Curbside Xmas Tree Pickup Available for Borough Residents

For a nominal fee, the members of Boy Scout Troop 416 will pick up and dispose of your Christmas tree. The service is being offered to Hellertonians Jan. 12 and Jan. 19.

The Boy Scouts are Scouting for Food

Boy Scouts and volunteers from the local Minsi Trails Boy Scout Council will be out Saturday, Nov. 10 collecting non-perishable food for the annual Scouting For Food community food drive.

The Katz Meow

Memorial Day and Walter King

Walt is the kind of man I would like to be when I reach his age--in three years.

My friend Walter King is a veteran of two wars, the War in Europe and the War on Japan, both during the Second World War. Walt was raised on a farm in Ohio in a household that included his parents and his Austrian-born grandparents. German was the language spoken at home. Bored with farm work, when the war broke out in Europe Walt ran away from home to join a British Army unit which was then training in Canada. It was the famous Black Watch Division, complete with fuzzy hats and rigid discipline. Six months later, his family found him. He had claimed to the recruiting sergeant that he was 18 when he was in fact 16 and the unit had to let him go. He was reluctant to leave, but, to listen to his stories, he obviously didn’t want to stay for …

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Northeast PA Legislators Rake in Transportation, Hospitality and Other Gifts

Better oversight, enforcement of public officials is needed, analysts say.

Pennsylvania legislators in 2010 reported more than $150,000 in gifts, paid travel and hospitality, including a trip to Texas. Legislators are required to submit statements of financial interest to the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission every year, detailing their direct and indirect sources of income, any gifts the legislator received in the past year and any transportation, lodging or hospitality the legislator did not pay for. The reports also include information on the legislator’s creditors, businesses and real estate interests. State Rep. Michael Carroll, D-Luzerne, received a chair worth $694 from Boy Scouts in the Lehigh Valley when he received their Citizen of the Year Award. A newspaper article published at the time said Carroll won …

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Activist Decries Cuts, Asks for Signatures Outside Pinewood Derby

Crystal Greene used a megaphone to draw attention to a petition she is circulating in an effort to help keep Scouting in Allentown's public schools.

Cub scouts and their proud parents weren't the only people fired up at the 2011 Scoutreach Pinewood Derby at Northeast Middle School in Bethlehem Saturday. Outside the main entrance to the school, parent and activist Crystal Greene used a megaphone to tell attendees that this year could be the last year for the popular Cub Scout event, if proposed budget cuts in the Allentown School District are approved. Greene, who said she is the parent of a Cub Scout and second-grader in the Allentown School District, had set up tables with copies of a petition she plans to present to the Allentown School Board once she has amassed 1,000 signatures from others as concerned as she is about the future of Scouting programs in public schools. "I'm here …

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Pinewood Derby Gets Scouts Fired Up

The 2011 Scoutreach Pinewood Derby drew hundreds of excited Cub Scouts, parents, family members and friends to Bethlehem's Northeast Middle School Saturday.

Northeast Middle School gymnasium could barely contain the excitement of Cub Scouts from Allentown, Bethlehem, Fountain Hill and Freemansburg, who descended upon the venue for the 2011 Scoutreach Pinewood Derby sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America's Minsi Trails Council Saturday. A pinewood derby--for those unfamiliar with the term--is a racing event for Cub Scouts, who build miniature race cars from wood and plastic wheels in order to compete in it. In addition to first through fifth place, prizes in categories such as "funniest car" and "fastest looking car" were awarded to participants in Saturday's pinewood derby. First place in the derby went to Nathaniel Rodriguez of Cub Scout Pack 191, who raced car #141. The 2011 Scoutreach …

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200 Boy Scouts Need Uniforms, Handbooks

A unique program has been set up to help disadvantaged Scouts through the support of donors.

Each year about 200 Boy Scouts from across the Lehigh Valley aren't able to afford their uniforms or handbooks. To ensure each Scout has the chance to feel the sense of pride which comes from wearing a uniform, the Minsi Trails Boy Scouts Council is holding a uniform drive in support of the Scoutreach Urban Scouting Program. “We’re always looking for around $10,000, which will provide uniforms and handbooks for the 200 Scouts,” said Jim Gillick, the council’s assistant scout executive. According to Gillick, uniforms cost $50, and with the addition of handbooks, the total cost per scout reaches $75-$100. For children living in urban areas, that price can be the barrier that keeps them from participating in Boy Scouts, said Gillick. “These…

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