Last week we commented in this space about the anniversary being celebrated by the 4-H program in Warren County, and about that group's positive effect on young people.
Today, we're going to add to the list of hopeful reminders, the Chief Cornplanter Council of Boy Scouts of America, the oldest continuously operating council of Boy Scouts in the United States.
The local council recently learned that the Boy Scouts has ranked it at the top of the heap of councils across the country in several factors, each of them an indication that the good work being done here will continue for a long, long time.
Like 4-H, the credit goes to the legions of volunteers, adult leaders and mentors who donate their time, their knowledge and their experience to help shape young men into leaders for the coming generation. Ask these people why they do it, and virtually every one of them will tell you it's fun and rewarding at the same time. You might also hear them say that it's a privilege.
The results of their contribution are staggering. The young men they have mentored have gone on to be leaders in their communities and models for generations to come.
Too often, given our steady diet of troubling news about young people, we overlook the positives that have endured. The Boy Scouts, and in particular the Chief Cornplanter Council, provide us some respite, some reassurance that there is hope for the future.