Two local Boys Scouts complete Eagle projects

Two local Boy Scouts are organizing a community effort to beautify and improve San Vicente Elementary School Monday, as they finish off their Eagle Projects.

Arthur Welch, 16, and Skylar Brown, 17, have organized dozens of volunteers to help them complete their Eagle Projects and finish off a large improvement project at San Vicente Elementary School. Volunteers are meeting at the school at 8am Monday, and will likely work until noon.

Welch and Brown have been involved with the Boy Scouts since they were 11. They are now on the verge of attaining their Eagle Scout rank, the highest advancement rank in Scouting.

Welch is finishing off the last phase of his Eagle Project Monday. During the first phase of his project, Welch, with the help of CUC, organized an effort to trim a number of flame trees at San Vicente Elementary School, which were falling over due to decay. After the trees were trimmed, Welch organized a number of scouts and community members to haul off the thousands of pounds of branches that were cut down.

On Monday, Welch plans to erect a barrier to block off cars from driving around blind turns where children often play at the school. He also plans to lay cement over an erosion hazard in order to prevent future erosion and make the area safer for children.

So far, Welch estimates he has spent about 40 hours on his project.

“It has been a lot of hard work, but its fun to do hard work,” Welch said. “I’ve learned skills like wood hauling, leadership, and how to follow up.”

Meanwhile, Brown is working to improve the San Vicente Agriculture Science Project. Brown has spent nearly 15 of his Saturdays refurbishing an old water tank, which held tilapia fish before it was damaged by a typhoon.

Brown organized an effort to drain the tank, clean it, and remove the old pipe. He then scraped off the old paint and painted the exterior. Brown put in a significant amount of time learning how to restore the tank.

So far, Brown estimates he has spent nearly 70 hours on his project.

“I wanted to help out the science instruction at the school,” Brown said. “I felt this would impact the school not just temporarily but for a long time. Its impact would last.”

Welch and Brown are both members of Troop 913, which is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“I could not be prouder of these scouts,” said Eric Nelson, Troop 913 Scoutmaster. “They have put in countless hours researching their projects, organizing volunteers, and carrying out their plans in order to improve the community. There aren’t a lot of adults who can carry out projects of this magnitude, let alone two high school students. These two scouts are wonderful examples for all of us.”

Assistant Scoutmaster Val Welch played a large role in the projects and helped both boys organize and implement their plans.

Not every boy who joins a Boy Scout troop earns the Eagle Scout rank; only about 5 percent of all Boy Scouts do so. This represents more than 1.7 million Boy Scouts who have earned the rank since 1912. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]