Knox Trail Scout Executive Director To Retire

Dennis Prefontaine’s has served as Boy Scout of America Knox Trail’s first and only executive director; a Life Scout, the Holliston resident joined the Cub Scouts in 1954 and was awarded the Life Saving Award for helping a young man having a seizure.

Boy Scouts of America Knox Trail Council Executive Director Dennis Prefontaine will retire on Dec. 31, after four decades working with Scouts. A Life Scout, Prefontaine joined the Cub Scouts in 1954 and was awarded the Life Saving Award for his part in assisting a young man having a seizure and is a Vigil Member of the Order of the Arrow where he received the Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award. Being a professional with the Boy Scouts of America is the only job he has had since graduating from New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University) in 1970. He began his career with Pine Tree Council in Portland, Maine from 1970 to 1977 where he served as District Executive, Program Director and District Director of Casco …

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Scouts Cleanup At Fino Field

Webelos worked toward their Citizenship Badges last weekend.

Cub scouts and Webelos from Pack 67, Den 6, sponsored by the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church needed a project to earn their Citizenship badges and the boys selected a cleanup project at Fino Field. This stage prepares the Scout for participation in the great adventure of Boy Scouting by providing them with a variety of new experiences to help them assume responsibilities and gain maturity, knowledge and skills. The boys spent several hours on and around the playing field picking up whatever trash was left behind from a season of sports activities.

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Contributor Corner

Scouting for Food in Milford

Milford Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts all participated in a town-wide effort to collect canned goods for the Milford Daily Bread Food Pantry.

Milford scouts of all ages helped out last Sunday as Scouting for Food got underway. Scouts helped sort the collections, which were placed by donors in brown bags, and then picked up by the scouts. The donations will go to the Daily Bread Food Pantry.

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Boy Scouts Collecting Food

The Knox Trail Council's 25th annual food drive starts Nov. 3.

For the 25th year, the Knox Trail Council Boy Scouts will do a Good Turn for area food pantries. This year, the demand on the pantries has taken an unexpected turn, said Ed Behn of Westborough, the event chairman. A food pantry speaker at September’s Scouting for Food, Good Turn for America kickoff meeting “definitely said they continue to see growing needs,” Behn said. “They’re seeing a lot more underemployed now. People that had had jobs, but now they’re not making the same, so they need to supplement. So, they’re seeing a wider audience, a non-traditional audience,” Behn said. Collecting more than 100 tons of food is the goal of this year’s drive, which starts Saturday, Nov. 3. Boy and Cub Scouts will go door-to-door in the council's 21…

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Lisa Vasile

11:47 am on Thursday, October 25, 2012

Don't forget to come down Bethel Rd - our bags are often left and no one picks them up   more ›

Knox Trail Boy Scouts May Vote To Ignore Anti-Gay Stance

When the Knox Trail Boy Scouts Council Board of Directors meets Thursday, they may vote to take action against the National Boy Scouts anti-gay policy.

When the Knox Trail Boy Scouts Council Board of Directors meets Thursday night, they may vote to take action against the National Boy Scouts anti-gay policy. The Council represents Framingham, Milford and 18 other communities in Massachusetts. The possible vote comes after more than half of the parents of Framingham Cub Scout Pack 12, based out of Plymouth Church, sent a letter in September to the executive director of The Knox Trail Council of Boy Scouts, stating they have and will continue to ignore the anti-gay policy of Boy Scouts of America. The letter, submitted and signed by 38 Framingham parents states: "Our Scout Pack has been an important and powerful force in our community, and in the lives of our children, parents and guardians…

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SOUND OFF: Eagle Scouts Give Back Badges, Medals

Do you think it's going too far?

Eagle badges and medals are being sent back to the Boy Scouts of America to protest its reaffirmation of its policy to not grant membership to open gays, according to a boston.com article. According to a national blog chronicling the protests, about 150 Eagle Scouts have mailed back their awards as of Aug. 26. The Boy Scouts of America have confirmed that medals and badges have been returned, according to the boston.com piece. “Each year more than 50,000 young men earn the rank of Eagle Scout, totaling to over 2 million,” said Boy Scouts national spokesman Deron Smith. “We don’t have an exact count of medals returned recently, but we have received a few. Although we are disappointed to learn of anyone who feels compelled to return his …

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David Nolta

1:21 am on Monday, September 3, 2012

As always, Andy, well said and truly balanced.   more ›

Contributor Corner

Four Milford Eagle Scouts Recognized

Steven Dorsey, Stephen Ward, Timothy Doyle and Erik Hytholt, all of Milford, were among the Eagle Scouts recognized at a dinner in Marlborough last week.

The Knox Trail Council of the Boy Scouts of America this month honored its Class of 2011-2012 Eagle Scouts at a banquet held at the Courtyard by Marriott in Marlborough. Organized by the Council’s National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) Committee, over 100 Scouts, parents, Scout leaders, and mentors attended to celebrate the Scouts’ achieving the highest rank in Boy Scouting. Milford scouts reaching this status were Steven Dorsey, Stephen Ward, Timothy Doyle and Erik Hytholt. Between 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, 156 Knox Trail Council Scouts attained the rank of Eagle Scout, representing 8 percent of all current Scouts. Across the United States only about 5 percent of Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. Serving as Honorary Guest…

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By The Numbers

Scouting Interest

Interest in regional scouting activities is on the rise.

The following information was provided by the Knox Trail Council of Boy Scouts of America, for activities involving Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and related programs in Milford, Hopedale and Mendon: 253 boys in Cub Scouts 193 boys in Boy Scouts 12 young adults in Venturing 68 young adults in Exploring 525 Scouts participated in camping experiences, for an average of one activity per month in 2010. 2,900 hours of community service by packs, troops and venturing crews. 16 Eagle Scouts were named in 2010 100 tons of food collected by council troops for needy families.

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