Jakob Friend hopes to achieve Eagle Scout status by completing a shelter along the Prairie Grass Trail bike path.
(Posted Nov. 20, 2015)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Jakob Friend wants to give bike path users a shady place to take a break.
The 15-year-old is a Life Scout with Boy Scout Troop 104 in London. For his Eagle Scout project, he plans to build an open-sided shelter with a built-in picnic table along the Prairie Grass Trail at U.S. Route 42 and Neil Road near the Madison/Clark county line.
“We really like the idea of the ‘welcome to Madison County’ concept” the shelter would provide, said Wayne Roberts, executive director of the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails (FMCPT), the non-profit group of volunteers that helps to maintain and improve the bike path that runs through the county as part of the Ohio-to-Erie Trail.
Friend said he got the idea to build the shelter from Gene Pass, an active FMCPT member. This will be the second Scout-built shelter along the bike path. The Madison County Park Board, made up of the three county commissioners, endorsed the project on Nov. 16.
Friend has already lined up in-kind use of machinery for digging postholes. He will recruit fellow members of his Boy Scout troop to help with some of the labor. Work will begin in the spring.
Friend will spend the winter raising funds to cover project expenses, which he estimates will be $500. He also is accepting donations of materials. The shelter will measure roughly 6×12 feet and feature a shingled roof.
Friend is a sophomore at London High School. He has earned all 24 merit badges required to be eligible for Eagle Scout status. The last step is to complete the community service project.
Anyone who wants to donate to Friend’s Eagle Scout project can contact Troop 104 Scoutmaster Shane Seiden-stricker at (614) 917-9837. Troop 104 is sponsored by First United Methodist Church of London.
