Troop 254 Eagle Scouts Honored By GNFC - May 2007
(left) Josh Camizzi, Andrew Stange, and Jeff Stange
Jeff Stange photo - Click for larger view.
Thursday, May 10, 2007 . . . Three Eagle Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 254 were honored at a Recognition Dinner held at Michael’s Banquet Hall in Hamburg. Jeffrey Stange (1/06), Andrew Stange (2/06) and Joshua Camizzi (11/06) all accomplished Eagle Scout Rank during 2006. Troop 254, under the direction of Scoutmaster James McDonnell, attained the distinct honor of having the greatest number of Eagle Scouts from an Island Troop during the calendar year. The group meets weekly at the Grand Island Nike Base. Jeff serves as an Assistant Scoutmaster, Andrew as Senior Patrol Leader and Josh as a Troop Committeeman. The Recognition Dinner was sponsored by the Greater Niagara Frontier Council and local corporations. Kevin O’Connell, WGRZ, Chief Weather Anchor, himself an Eagle Scout, was featured as the keynote speaker.
Troop 254 Enjoys Winter Camping Weekend - 2007
Photo by Jeff Stange, Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 254 - Click for larger view.
Boy Scouts from Troop 254 braved the cold temperatures February 9-11, 2007 to spend the weekend at Camp Stonehaven in Sanborn, NY. The highlight of the camping trip was hiking to “Frankenstein’s Castle” near Quarry Lake to explore the ruins of this local historic landmark. This was the second winter camping experience for the troop this year. The scouts have become proficient at dealing with the elements, creating tasty camp meals and having a good time.
Click for "More Camp Stonehaven Photos" by Assistant Scoutmaster Jeff Stange.
Boy Scout Troop 254 Participates in Wilderness Survival Klondike Derby - 2007
Members of Troop 254 shown from left are Evan Shaw, Kevin Neary and Ian Rogers - Click for larger view.
Photo by Jeff Stange, Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 254 -
Boy Scout Troop 254 joined Northern District, Greater Niagara Frontier Council troops in Klondike competition January 19-21, 2007 at Camp Stonehaven in Sanborn, NY. In Patrol constructed sleds, the scouts traveled between interactive stations throughout the campsite demonstrating their knowledge in winter camping skills including building fires without matches, wilderness first aid and water purification. The Klondike Derby is an annual event that prepares scouts to become self sufficient in extreme winter camping environments. Click for "More Klondike Photos" by Assistant Scoutmaster Jeff Stange.
28th Year For Boy Scout Troop 254 And UNICEF - 2006
Sorting of all those donated coins from the Halloween Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF took place at the Nike Base on Sunday evening, November 12. For the 28th year Boy Scouts of Troop 254 efficiently tore open hundreds of those little orange boxes and organized themselves, finally filling many HSBC bags with sorted coins. With friendly cooperation from Mike Samland and his staff at HSBC these have been sent to the main bank downtown for counting. Results will be published soon.
Hal Pierce, Scout Council Advisor, never fails to plan this important, annual event. Lee Tetkowski, with competent help from Jerry Page, chaired the total Island event again. They thank everyone in our generous community for their support. Special thanks to Kathy Fik of Kaegebein l, Jennifer Kropidlowski of Huth Road, Lani Black of Sidway, and Sarah Bifaro of Middle School, who made up the teacher leaders for our schools.
Since Halloween evening was rainy and followed the big October storm, fewer children were out collecting. Your donations are needed. Send your check made out to U. S. Committee for UNICEF to Lee Tetkowski at 1530 Whitehaven Rd. to be included in our total contribution. A nickel may not seem like a lot of money…but it could be enough to save the life of a child.
The following served as 2006 UNICEF Money Sorters
Boy Scouts - Troop 254
Chris Brownschidle
Connor Bryan
Josh Camizzi
Ian Johnson
Joshua Kahn
James McDonnell
Thomas McDonnell
David McMichael
Kevin Neary
Scott Quider
Ian Rogers
Evan Shaw
Ben Sherman
Ben Smith
Drew Stange
Jeff Stange
Adult Leaders
Scoutmaster Jim McDonnell
Tim Camizzi
Lynn Kahn
Tim Szczykutowicz
Council Explorer advisor Hal Pierce
UNICEF Leaders
Lee Tetkowski - Grand Island UNICEF Chair
Jerrie Page - Assistant Grand Island UNICEF Chair
Busy Summer for Boy Scout Troop 254 - 2006
It has been a busy summer for the Boy Scouts of Troop 254. Many of the scouts spent a week at Camp Schoellkopf located in Cowlesville, Wyoming County, NY. The week was full of activities, and many of the scouts earned multiple Merit Badges.
Troop 254 recently went White Water Rafting on the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY. After camping the night before, the scouts and many of their parents enjoyed the three-hour ride on the river.
The troop was also involved in many community service projects.
Troop 254 meets Sunday nights between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., at the Nike Base, 3278 Whitehaven Rd. Boys 11 and up are encouraged to attend a meeting to learn more about the Boy Scouts. No prior scouting experience is necessary.
Andrew Stange Earns Eagle Scout Rank - March 2006
Andrew Stange, 14, has received his Eagle Scout rank from the National Office of the Boy Scouts of America. Andrew is the assistant senior patrol leader of Troop #254, sponsored by the Island Presbyterian Church and is a freshman at Grand Island High School. His Eagle Scout Leadership Project involved the construction of "fox boxes" for Fox Wood Wildlife Rescue in East Concord, NY. Fox Wood is a Wildlife Rehabilitation facility, education center and sanctuary dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating New York State wildlife. Its main goal is to rehabilitate injured and ill wildlife and return them to the wild. It is also one of the few wildlife centers in New York State licensed to handle Rabies Vector Species.
Andrew is the son of Richard and Christine Stange of East River Road. He is an active member of St. Mary of the Cataract RC Church, Niagara Falls and president of the freshman class at Grand Island High School. He is co-chairman of the Hurricane Katrina Relief Drive committed to providing continued relief services to hurricane victims in New Orleans. Andrew has earned his Boy Scout Lifeguard Certification and 41 merit badges with a strong emphasis on waterfront activities. He has completed Greater Niagara Frontier Council Provisional Leadership Training and plans to be employed as a waterfront counselor at Boy Scout Camp Schoellkopf this summer. Andrew actively participates in Student Council, the high school choir, vocal jazz, The Dominant Force, Men's Choir, concert band, jazz band and musical theater. He plans to pursue a college education to prepare him for a law career dedicated to public service.
Jeffrey Stange Receives Scouting’s Highest Rank - February 2006
Jeffrey Stange, 17, of Troop #254 was recently awarded the rank of Eagle Scout by the National Office of the Boy Scouts of America. In completing his Eagle Scout Leadership Project, Jeff led his project team through a multi phase endeavor to benefit the citizens of Grand Island. Responsibilities of the project included assisting with the Town Hall Server Upgrade, including hardware and software installation, network connection, file transfer and database startup for server applications. An inventory of the town’s computer equipment storage area was accomplished, spare parts tested and labeled and unsalvageable equipment prepared for appropriate disposal. A spreadsheet inventory of usable equipment was finalized and entered into town record. The nonfunctioning public access PC received needed service through reformatting the hard drive, installing OS, loading Microsoft Office and securing connection to the network. The final phase of the project entailed providing the Golden Age Center with six functioning PC’s for the town’s senior citizens. After assessing the majority of equipment on site as unsalvageable, Jeff successfully pursued donation of viable, used computer equipment that was serviced and installed at the Golden Age Center. His Eagle Scout Project provided 242 hours of volunteer effort to the Town of Grand Island.
Jeff is the son of Richard and Christine Stange of Grand Island and a senior at Grand Island High School. He is the recipient of the Baden Powell Leadership Award, the InfoTech Niagara Scholarship Award and a representative for the US Robotics Team Competition. He is an active member of the Grand Island High School Chorus, Concert Choir, Vocal Jazz, Madrigals and Dominant Force; Men’s Choir. Jeff plans to attend college as a Computer Technology major in the fall.
Island Presbyterian, Troop #254 Present Parents' Youth Protection Training Program - 2006
Boy Scouts Of America Executive, Christopher Smith, will present a Youth Protection Training opportunity for Parents and Youth on Grand Island 7 p.m. Monday April 3, 2006 at Island Presbyterian Church, 1822 Huth Road.
Nationwide, April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and for the sixth consecutive year, the BSA has designated April as Youth Protection Month for councils, units, families, and community organizations.
Greater Niagara Falls Council along with countless other councils will conduct youth protection training for more than four million youth and adults. Many councils will also provide this training, through BSA videos and DVD's, books, and an Internet course, as a community service to other youth-serving agencies.
"The Boy Scouts of America advocates parents becoming actively involved with their children," said Roy L. Williams, BSA Chief Scout Executive. "Scouting stresses the importance of parents having ongoing communication with their children. I know that this may be difficult, especially for working parents and parents with adolescents, but it is worthwhile to talk to your children every day and take time to listen and observe. It may be the most important contribution you make in the life of your child."
Island Presbyterian Church is the chartering organization for Boy Scout Troop 254 and the newly formed Venture Crew 254 for young men and women ages 14-20 who have an interest in high adventure. Together with the BSA, Island Presbyterian Church would like to extend an open invitation to all youth, parents and adults who have an interest in protecting our youth to attend a Youth Protection Training Event Monday, April 3, 2006 at 7 p.m.
For BSA resources, contact Greater Niagara Falls Council (www.gnfc-bsa.org), or go to
www.scoutstuff.org
Island Presbyterian Church is located at 1822 Huth Road, Grand Island, just across from Huth Road School.
Troop #254 Still Collecting - Can You Help?
Troop #254 Holds Hurricane Katrina Relief Drive
More Supplies Are Needed - 2006
The Boy Scouts of Troop #254 recently collected and sent over a hundred pounds of supplies to New Orleans to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Jeff and Andrew Stange, Senior Patrol Leader and Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, chaired the collection drive. Pictured in the photo are: Andrew Stange, James McDonnell, Jordan Dixon, Ian Rogers, Josh Kahn, Conor Bryan and Kevin Neary.
Buffalo native, Father Tony Rigioli, has been the scouts' contact person, receiving supplies for distribution to the hardest hit areas of New Orleans. Father Tony has conveyed that as displaced citizens' return to salvage what is left of their homes, there is a continued need for essential supplies. The scouts would therefore like to extend their collection drive to the Grand Island community. A Katrina Collection Box will be placed in the IsledeGrande Office located at 1871 Whitehaven Road to receive donations from the community. Pick-up may also be arranged by calling 773-6460.
The items most needed and economical to ship are ALL SIZES OF NEW SOCKS AND UNDERWEAR, as well as new T-shirts, sweatshirts and sweatpants for both adults and children and would also be most welcomed.
The troop would like to express its gratitude to Astellas Pharmaceutical Company for donating shipping boxes for their drive. Troop #254 is sponsored by the Island Presbyterian Church.
27th Year For Boy Scout Troop 254 And UNICEF - 2005
The crumpled dollar bills were carefully dumped out of the orange UNICEF cartons along with the tinkling coins on Sunday evening, November 13, 2005 at the annual UNICEF night for Boy Scout Troop 254. This year the pile of paper money yielded 415 dollar bills, 22 five dollar bills, 6 ten dollar bills, one generous 20 dollar bill and a check! Ten very heavy bank bags were filled with uncounted coins, which have been taken to the Grand island HSBC Bank to be transported to the branch’s downtown automatic counter.
In addition, the teachers of Huth Road Elementary School raised $350 for UNICEF at their dress-down day! As soon as the total is known it will be published. This year 50% will go to families suffering from Hurricane Katrina.
Penny by penny for the past 55 years, millions of American students, schools, parents and partner organizations involved in the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have raised more than $127 million to assist and support children in developing countries. Grand Island has never stopped participating!
“Thanks to all the children who did the collecting, to all the Grand Islanders who responded generously, to the teachers who provided the motivation and understanding, to the Boy Scouts who did the heavy work, and thanks for the support of our town, banks, and places of business!” said long-time chairperson, Lee Tetkowski.
“Next we begin the sales of UNICEF holiday cards and gift items”, she added. These will be available at the following times and sites:
