Boy Scouts

May 23 marked a big day for the boys of Boy Scout Troop 007 . During a spring Court of Honor ceremony led by Senior Patrol Leader Louis Colangelo and Scoutmaster John Alden, the boys were recognized for their advancements. Mike Bishop, Robert Daniel, Will Connor, Eric Saulsbury, Aaron Brent, Nick Condron, Ryan Condron, Tom Condron, Alex Hanon, Austen Rhomann, A.J. Tribaldi, and Luke Barragan were among those honored. Many other scouts were recognized for earning merit badges.

In an emotionally charged vote Thursday, the Boy Scouts of America lifted its ban on gay youth starting in January, the latest sign of a shift in American attitudes toward gays and lesbians. After months of debate in local districts, more than 61 percent of the Boy Scouts national council approved a resolution at its annual meeting, overturning the long-standing prohibition on openly gay youth, while retaining a ban on gay adult leaders. Of 1,232 votes, 757 were in favor. Gay advocates called the vote a step in the right direction for the 103-year-old group, among the nation's largest youth organizations, with more than 2.6 million youth members.

The veil was lifted Thursday on decades of confidential sexual-abuse allegations in the ranks of the Boy Scouts of America with the court-ordered release of more than 1,200 of the organization's "perversion files. " The files offer the public an unprecedented look at how suspected molestations were handled by one of the nation's leading youth organizations from the early 1960s through 1985, a time when awareness of sexual abuse was evolving rapidly. The files are from all over the country, including Baltimore and across Maryland.

There are a lot of Boy Scouts who collect sports cards. And over the past several years, they have written letters to the organization's national headquarters in suburban Dallas lobbying for a merit badge.The scouts have acknowledged the large number of collectors and the growing sophistication of the hobby by adding a merit badge for collections. For years, Boy Scouts have been able to earn badges for coin and stamp collections, but this is the first time collections of other things, such as trading cards, have been merit badge material.

Anne Arundel County's most honored sports personality running out of honors would be like Charley Eckman running out of words. As he likes to say, "ain't no way," and yes, Glen Burnie's Eckman is slated for still another award.Eckman is to receive the 1994 Good Scout Award from the Four Rivers District Boy Scouts on Dec. 13 at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie.Tickets are $50 for adults and $15 for those under age 18 and can be purchased by calling Michael's (410) 768-7901 or dinner chairman Joanne Murphy (410)

The Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America has won approval from state officials to buy 19 acres in Harford County to expand the Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation through an unusual method known as a land patent. After conducting a public hearing this spring, the state's Commissioner of Land Patents Edward Papenfuse ruled that the land had never been deeded to a private owner and that the scouts had the right to purchase it. His decision marks the first time since 2002 that a private entity has received approval to secure a land patent from the state, after proving that no one else owns the land it wants.

An endangered flower, found in Maryland and just a handful of places in the rest of the world, will be protected under a new plan put together by environmentalists, the state government and the Boy Scouts of America.Sometime next month, the state will take possession of 1,196 acres of land belonging to the Boy Scouts in Western Maryland, where the rare flower harperella is found. The purchase was approved by the state Board of Public Works last week. The cost, about $800,000, will come from Project Open Space funds.

Although the cupboard at the Anne Arundel Food Bank is nearly bare, needy county residents won't go hungry, thanks to the Boy Scouts.Scouts from Anne Arundel troops expect to collect about 100,000 pounds of nonperishable food from county residents tomorrow and deliver it to the food bank in Deale as part of the annual food drive by the Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.About 3,000 local Scouts dropped off bags at 120,000 homes throughout the county last week and are returning to pick them up this week, said Kevin LesCallette, district director for the county.

Marcia F. Rubin, a homemaker and volunteer whose work with the Boy Scouts earned her several awards, died of cancer yesterday at her Randallstown home. She was 61. Born and raised Marcia Potash in Northwest Baltimore, she was a 1960 graduate of Milford Mill High School. She attended the Maryland Institute College of Art and worked as an artist for Nyborg Advertising and, briefly, the Social Security Administration in Woodlawn. In 1961, she married her childhood sweetheart, David I. Rubin, manager of billing for Art Litho Co. The couple had lived in Randallstown since 1966.

Shirley M. Burrill has received the Good Scout award from the National Pike District of the Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. She was honored at a breakfast ceremony Friday at the Turf Valley Resort & Conference Center in Ellicott City.Recipients of the award are chosen for outstanding community service and leadership.Burrill has served as executive director of Leadership Howard County since its inception in 1985. An active Girl Scout in her youth, she has been a member of the Boy Scout National Pike District advisory committee.