HONORS

Continued from page 28 piping for the marina pump-out, which runs under the boardwalk.

In November we began laying out new planks, 60 feet each weekend through December. We removed 6,000 screws and put in 6,000 new screws. Seven hundred planks were installed.

In February after most snow had melted, the planks were trimmed even and a final inspection was done for missed screws.

I sincerely thank my Eagle Mentor, Jim Allen and my Dad, my Eagle Coach for all their time and encouragement.

AARON GLASS’ EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT

My project first began from the idea of working with the American Legion, and I wanted to do this to hopefully encourage future scouts to keep ties with them, as we have a long history of collaboration.

Ultimately my Dad and I decided to work with Post 217 in Wyandotte, who had graciously offered to fund the majority of the project.

With a few months of planning, we finally came to a proper layout. The biggest part of the project would be pulling back the river rock on either side of the parking lot, replacing the old weed barrier with a fresh one, and laying the river rock back on again.

These areas on either side were about 110 ft by 4 ft long on average, and it took about six hours per side, splitting them up one day each.

We also added about 1 ½ total yards of extra river rock to even out the surface.

From there we beautified the rest of the front entrance in many creative ways. This included posting up flower boxes along the fence line, adding flowers and mulch to the flower beds, as well as de-weeding and tidying up the entire lot.

There were also many paint jobs, which included the base of the flagpole, a self-made stencil of a “Welcome Riders’’ message by the bikers’ lot, and a fresh coat of paint for the soldier statue out front.

This project took four months of planning and preparation, and 2 weekends worth of physical labor, totaling 145 labor hours.

Overall, I think this project gave me a mountain of leadership, and I am blessed and thankful to have such wonderful friends and family to help make this project happen.

CONNOR PERRICANE’S EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT

My Eagle Scout Project was building a Dog Agility Course. I did research on dog agility courses and decided it would be a good project because I like dogs, especially my dog Boone.

I made a presentation to the Township Recreation Committee, and they approved the idea. We were approved to use a portion of the Grosse Ile Dog Park in Centennial Farms. The township put a fence in to separate the Dog Agility Course from the rest of the dog park.

I was able to raise funds for the project by setting up a table in front of the Grosse Ile Hardware store and Island Pet and Garden Supply. I also set up a Go-Fund me account. I had a big pile of wood in my driveway. We spent several days in my driveway just painting and cutting the wood and pipes. We painted the supplies in my driveway, so we could focus on building the obstacles at the dog park.

My dog agility course has seven obstacles: Adjustable hurdle jumps, a ramp and elevated walk, weave poles, an “A” Frame, a hoop jump, teetertotter and a tunnel.

It took us a few days to install the different obstacles. I gave the people a plan for their obstacle and a bag with all of the parts. When we were almost done, we spray painted dog paw prints on some of the obstacles. I think this made it look really good. We used a lot of paint for obstacles. For some of the obstacles, we mixed sand in with the paint so the dogs wouldn’t slip and get hurt.

This project took me about 10 months to complete. It was the hardest thing I’ve done. I am glad that people and their dogs like it.

I appreciate all the support I received from the Recreation Committee, the community, and all the volunteers who helped me build it. I’d personally like to thank my parents and my family for helping me reach my goal of becoming an Eagle Scout.