City Council Applauds St. Charles Eagle Scouts, North Student

Some thought Monday night’s crowd  had gathered in the St. Charles City Council Chambers to listen to the council deliberate over the sale of firearms by the Police Department to two licensed gun dealers.

But the crowd was there for several other reasons.

First, there was the presentation of the colors by St. Patrick’s School Boy Scout Troop 10, whose members led the City Council and those attending the meeting in the Boy Scout Pledge and then the Pledge of Allegiance.

Then came the presentations:

• Eagle Scout Kevin Patrick Tierney, a member of Troop 10 since 2006. Among a long list of accomplishments, Tierney concluded his quest for Eagle with the construction of a wigwam for the St. Charles Park District. He led a crew in stripping 60 trees of 15 to 20 feet in length to erect a wigwam that will be visited by third-graders in the years to come.

• Eagle Scout Eric James Vonderhaar is another member of Boy Scout Troop 10. The junior at Aurora Central Catholic High School prepared and painted the northern section of the Durant-Peterson House at Leroy-Oakes Forest Preserve to achieve Scouting’s highest rank.

• Also singled out for praise were Dorene Tieche and the third-graders from Munhall Elementary School. The youngsters wrote thank-you notes to the mayor and aldermen for allowing their voices to be heard and their opinions being valued. Mayor Raymond Rogina said the children’s visit to the meeting was to culminate their learning in social studies, where they learned about people who stood up to take action, thereby helping others. They also learned how St. Charles grew and is changing and evolving to meet the needs and wants of residents. In addition, as part of their writing curriculum, they learned about opinion writing, and wrote to the mayor about things they think would improve the community. “They have written some wonderful letters with some wonderful ideas for how we can make St. Charles a better place,” Rogina said.

• St. Charles North High School student David Eilken was singled out for honors as well. Illinois Municipal Utilities Association Director Ed Cobau presented the youth with a $500 scholarship check for a paper he wrote on fracking. The city of St. Charles contributed another $500 to the scholarship award as well.