The Boys Scouts of America have awarded Byler Construction the contract to build the first structure at their high adventure camp near Blair Lake. The Scouts worked for years to come up with a solution to lack of access to their property acquired from the Mat Su Borough. When the scouts purchased their property near Denali State Park, they were well aware that they didn’t have road access to the property. The construction this summer includes development of a 4,500 square foot multi-purpose building. Laura Cameron, development director for the Greater Alaska Council, says the building will serve as base of operations, administrations and maintenance services as well as full shower and bathroom facilities. The Boy Scouts are planning kayaking and trekking adventures out of the Blair Lake area High Adventure Camp.

Television celebrity Hank Parker will be on hand at the 2010 Scout Jamboree August 2nd to present the Jamboree's highest fishing award. The Grand Prize for Angling, sponsored by Berkley, is an all expenses paid trip for a scout and a parent for a fishing outing with Parker. The fishing adventure will be filmed in the fall of 2010 for a future airing on Parker's television show, "Hank Parker's Outdoor Magazine". "What an honor it is for me to be on hand for the celebration of 100 years of the Boy Scouts," said Parker. "Boy Scouts and Berkley are offering these youngsters a great opportunity to learn more about fishing and our environment. The awards we will be presenting for angling will be one of the highlights of the jamboree and I'm looking forward to an outstanding fishing trip with the grand prize winner." Over 300,000 people from across the globe, including over 40,000 Scouts, volunteer leaders and BSA staffers are scheduled to convene at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County, Virginia this July 26-August 4 for the 10-day event.

Greg Mikuls isn't too proud to give a group of Boy Scouts some kudos. Mikuls typically hosts a party at his home every summer to coincide with the free concert and fireworks show at Memorial Park. The day after the event, Mikuls said, sometimes he isn't even done picking up around his house before Boy Scout Troop 42 has swept through the area. “It usually takes a lot of time for me just to clean up my yard,” said Mikuls, laughing. “It's amazing the job those Boy Scouts do in cleaning up around the park.” It takes fleets of police officers and city parks workers to make sure everything goes smoothly every year. But many Omahans might not be aware of the important role Troop 42 plays in helping the concert go off without a hitch. “I didn't even realize for awhile what the Scouts did, and there probably are a lot of people around here who are the same way,” said Mikuls, who lives across the street from Memorial Park. “But everybody who does know, they really appreciate it.” Days prior to the event, the Boy Scouts go door-to-door in the neighborhood surrounding the park, handing out informational flyers to all nearby residents. The notices alert people to parking restrictions and the directions that traffic will flow during the concert.

Add one more merit badge to the over 100 existing badges of the Boy Scouts of America. The newest one is for inventing. Badges encourage young boys to experience and learn about hobbies and professions. The latest badge focuses on being inventive and finding ways to change the world. The movement came out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT]. The Lemelson-MIT Program is involved in creating the Inventing Badge, which carries an image of the stone-age wheel. The goal is to invent technological solutions to real world problems. Which problem to work on is each team’s own choice. Since 2002, 95 teams have been formed. With the addition of the Boy Scouts, the InvenTeam spirit should expand. The Boy Scouts of America is a 100 year old organization that directs youngsters to be respectful and disciplined by way of example and the use of merit badges as a teaching tool. As an adjunct to the Boy Scouts Handbook, youngsters can now refer to the Inventor's Handbook from the Lemelson-MIT Program, a guide for independent inventors and entrepreneurs.

Shelby Boy Scout Troop 406 celebrated its golden anniversary this past weekend at First Lutheran Church in Shelby. Current scoutmaster Jim Robinson welcomed all in attendance and Eagle Scout Brian Crum recognized many distinguished guests. Edward Bodkin, one of five original scouts of Troop 406 and a current committee member, was honored with a plaque for his 50 years of service to the Shelby troop. Also on hand was Jim Bodkin, the first to earn Eagle Scout in Troop 406. Many of the troop's Eagle Scouts over the years also were in attendance.

Boy Scout Troop 73 is lending a hand this weekend at the McQuade tournament, and today they took the afternoon off to set up and man the silent auction tent. In the heat of the day, these boys were breaking a sweat to put up some shade. "Usually they do most of the planning. We just come and work," said Tyler Messmer, troop 73. That work means putting up canopies to keep the silent auction items out of the sun, wind and rain. It`s a simple task, with a big meaning. "One of the big things about Boy Scouts is that you try to teach the boys to give back," said Mike Schroeder, McQuade Distributing. "We feel this is a really good opportunity for that." "It`s nice to know that you`re doing something for the community that people will come to and enjoy," said Alex. The McQuade tournament was started as a way to help others. That`s a big part of scouting, as well.

Scrapbooked clippings from the Elgin Daily Courier-News show then-Mayor Walter E. Miller wearing a flat-brimmed straw hat and shaking hands with Boy Scouts boarding the train to Chicago on their way to Valley Forge, Pa. They note security sweeping the Valley Forge area to ensure the Boy Scouts of America's 1950 National Jamboree there "not be discredited or sabotaged by Communists or their sympathizers." Henry Karolus' mother made that scrapbook about the Jamboree for him. But the lifelong West Dundee resident and former Boy Scout doesn't remember much about President Harry Truman or Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's speeches at the National Jamboree, which he attended with 56 scouts and leaders from the Elgin Area Council. A total 47,000 Scouts from across the country attended the event, making it the largest youth gathering in the Western Hemisphere, the newspaper reported at the time. "It's something I'll never forget, and it certainly was a big part of my life," Karolus said. Now, as the Boy Scouts of America celebrates its 100th anniversary, 175 Scouts and 12 leaders from the Elgin area are preparing for the 2010 National Scout Jamboree in late July at Fort A.P. Hill, Va.

Aside from some aching keisters, a few select members of Troop 580 achieved their goal without many problems. On June 1, five scouts and four adults hopped on their bikes in Nashville, fully equipped for the grueling ride ahead of them — they were tackling the 444-mile Natchez Trace. “Two of the boys definitely did not think they could do it,” said Alan Harp, the father of one of the scouts and a cycling enthusiast. “But they road the entire thing without complaining, other than the usual, ‘My butt hurts.’” Each year, Boy Scout troops across the country go to high adventure camps emphasizing hiking and canoeing. There’s a cycling merit badge, but nothing like those camps. That got Harp thinking. “I sort of put it as a challenge to the boys, because they do these high adventure camps with hiking and canoeing, they’re always going on these epic adventures,” Harp said. “So why not cycling?” The open road of the Natchez Trace presented itself.

A prospective Eagle Scout came one step closer to receiving his badge after he and some of his troop members, on Saturday at Bolduc Park, installed a windmill he assembled. The device will help aerate the property's pond. Bob Bolduc, the park's founder, bought the windmill from a Canadian company called Koenders Windmills for about $2,500, with the purpose of aerating the quarter-acre pond using renewable energy. "By doing this there are no electric bills or fossil fuels used," Bolduc said. "It's a green project." Cameron Skarritt, 15, of Gilford, a member of Boy Scout Troop 143 in Laconia, said he had been looking for an Eagle Scout project, so when he was told about the opportunity at Bolduc Park, he thought it would be perfect. An aspiring engineer, he said he liked that the project involved building something mechanical. He also wanted his Eagle Scout project to be environmentally friendly.

A group of local Eagle Scouts arrived at Camp Snyder in western Prince William County on their bicycles yesterday afternoon after a 59-mile trip from Fredericksburg. They now have only 1,941 more miles to go. After a spirited takeoff from the Knights of Columbus building on Harrison Road yesterday morning, participants in "Cycling the Loop" have started the bike ride of a lifetime. Sponsored by Fredericksburg's Boy Scout Troop 165, the loop will reach as far north as Niagara Falls and wind up at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County for the National Boy Scout Jamboree next month. When they're done, they will have covered more than 2,000 miles in 33 days. "We created 'Cycling the Loop' as a way for Eagle Scouts to share the importance of physical fitness and other Scout values with the thousands of people we'll run into up and down the East Coast," said Troop 165 leader Bruce White. The last stop of "Cycling the Loop" is in Washington, D.C., where the Scouts will ride alongside the marchers in the Boy Scouts' National Jamboree Parade on July 25.

In his service Dress Whites, U.S. Navy Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Carlos Garlet marched with Boy Scout Troop 156 in mountain Home’s Red, White and Blue parade Friday. His participation was symbolic in several ways. Garlet credits the Boy Scouts with many of the leadership skills he now practices in military service. He wants the boys in his former troop to know that scouting isn't just "something you go to because your parents want you to. "I want to pass on a message to these young boys that the program is there to help them," Garlet says. "Do it because you can do it. Do it for the camaraderie, the brotherhood, the memories, for as long as you stay in it." “What you learn in Scouting you will carry with you your whole life,” he says.

A local resident will receive the highest rank of Boy Scouting at only 15 years old. Nick Stiles of Ionia is part of Boy Scout Troop 71 which is chartered by Saranac Community Church and is one step closer to holding the honorary title of Eagle Scout. “I’m proud of myself, proud of the people who have helped me, proud of my troop,” said Stiles, who said he has participated in Boy Scouts since the first grade. Stiles recently completed his service project, which was constructing a set of wood duck houses for Saranac’s Nature Park. He said he asked the Department of Public Works if they needed anything in particular to be done, and they suggested the houses. After some research, Stiles said he built a dozen wood duck houses using a 12 foot pine board for each house. Houses are 32 inches tall and inside each house is mesh wiring in order for ducklings to climb and exit. “I enjoyed it. I put them together with the troop,” he said, adding it took over 30 hours to complete all of them.

Dr. B. Webb Jones Jr. was a tad reluctant when he learned that he was going to be honored with the Distinguished Citizen Award during the Pee Dee Area Council Boy Scouts of America’s annual dinner Wednesday night at Florence Civic Center. He thought there were others more worthy of the award. “I’m flattered more than I can tell you to be honored by an organization I think so much of,” Jones said during an interview in his office. “The Boy Scouts have played a big role in my life.” Jones began with the Cub Scouts. He remained active in scouting all the way through high school, joining an Explorer Post during his junior and senior years. Jones went to the National Jamboree at Valley Forge, Pa., in 1964 and the South American Jamboree in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1965. Both trips were made with Saunders Bridges as scoutmaster. And 30 years later, in 1995, Jones showed his mettle by hiking the hinterlands of Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico for 11 days with his son, Barry, and his troop. Barry is also an Eagle Scout.

A local Boy Scout is rolling up his sleeves and tackling the daunting task of sprucing up the World War II Honor Roll Memorial on Monument Avenue. William Travascio, 17, who is a member of the Yankee Clipper Council Troop #53, pointed out the back of the monument is covered with graffiti and there is not a flag near the monument. "For far too long, the Swampscott World War II Memorial has been in a state of disrepair," he said. "It has a dying flower bed, overgrown trees and bushes and it is graffiti-ridden. There are no flag poles to mark its location." Travascio is doing the project to receive his coveted Eagle Scout award.

It didn't take long for a group of Boy Scouts from Troop 316 to hang five birdfeeders for Hospice of Wake County, but the visual benefits residents there will enjoy should provide lasting - and for some, last - memories. It's only the latest service project Boy Scouts Troop 316 of Apex has participated in since last fall. Others included the annual delivery of luminaries in December and a canned food drive for the Brown Bag Ministry in February. It feels great to help the community and those in need," said Hunter Smith, who achieved Eagle, BSA's highest honor, during the past scouting year. "Through Boy Scouts, I've grown in countless ways and feel honored to give back to the community for all it has given me."

Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) met with Boy Scout Troop 461 in Hinesville Tuesday to discuss important issues and provided them with their very own copy of the United States Constitution. The local Boy Scout Troop is working to obtain their Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge. “It is an honor to be able to spend time with such intelligent and promising young men”, said Kingston. “These are the future leaders of America and the skills they learn through scouting will better prepare them for a successful future. They are setting an example not only for their peers but for all of us to follow as well”. The Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge requires a troop to meet with an elected official to discuss issues that impact them and their community. Members of the troop held nothing back when interviewing the Congressman - raising questions ranging from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, to military funding and even school lunch programs.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, and there are celebrations the entire year. It actually began in late 2009 in California when more than 4,000 scouts and adults marched to the capitol in Sacramento. This summer some 40,000 scouts and adults will gather for the Centennial National Jamboree at Ft. A.P. Hill in Virginia. For 100 years the Boy Scouts of America have provided many of the nation’s great military leaders, heroes, business and civic leaders. Scouts excel in the classroom and on the sports fields. The Order of the Arrow, a service organization of Scouting, provides more volunteer hours to the National Parks and U.S. Forestry Service than any other organization.

Ramsey resident John R. Urinyi will be honored by the Northern New Jersey Council, Iaoapogh Mountains District, Boy Scouts of America with the organization’s Seventh Annual Community Service Award. An Eagle Scout and the recipient of the Silver Beaver Award, Urinyi has been active in Scouting for more than 45 years. As a youth, he earned the rank of Eagle with three palms with Troop 5 in Hackensack and was on the camp staff of NoBeBoSco. He has received the Silver Beaver, the District Award of Merit, and the Distinguished Commissioner Award.

Ramsey resident John R. Urinyi will be honored by the Northern New Jersey Council, Iaoapogh Mountains District, Boy Scouts of America with the organization’s Seventh Annual Community Service Award. An Eagle Scout and the recipient of the Silver Beaver Award, Urinyi has been active in Scouting for more than 45 years. As a youth, he earned the rank of Eagle with three palms with Troop 5 in Hackensack and was on the camp staff of NoBeBoSco. He has received the Silver Beaver, the District Award of Merit, and the Distinguished Commissioner Award.

2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Boy Scouting and events are planned all around the country throughout the year. This summer, 20 Scouts from Allendale will attend the 2010 National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill to join in the celebration. Scouting first arrived in Allendale in 1917, when the first group was organized. As the Scouting movement expanded across the U.S., the national association set regional councils in place and Allendale was made a member of the North Bergen County Council in 1920, and the Troop number was changed from 1 to 59. There are currently one Boy Scout Troop and two Cub Scout Packs in Allendale.