When Covington resident Jake McCarthy was 8-years-old, he told his parents what he wanted to do for his Eagle Scout project.
The young Cub Scout’s plans were pretty ambitious — creating a stage on the foundations of the old house at Chimney Park — but he was very serious about earning his Eagle Scout badge.
“[It’s] the highest rank in Boy Scouts and I want to be one of those who meet the standards,” the 11th grade homeschooled student said. “It’s a high honor to achieve. It teaches responsibility and task management.”
McCarthy said he decided on his project, to build canopies over the five benches on the Eastside Trail, because a couple of people had expressed a need for them, especially during rainstorms and hot, sunny days.
Last Monday, he submitted his plans to the Covington City Council. The council, impressed by the thoroughness of McCarthy’s proposal, gave their approval to the project.
“I was pretty nervous, but the [the council] were all very nice and very encouraging,” McCarthy said. “I practiced [the presentation] almost every day for about a week in front of the mirror.”
Now, he just needs to get approval from the Eagle Scout Board of Review and then he can start raising the $1,200 needed to complete the project. The money is needed to buy the four-by-six-inch posts that will support the structure, the tin for roofing material and other building supplies. Most of the lumber will come for the Covington-Newton Land Application, where trees have been milled into planks.
McCarthy said some contributions are coming in, and he’s hoping some of the people the Newton Trails group has dedicated benches to will be interested in helping support the project.
The son of Terri Digby and John McCarthy, Jake McCarthy is a member of Boy Scout Troop 211. The family lives in Covington.
