Eagle Scout

If last week's game was a must-win, then what is Sunday's game against the Bills? A can't-lose? That sounds about right. The Eagles can't lose at Buffalo. They can't lose, because if they do they will fall to an unfathomable 1-4. They can't lose, because if they do the playoffs are all but a dream. They can't lose, because if they do they really are nothing more than just a bad team masquerading as something more. So can they win? The oddsmakers believe so. The Eagles are three-point favorites.

It was three years ago in Port Richmond when a man fell unconscious and stopped breathing next door to Ronald Patrick Whelan's home. Whelan, who was then only 13, was credited with saving the man's life by quickly administering CPR and dialing 911 for paramedics. The youngster had been a Boy Scout for five years and had just received a first aid merit badge, one of 40 he's earned. "He was awarded a national scouting medal of merit for his action," said his proud father, Ronald Joseph Whelan, scoutmaster of Troop 282 for the past 18 months.

A 20-year-old Boy Scout from Springfield received a commendation Tuesday from the Springfield Township Board of Commissioners. Donald Haffelfinger was honored for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest level for Boy Scouts. Haffelfinger attends the Devereux Day School part-time and is a member of Boy Scout Troop 89, a troop for handicapped boys. He earned Eagle status by making an outdoor scoreboard for the school and writing a 20-page report on the project. The scout was recently voted into the Order of the Arrow by his fellow troop members, who also awarded him the Silver Buckle Award.

Josh Abrams, a recent graduate of Haverford High School, completed the long trail and became an Eagle Scout during the Court of Honor held in June. Abrams began his trail in 1987, when he joined Troop 466. An Eagle is scouting's highest rank. Abrams was active in school and scout activities, including being editor of Haverford's Literary Magazine and president of the school's Environmental Aid organization. He also spent several weeks working and learning about wilderness conservation in Alaska and marine ecology in Massachusetts.

Making Eagle Scout is difficult enough in and of itself. Earning the Eagle badge while still in the eighth grade, at age 13, is pushing the envelope. Chris Riker, an eighth grader at Medford Township Memorial School, is one precocious Eagle Scout, an honor he achieved early this month after passing his board of review. "It's quite a feat to make it happen that quick," said John Wojciechowicz, assistant executive director of the county Boy Scout Council. "Most make Eagle when they're age 15, 16 or 17. " To attain scouting's highest honor, a scout must earn 21 merit badges, 11 of which are required, give leadership in his troop, and do a service project that will benefit the community.

It's not a typical walker. But the shiny, lightweight metal frame with three wheels and squeeze-trigger hand brakes is Daniel Collins' constant companion as it glides smoothly over most flat surfaces. Winding, wooded trails are another story. "I usually pop a wheelie," Collins, 24, said, describing how he manages the long hikes with his Boy Scout troop from Rosemont. For 12 years, Collins has hiked, camped, gathered wood for shelters, built those shelters, administered first aid, studied Indian lore, shot rifles, and endlessly earned merit badges as all the best Scouts do - but with one difference.

David H. MacNeal Jr., 21, a Marine Corps veteran and Eagle Scout, died of a gunshot wound Sunday in Upper Darby. Upper Darby police have charged Michael DiBattista with the shooting and are investigating the circumstances of the shooting, which occurred in DiBattista's home. Mr. MacNeal grew up in Media. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 342 in Media and became an Eagle Scout at 14. He was past commander of cadets at the Delco Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol and earned a pilot's certificate at Lakehurst Naval Air Station at 15. For the last seven years, he had been a member of the Lenni Heights Fire Company and was a certified emergency medical technician.

To become an Eagle Scout, Kevin Diehl cleaned parks, painted bridges, removed graffiti from walls, collected clothing for the poor, put together holiday food baskets and participated in all camping activities. Among other things. Achieving scouting's highest rank is an achievement for any young man. The accolade is all the more noteworthy for Diehl, who was born with Down syndrome. Diehl, 25, is a member of Boy Scout Troop 74, a traditional scouting program for mentally handicapped boys offered by the Boy Scouts of America Philadelphia Council and sponsored by the Lawncrest Kiwanis Club of Northeast Philadelphia.

Dr. Edward A. Dachowski has raised a small flock of eagles - Eagle Scouts, that is. Each of the Horsham dentist's six sons has soared to scouting's highest honor. The youngest, a freshman at the University of Scranton, received his Eagle badge Jan. 7. Stephen R. Dachowski was engraved on a plaque along with the names of 33 other Eagle Scouts who have come out of Troop 305 sponsored by St. David's Roman Catholic Church in Willow Grove. Five other Dachowski names appear above his on the plaque.

About 60 people gathered in Berwyn United Methodist Church on Sunday, Jan. 13, to watch Matt Warnock, a junior at Conestoga High School, earn the rank of Eagle Scout, the crowning achievement of a scouting career. To make his way to the apex of scouting ranks, Warnock had organized a learning skills fair at Royer-Greaves School for Blind in Paoli last summer, a project that was inspired by the words of a former Royer-Greaves student who had died. Warnock and the rest of Troop 181, based in Paoli, had visited Royer-Greaves a few years before his Eagle Scout project, and spent about an hour hanging out with some of the students there.

Matthew James Davis, 28, of Kennett Square, an account manager with Verizon Communications, a lacrosse player, and an Eagle Scout, died Saturday, March 17, of injuries suffered when he was struck by a car on Baltimore Pike near his home. Mr. Davis was trying to retrieve his dog, Bella, who had run across the road. He had raised the three-year-old American Staffordshire terrier since she was a puppy, his father, Jim, said. He loved animals and, when he was growing up, helped raise many dogs, cats and rabbits, his father said.

William D. Fairman, 77, of Prospect Park, a retired machinist and community volunteer, died of lung cancer Tuesday, Feb. 7, at home. For 44 years, Mr. Fairman worked for Boeing Co. in Ridley Park, where he helped develop helicopter rotor blades. After retiring in 1995, he made deliveries for area florists. He was working for Tunie's Floral Expressions in Folcroft when he became ill in November. Since 1960, he had been married to Wanda Eddy Fairman. They met at a church social in Prospect Park, where they later raised a family.

Steven M. Dranoff, 68, of Society Hill, a personal-injury and civil-litigation lawyer, died Sunday, Jan. 22, of colon cancer at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. For more than a decade, Mr. Dranoff headed Dranoff Associates in Center City. Over the years, by word of mouth, he became well-known as a lawyer in the Asian community and represented Korean, Vietnamese, and Cambodian clients, his wife, Carol Epstein Dranoff, said. Through his practice, he and his wife had several Asian friends.

The Eagles will be either playing for their playoff life or playing for nothing. And they'll find out pretty much right before Saturday's 4:15 p.m. kickoff at Dallas whether it's the former or the latter. So the Eagles' preparation for the Cowboys should be unaffected by the outcome of the New York Giants-Jets game. But after they finish their prep work, it's anyone's guess how they'll perform. A Jets victory, and the Eagles would know the task at hand: They have to win. If the Giants win, however, then the Eagles' season would come to a sudden conclusion and the three-plus hours that follow will have little meaning.

Henry A. Balestriere, 90, a longtime resident and civic leader in Prospect Park, Delaware County, died Sunday, Nov. 20, of congestive heart failure at his daughter's home in Killingworth, Conn. Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Balestriere graduated from West Philadelphia High School in 1941. He settled in Prospect Park in 1953 and took great pride in having built his brick house there. "It was his life's project," said his daughter, Annette Mehan. Mr. Balestriere was an Army infantryman during World War II, serving in the Aleutian Islands.

Recent history: The Cardinals defeated the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game, 32-25, on Jan. 18, 2009, and lead the all-time series, 55-54-5. OFFENSE Eagles 434.4 yards a game (3rd) Cardinals 312.5 yards a game (25th) Quarterback Eagles Michael Vick needs to take better care of the ball. He is 26th in interception percentage. He's got 12 of the team's league-high giveaways - nine interceptions and three lost fumbles. Five of those 12 giveaways have come in the red zone.

The comparison between the 2011 Eagles and the 2010 Dallas Cowboys has been a popular one, and it's easy to see why. Both teams, stocked with talent, were picked by some in the preseason to reach the Super Bowl or at least qualify for the playoffs. For whatever reason, however, they each stumbled out of the chute, sometimes tripping over their own feet along the way. Dallas' situation, however, was much more dire. For one, they opened 1-5 as opposed to the Eagles' 2-4. And two, the Cowboys suffered a fatal blow when quarterback Tony Romo had his collarbone broken in the sixth game and was lost for the season.

If last week's game was a must-win, then what is Sunday's game against the Bills? A can't-lose? That sounds about right. The Eagles can't lose at Buffalo. They can't lose, because if they do they will fall to an unfathomable 1-4. They can't lose, because if they do the playoffs are all but a dream. They can't lose, because if they do they really are nothing more than just a bad team masquerading as something more. So can they win? The oddsmakers believe so. The Eagles are three-point favorites.

RICHARD BOWMAN "Dick" Marion, who ran the Boy Scout program in Philadelphia in the '80s and '90s, had a simple faith in the redemptive nature of the Scouting movement. Under his leadership, bands of Scouts went into city and suburban neighborhoods to collect food, and also ran fundraising drives, not to benefit Scouting so much as to help the needy residents of the city. His guiding philosophy was that boys who get involved in the Scouts are on their way to becoming productive citizens.