Youth Group

Youths in town are organizing a new initiative to address social issues, suggest community policy, and promote community service. The Medfield Youth Action Committee will hold its first meeting on Wednesday at Medfield High School. According to the group's mission statement, the youth-led effort seeks to "provide a forum for Medfield's youth to unite with the broader community" and "build bridges by forming mutually beneficial relationships with community leaders. " Initial efforts will focus upon stress reduction and prevention among Medfield's young people, and promote healthy relationships and volunteer...

An autopsy Thursday showed a gunshot to the head killed a man at the center of an Oregon murder-suicide investigation, and the medical examiner said it was consistent with a self-inflicted wound. Police identified the man as Nikolai Lazukin, 27. His body was found Tuesday in a car 80 miles south of a burned house in Salem where his wife and three children were found dead. Authorities said the wife and two of the children had been shot, and an infant asphyxiated. Neither police nor Deputy State Medical Examiner Larry Lewman would officially call the death a suicide.

The Torch Club at the Jordan Boys & Girls Club received the second-place award in the annual national service competition sponsored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Staples Foundation, the charitable arm of Staples. The Torch Club is a program for youths ages 11 to 13 designed to build character and leadership skills. Each year, Torch clubs nationwide participate in the competition, which involves undertaking a daylong service project. The theme of this year's project was "children helping children.

The Torch Club at the Jordan Boys & Girls Club received the second-place award in the annual national service competition sponsored by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Staples Foundation, the charitable arm of Staples. The Torch Club is a program for youths ages 11 to 13 designed to build character and leadership skills. Each year, Torch clubs nationwide participate in the competition, which involves undertaking a daylong service project. The theme of this year's project was "children helping children.

The Burlington Drug and Alcohol Task Force is launching an initiative as it prepares to celebrate turning 30 next year. The task force is establishing a youth group to operate within its organization. Any middle- or high-school-age resident is invited to join. "We are very excited about it," said task force chairwoman Marilyn Belmonte. The hope is participants will help get more young people involved with the task force's work because they may be "better able to reach young people. " Founded in 1982, the organization has been focused on combating youth drug and alcohol use. But Belmonte...

SHARON - As a child, Rahul Polu wasn't sure how to be both Indian and American. He lived in a small town in Texas. His parents sensed his discomfort, and he sensed something similar in them; the other youngsters' mothers, it seemed, never had much to say to his. They moved to Massachusetts when Polu was still in elementary school. They had family here, but the move didn't change the fact that he was one of only a few Hindu students in school. If the subject came up, his classmates would ask questions like "So you worship cows?"

The Kenya wildlife Service says seven members of a church youth group visiting one of its parks have died after they were swept away in a gorge by water from flash floods. Kenya Wildlife Service spokesman Paul Udoto said Monday the seven were part of a group walking in the gorge at Hells Gate National Park in Naivasha, about 50 miles (75 kilometers) northwest of Kenya's capital Nairobi. Udoto says 53 members from the Mukara Presbyterian Church of East Africa youth group in Nairobi were visiting the park on Sunday when the incident happened.

By Shaunna Gately, Town Correspondent A group of 41 teenagers and members of St. Mary's Church in Dedham left this morning on a 13-day trip to Madrid to participate in World Youth Day, a celebration of the Roman Catholic Church held every three years. The teens have been raising money for the past 18 months to attend the Aug. 16-21 festivities, participating in car washes and other fund-raising activities like trivia nights and golf tournaments. For the majority of the group, it will be their first time attending the six-day pilgrimage, which typically...

It's Sunday around noon and a line forms that winds around the towering bronze Brewer Fountain in a corner of Boston Common. Weary-looking men and women shuffle forward, making their way toward the folding card tables, where a dozen teenagers hand out carefully wrapped sandwiches and bags of potato chips. It is the end of the month, and many of these people's food stamps have run out. Walking by, you might mistake the whole thing for a soup line. The cast of characters seems right: the long line of the downtrodden, carrying their...

A local youth group is inviting the public to a special fund-raising event next month. Lynn's Youth Street Outreach Advocacy Program is holding a spaghetti dinner March 23 at the newly renovated Lynn Museum. The event, to be held 7-11 p.m., will feature food products created in Lynn, including fresh pasta made by students at Lynn Technical High School and sauce made with tomatoes grown at the International Food Garden, a community garden at the Ford Elementary School. There will also be a disc jockey and a cash bar. The sponsoring group is a nonprofit that provides advocacy for young...

An Israeli newspaper says a central city has agreed to a request by an Orthodox religious group to ban girls from singing at a youth conference next week. The Haaretz daily reported Thursday that the Kfar Sava town council imposed the ban to respect the wishes of the Bnei Akiva religious youth group. Various youth movements are set to participate in the conference. Strictly Orthodox Jewish men do not listen to women singing for reasons of religious modesty. Neither Bnei Akiva nor Kfar Sava officials could immediately be reached for comment.

The Kenya wildlife Service says seven members of a church youth group visiting one of its parks have died after they were swept away in a gorge by water from flash floods. Kenya Wildlife Service spokesman Paul Udoto said Monday the seven were part of a group walking in the gorge at Hells Gate National Park in Naivasha, about 50 miles (75 kilometers) northwest of Kenya's capital Nairobi. Udoto says 53 members from the Mukara Presbyterian Church of East Africa youth group in Nairobi were visiting the park on Sunday when the incident happened.

A local youth group is inviting the public to a special fund-raising event next month. Lynn's Youth Street Outreach Advocacy Program is holding a spaghetti dinner March 23 at the newly renovated Lynn Museum. The event, to be held 7-11 p.m., will feature food products created in Lynn, including fresh pasta made by students at Lynn Technical High School and sauce made with tomatoes grown at the International Food Garden, a community garden at the Ford Elementary School. There will also be a disc jockey and a cash bar. The sponsoring group is a nonprofit that provides advocacy for young people facing economic...

Youths in town are organizing a new initiative to address social issues, suggest community policy, and promote community service. The Medfield Youth Action Committee will hold its first meeting on Wednesday at Medfield High School. According to the group's mission statement, the youth-led effort seeks to "provide a forum for Medfield's youth to unite with the broader community" and "build bridges by forming mutually beneficial relationships with community leaders. " Initial efforts will focus upon stress reduction and prevention among Medfield's young people, and promote healthy relationships and volunteer...

It's Sunday around noon and a line forms that winds around the towering bronze Brewer Fountain in a corner of Boston Common. Weary-looking men and women shuffle forward, making their way toward the folding card tables, where a dozen teenagers hand out carefully wrapped sandwiches and bags of potato chips. It is the end of the month, and many of these people's food stamps have run out. Walking by, you might mistake the whole thing for a soup line. The cast of characters seems right: the long line of the downtrodden, carrying their belongings on their backs or in tattered bags; the...

The fifth annual blood drive to honor the memory of Dan McCabe will be held Nov. 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, 207 Washington St. McCabe was a senior at Wellesley High School when he died in 2007. "He was a Boy Scout, a real, vibrant core of the youth group here," said the Rev. Jim Brommers Bergquist, an associate minister at the church. "One of the things he did, he gave blood frequently as a high schooler. " The blood drive in his honor brings out more than 100 people each year, said McCabe's father, Gary.

An Israeli newspaper says a central city has agreed to a request by an Orthodox religious group to ban girls from singing at a youth conference next week. The Haaretz daily reported Thursday that the Kfar Sava town council imposed the ban to respect the wishes of the Bnei Akiva religious youth group. Various youth movements are set to participate in the conference. Strictly Orthodox Jewish men do not listen to women singing for reasons of religious modesty. Neither Bnei Akiva nor Kfar Sava officials could immediately be reached for comment.

The fifth annual blood drive to honor the memory of Dan McCabe will be held Nov. 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, 207 Washington St. McCabe was a senior at Wellesley High School when he died in 2007. "He was a Boy Scout, a real, vibrant core of the youth group here," said the Rev. Jim Brommers Bergquist, an associate minister at the church. "One of the things he did, he gave blood frequently as a high schooler. " The blood drive in his honor brings out more than 100 people each year, said McCabe's father, Gary.

SHARON - As a child, Rahul Polu wasn't sure how to be both Indian and American. He lived in a small town in Texas. His parents sensed his discomfort, and he sensed something similar in them; the other youngsters' mothers, it seemed, never had much to say to his. They moved to Massachusetts when Polu was still in elementary school. They had family here, but the move didn't change the fact that he was one of only a few Hindu students in school. If the subject came up, his classmates would ask questions like "So you worship cows?"

The Burlington Drug and Alcohol Task Force is launching an initiative as it prepares to celebrate turning 30 next year. The task force is establishing a youth group to operate within its organization. Any middle- or high-school-age resident is invited to join. "We are very excited about it," said task force chairwoman Marilyn Belmonte. The hope is participants will help get more young people involved with the task force's work because they may be "better able to reach young people. " Founded in 1982, the organization has been focused on combating...