7, 2007 ELBERT - Neighbors say the Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch is anything but that. The realization came after an explosion of shotgun blasts from the camp in May, when Boy Scouts held a two-day clay shooting fundraiser. "It sounded like Hamas had a training camp next door," said Elbert County Sheriff William Frangis, who fielded numerous calls from people who live near the ranch. The Scouts say no one complained to them. Although the camp has had a shooting range for...

Boy Scouts set up and take down flags in northwest Boise and Eagle for a troop fundraiser. In the realm of delivering holiday cheer before dawn, there's Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and a group of local Boy Scouts. Instead of presents or Easter eggs, the 16 Boy Scouts set up American flags for patriotic holidays, including Independence Day. Early Wednesday morning the crew planted the stars and stripes in 136 lawns scattered throughout northwest Boise and Eagle. The Scouts charge $30 for the service, which guarantees an American flag on President's Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, the Fourth of...

Philadelphia has big city problems. The murder rate is on the rise, and gangs make some areas unsafe even in the daytime. It’s no secret that fatherless, undisciplined boys are the main reason the streets are deadly. So what is the city doing about it? Let’s imagine for a moment that we’re in a Philadelphia City Council discussion. “How about a crackdown on gangs? Or a crackdown on drug dealers?” “Nah. Those people shoot back. I’ve got it! Let’s persecute the Boy Scouts! They won’t give the police any trouble.” “Yeah, this will be a great way to pay back...

Picture a world where your father walks with you down a starlit road, pausing to point out Orion. He recites Robert Frost, knows how a battery works—and all the rules about girls. "The Dangerous Book for Boys," by brothers Conn and Hal Iggulden, is peaking on Amazon's best-seller list (No. 5 last week) by recalling just that world. The compendium of trivia, history and advice is geared toward preteen boys, but it's found a surprising audience in men in their 30s and 40s, too. The book's marbled endpapers, archival illustrations and dry, humorous tone ("excitable bouts of windbreaking will not...

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOY SCOUT STORY http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/8161352.html By MARK CHILUTTI Posted on Mon, Jun. 25, 2007 I'M WRITING THIS filled with disappointment due to the actions of the leadership of the city that I love. While in Atlanta several weeks ago on Boy Scout business, I was pulled aside and told we'd been blindsided, again with regard to the office that the Scouts have occupied and maintained in Philadelphia since 1928. I get frustrated when I read the side of the story that our city solicitor tells, as it seems to not fall in line with the first...

The Boy Scouts http://www.americanprofile.com/article/22342.html http://tinyurl.com/2bogc9 by Elizabeth Johnson As an American flag waves high in the morning sky at the Meridian Historical Village in Okemos, Mich. (pop. 22,805), more than 80 khaki-uniformed Boy Scouts raise their right hands in a three-fingered salute. “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight,” the Scouts recite in unison. The recitation of the Boy Scout Oath marks the beginning of a weekend...

MSU to offer scholarships to Eagle Scouts, Gold Award winners http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070613/NEWS/70613002 http://tinyurl.com/2th5xt June 13, 2007 By Andy Kanengiser andy.kanengiser@clarionledger.com [see text of article at URL above]

Scouts Honor: One famous Logan Square building won’t go condo—at least for nowhttp://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/14825 by Gwen Shaffer Should the local assembly of Boy Scouts be evicted from its headquarters in the Art Museum area, the grand Beaux Arts building will remain “institutional in nature,” Philadelphia City Councilman Darrell Clarke assured neighbors during a recent meeting. Logan Square residents called for the June 2 powwow amid fears the historic building could be transformed into upscale residential units or a restaurant. “We’re concerned about many potential unintended consequences of this eviction, one of which is the property being developed in ways that aren’t...

For almost 70 years, Scouts and Guides have savoured their place of peaceful worship under the trees. But no longer. The woodland chapel has been demolished - its wooden pews and rudimentary cross and altar removed. In its place is a campfire circle. The change has been imposed by the Scout Association, which believes the chapel excludes non-Christian Scouts. Locals are dismayed, but the association says it is simply "moving forward". The basic open-air structure in woodland surrounding Belchamps Scout Centre in Hockley, Essex, was built between the wars by volunteers. They used old telegraph poles for pews and built...

Time bomb in new city budget? [Philly votes to boot Scouts] http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/7780166.html Posted on Fri, Jun. 01, 2007 By MARK McDONALD mcdonam@phillynews.com 215-854-2646 In other business, Council cleared the way for the city to terminate a lease the city has had with the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts since 1928 for the half-acre of land at 22nd and Spring streets where the Boy Scouts built their regional headquarters building. At issue is the national Boy Scouts policy of discrimination against homosexuals and the Street administration's response that the city should not subsidize an entity that engages in...

Perot Jets to Erma to Bolster Scouts http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/articles/3630/1/Perot-Jets-to-Erma-to-Bolster-Scouts http://tinyurl.com/2orzz9 By Jack Fichter May 23, 2007 ERMA — Ross Perot, former presidential candidate, billionaire businessman, and Eagle Scout, thrilled a crowd of veterans, Boy Scouts, and politicians May 18 at Naval Air Station Wildwood at the county airport. He was on time for his speaking engagement, as his private jet arrived 20 minutes ahead of scheduled. Perot was dressed in a dark suit and was courteous to all he came in contact with, including a number of audience members who received handshakes and autographs. The event coincided with a scouting weekend...

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,”...

First, there was the question of the title: "The Dangerous Book for Boys." HarperCollins Publishers' Chief Executive Jane Friedman just didn't understand what it meant. Sure, the book had been a hit in England and Australia, but that didn't mean it would work in the U.S. But the sales staff urged her to stick with it, and in just two weeks, "Dangerous" has become the breakout hit of the season. The News Corp. unit initially ordered up 91,000 copies. There are now 405,000 copies in print. One senior HarperCollins executive, extrapolating from overseas sales and population data, projects that "Dangerous,"...