Poll: Should Boy Scouts Lift Ban On Gay Members?

An Arlington Heights church this week called on the Boy Scouts of America to lift the organizations ban on gay members.

An Arlington Heights church called on the Boy Scouts of America to lift its ban against homosexual participants. The United Church of Christ handed out fliers Sunday, Feb. 3 asking its congregation to write letters opposing the anti-gay policy, the Chicago Tribune reported. "Our position is that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) folks, whether they're minors or whether they're adults, have a role to play in our society and our culture," Rev. Rex Piercy told the Tribune. "This (Scouting) organization, which seeks the support of churches like ours, ... stands against the very kind of welcome that we extend to those folks." The youth organization is considering lifting its ban against gay members and leaders, NBC News reported. …

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Boy Scouts Ban on Gays Could End Soon

NBC News reports the organization is considering ending the ban that has been in existence for decades.

The Boy Scouts of America ban on gay scouts and scout leaders could soon be over, according to NBC News. The news source reports the group is actively considering ending the ban that has been in existence for decades. If the new policy goes through, the ban on gays would be erased from the Boy Scouts of America’s rules, allowing local organizations to decide for themselves if they want to allow gay scouts and leaders, NBC reports. 

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Jeffrey Ward

1:58 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

So of course they are going to use the "rules" of the organization they are run by.   more ›

Fremd Student Achieves Eagle Scout Rank

Zachary Matuszczak, of Boy Scout Troop 209, recently completed his service project in Creative Art Therapy by creating and donating more than 200 medical play dolls to help ill and traumatized children during hospital stays.

Zachary Matuszczak, a 16-year-old sophomore at Fremd High School, recently received the highest ranking possible in Boy Scouts. On Novemer 13, he became an Eagle Scout. Matuszczak is a member of Boy Scout Troop 209 which meets at First United Methodist Church of Palatine. The troop has more than 100 members which hail from Palatine, Inverness, Hoffman Estates and Rolling Meadows. When Boy Scouts decide they want to become an Eagle Scout, they are required to choose a service project that will benefit the community, and they must also find a way to fund it. Included in the project is required paperwork, documenting every action taken to complete the project from start to finish. “I definitely learned leadership, I didn’t think it would be …

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Look Up Boy Scout Leaders Expelled in Illinois

Information gathered by the Los Angeles Times shows the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America who were expelled between 1947 and 2005 on suspicions of sexual abuse. Patch's searchable database allows you to search by cities in Illinois.

Information gathered by the Los Angeles Times shows the leaders of the Boy Scouts of America who were expelled between 1947 and 2005 on suspicions of sexual abuse. Patch's searchable database allows you to search by cities in Illinois. We also put together a story with information about leaders on the list from the north and northwest suburbs.

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Palatine Happenings

Boy Scout Collects Computers For Afghan Orphans

Eagle Scout candidate seeks donations of used computers through Dec. 18.

Do you have an old computer system collecting dust? If so, you can give it to a local youth who is helping a good cause. Kevin McCall is collecting used computers. McCall, a Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 182 in Palatine, is conducting a service project as part of his Eagle Scout rank requirement. McCall's project is to collect, prepare, and ship computers to orphanages in Kabul, Afghanistan. McCall conducted a computer drive last month at the Palatine Presbyterian Church parking lot, where he collected 41 computers. He will accept donations through Dec. 18. If you have one to donate, you can reach him at 847-991-8159. The computers McCall collects will be refurbished, outfitted with public domain software, and shipped to a non-…

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Mel Tavares

3:19 pm on Thursday, December 9, 2010

I am a Patch Regional Calendar Editor/Contributor and also have a son who is in Boy Scouts. Naturally, I was thrilled to get this on my FB feed, from the BSA. GREAT Eagle project!   more ›

Palatine Happenings

Four Nearby Things To Do this Weekend

Palatine High School’s The Crucible, Theaterworks’ (Hidden) Harry Potter, and Boy Scout Order of the Arrow’s Haunted Hike offer seasonal entertainment for the whole family

Do you find yourself at the end of the workweek looking for something to do, but not wanting to go too far away? Four activities offer entertainment and fun in the northwest suburbs. Take your choice of a Halloween themed haunted hike, an evening combining ghost storytelling with wine tasting, or an afternoon or evening at the theater. – Palatine High School's Fall Play will be performed in the school's Altergott Theater October 22 and 23 at 7 p.m. This year's production by the teenage thespians is Arthur Miller's The Crucible. This American classic centers on the Salem witchcraft trials. Its theme certainly befits Halloween, and is an allegorical work to McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings of the 1950s. …

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Palatine Happenings

Palatine Boy Scouts Celebrate 100 Years

From Carpentry to Robotics, Boy Scouts USA celebrates its first century at Busse Woods South, picnic groves 5 through 16 on Sept. 25.

In late July my family made a trip to one of my favorite cities, Washington, D.C. We timed our visit to coincide with our son's participation in the Boy Scout National Jamboree in Virginia, the cyclical gathering of thousands of Boy Scouts from across the nation and world in a camp out of monumental proportion.  The day of our visit the temperature was near 100 degrees with cloying humidity that enveloped like a soggy towel. My next visit to a Boy Scouting event will be under much more pleasant autumn conditions. Boy Scouts of America is celebrating its 100th year.  Palatine Boy Scout troops will commemorate this anniversary at ScoutTrek 2010 on Sept. 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Busse Woods. More than 5,000 scouts, their families and the …

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