(no subject)
H Greg Meyer (hgmeyer@ROCKETMAIL.COM)
Mon, 8 Jun 1998 16:02:42 -0700
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
Faith United Methodist Church, B & G Train
World,
and William Werst, all of Elgin, have filed a 10
count civil complaint against the Boy Scouts of
America, the Three Fires Council, an Illinois
not-for-profit corporation having the local franchise
to conduct Scouting in the Fox Valley and DuPage
County area, a current employee of the Three Fires
Council, a current employee of the Boy Scouts of
America, and members of the board of Three Fires
Council.
Faith United Methodist Church, B & G Train
World and
Werst all wish to emphasize that this lawsuit is not
meant to condemn BSA or the Scouting program, which
they wholeheartedly support. However, the wrongful
actions of a few local scouting officials have served
to interfere with the scouting program, have deprived
thousands of local youths of the opportunity to
become involved in scouting, and have caused
innumerable adult volunteers to leave the program
unnecessarily. The plaintiffs , among others ,
attempts to work with scouting officials to address
these problems have been either ignored or met with
threats to revoke memberships in scouting for
unspecified reasons. The Three Fires Council in fact
revoked Werst s membership last year in a secret
proceeding, and has steadfastly refused to give any
reason or explanation for this removal to either
Faith United Methodist Church or B & G Train World,
for whom Werst worked, or to Werst himself, in
contravention of Illinois law.
The complaint alleges that the local council
has
violated Illinois law by refusing to allow the church
and others to inspect the records of the council.
The complaint further alleges that William Werst, a
member since 1954 of BSA, both as a scout and an
adult volunteer who has earned numerous scouting
honors, including the Eagle Scout rank as a youth,
was illegally removed from membership in BSA and the
local council by the Defendants. It is also alleged
that the individual defendants engaged in a
conspiracy to wrongfully remove Mr. Werst from
membership in BSA for their own personal benefit.
Finally, the complaint alleges that the Defendants,
through their actions, have wrongfully interfered
with contracts between Faith UM Church and B & G
Train World, and William Werst. The Church and B & G
had contracted with Werst to run their Cub Scout, Boy
Scout, and Explorer groups, and as their
representative to the local Three Fires Council.
In addition to the Three Fires Council and the
National BSA, the complaint names as individual
defendants: The Assistant Regional Direct of BSA,
John Kemper, whose office is in Naperville, Illinois;
Suzette Heinze, a resident of South Elgin, Illinois
and an employee of the Three Fires Council; Lawrence
Harrington of East Dundee, Illinois, a local council
Vice-President and board member; David Clark of rural
East Dundee, former Chairman of the local council s
District Committee, and Daniel Debruycker, the local
council Commissioner.
The Plaintiffs are Faith United Methodist
Church,
located at 19 Center Street, Elgin, Illinois, B & G
Train World, a local hobby shop located at 829
Walnut, Elgin, Illinois, and William Werst, a local
Elgin insurance agent whose offices are at 1108
Larkin Ave., Elgin, Illinois.
Attached are copies of the complaint (Kane
County
General Number CH K 98-419) which has attached
selected correspondence and replies by the local
council. Plaintiffs will hold a press conference at
6:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 2, 1998 at Faith United
Methodist Church, for all interested parties.
Contact
William R. Werst, Jr.
1108 Larkin Avenue
Elgin, Illinois 60123
(847) 695-1552
E-mail: hgmeyer@rocketmail.com
miller_ez@mailexcite.com
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