By Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
Scouts in Manville’s Cub Scout Pack 193 and Troop 193 were honored for their accomplishments at the annual Blue and Gold Dinner held Sunday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
Scoutmaster Jim Kelly introduced the dinner’s guests, including Mayor Lillian Zuza and VFW representative Kevin Clarke.
Mr. Clarke recognized the troop’s Eagle Scouts including a surprise announcement for Scout Daniel Allen. Mr. Kelly read a letter from the Boy Scout national office he had received Friday congratulating Daniel on achieving the rank.
The award presentations began with Cubmaster Bruce Hixson presenting trophies for the Cub Scouts’ Pinewood Derby. Nicholas Mattei received the first place honors, Ramon Quinonez second place, Nicholas Lazos third and an honorable mention went to Blair Sauerhofer.
Nicholas Mattei also received the pack’s “Rain Gutter Regatta” first place trophy, and winners Luke Drobny (second), Jaeden Alpizar (third) and Ramon Quinonez (honorable mention) were also honored. Each Scout who participated also received a certificate with special recognition categories.
Scouts earning the Bobcat rank were Jaedan Alpizar, Cole Chapkowski, Timothy Franks, Damian Klementovich, Demetri Kontos, Nicholas Lazos, Nicholas Mattei, Blair Sauerhoefer and Anthony Tomasko. The Webelos Award and the Outdoorsman pin were presented to Daniel Bickar, Luke and Matthew Drobny, Nicholas Lazos, Ramon Quinonez, Michael Zangara and Kenneth Zepeda.
Webelos Scouts Luke Drobny, Matthew Drobny and Michael Zangara completed their Cub Scouting achievements by earning the Arrow of Light, the highest rank in Cub Scouting. The traditional ceremony of crossing the bridge from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts was held and they became the newest members of Troop 193.
The Scouts were greeted on the other side of the ceremonial bridge by the Boy Scouts in the troop.
Several Boy Scout awards were presented, and Scouts Matthew Miller, Justin Olejnik and Matthew Trond received Scouting’s Star rank, recognizing their activity as leaders for their troop. Matthew Miller also received merit badges in camping, Citizen in the Nation, leatherwork and mammal study; Justin received the Citizen in the Nation badge; and Jasiu Olejnik earned the Personal Management badge.
John Osmond earned Life Rank, Citizen in the Nation, and Citizenship in the World, cooking and emergency preparedness badges. Peter Stadtmueller earned the communications and Indian lore badges and Matthew Trond also received Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World and cooking badges.
Douglas Weber earned the Second Class rank, cooking and camping merit badges and Jason Fiduk earned Citizenship in the World and cooking badges.
Mr. Kelly acknowledged all the Scouts leaders and thanked them for their assistance. Assistant Scoutmasters with Troop 193 include Susan Blanken, Bruce Hixson, Bill Miller, Jim Kelly Jr., Mike Sellar and Mike Trond. Troop committee members include Fred Gorbatuk, Dan Edson, Mark Gregor and Russ Rayot.
Cub Scout leaders are Mike Drobny, Mary Ellen Zangara, Anne Tomasko and Carrissa Chapkowski. The committee for Cub Scouts includes Mr. Kelly, Andrea Jenner, Cindy Zins and Nole Chapkowski.
Closing out the awards ceremony, Luke Drobny was named Cub Scout of the Year and Dan Bickar was named Leader of the Year. For the Boy Scouts, Matthew Miller received the Boy Scout of the Year award and the Boy Scout Leader of the Year was Bruce Hixson.

