Five members of Boy Scout Troop 4020 were recently presented with their Eagle Scout rank and awards at a Court of Honor, held Aug. 6 at Garden Street United Methodist Church in Bellingham.
Jan Martin writes that Troop 4020 has had more than 16 boys in the past six years earn the highest advancement rank in Boy Scouting.
Most of this group of five participated in five 50-mile adventures: canoeing Ross Lake, hiking Devil's Dome, whitewater rafting the Snake River in Idaho, canoeing Lake Roosevelt, and hiking for five days through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
Helping the scouts were scoutmasters Ken Hamilton and Dale Dunford and assistant scoutmasters Bruce Aigner and John Lukacovic.
The newest Eagle Scouts from Troop 4020 are:
• Michael Aigner, 19, who recently graduated from Sehome High School, where he was in the concert and pep band for basketball and football. His Eagle Scout project was to refurbish outdoor areas of Camp Horizon, including the benches; building a fire pit; and creating a path for wheelchairs to access the area. He plans to attend Montana State University in Bozeman and pursue a career in computer science.
• Joshua Crowe, 18, who recently graduated from Bellingham High School, where he was on the golf team for three years. His Eagle Scout project was building raised garden beds at St. Francis Extended Health Care. He will attend Whitworth University in Spokane and continue college golf. He plans to pursue a double major in accounting and history and hopes to become an accountant and own a small business.
• Matthew Dunford, 18, recently graduated from home school and participated in Mt. Baker High School cross country, track, pole vaulting and 4-H. His project was to refurbish the 24-foot-tall steel cross at Assumption Catholic Church. Sicklesteel Inc. donated a crane to remove and replace it. Dunford removed the decorative glass before having the cross sandblasted and powder coated, and then replaced the glass. He will attend Whatcom Community College to complete prerequisite classes before he transfers to a university to study mechanical engineering.
• Kyle Lukacovic, 18, who will continue as a senior next year at Sehome High School. His project was to refurbish the interior of the craft building at Camp Horizon in Birch Bay. After 567 hours of strenuous work, the building is now a more pleasant environment for staff and campers. He plans to pursue engineering at a college on the West Coast.
• Spencer Martin, 18, recently graduated from Sehome High School, where he participated in four years of baseball. His project was to build a new mountain bike trail on Galbraith Mountain. He and a team of Boy Scouts and adult leaders cleared 1,500 feet of trail from untouched forest into rideable trail, with bermed corners and two jumps. His goals are to attend Central Washington University and study aviation, in hopes of becoming a commercial airline pilot.
STILL TIME TO VOTE IN PEPSI REFRESH
Walton Beverage, the local Pepsi distributor, and co-sponsor Whatcom Community Foundation are providing $40,000 for the 2011 Pepsi Refresh awards.
"We were thrilled with last year's Refresh success," said Kaitlin Isle of Walton's. "The 40-plus proposals were impressive and the community response was fantastic. Our collaboration with the Whatcom Community Foundation topped off the whole experience with their expertise. We're again looking forward to awarding nonprofits this year through community vote, and our Local Refresh Standout Awards decided by the Local Pepsi Refresh committee."
WeSNIP pet spaying service and Amy's Place for homeless teens are among the 36 local organizations hoping for grants of $2,000 to $10,000. You can vote online daily through Sept. 5 at waltonbeverage.com. Winners will be announced Sept. 8.
First-year recipients included Brigid Collins, Burlington Edison School District, NorthWest Therapeutic Riding Center, Whatcom County Council on Aging, Bellingham Food Bank, Brigadoon Youth and Service Dog Programs, Old Town Christian Ministries' Amy's Place, Lydia Place, Whatcom Volunteer Center and the Michael Koenen NFL All-Star Football Kids Camp.
MUSICIANS COMPETE FOR NATIONAL PRIZE
Make.Shift, a local nonprofit that supports independent musicians, is competing for a $50,000 grant in the nationwide Pepsi Refresh Project. They need your Pepsi caps to win.
According to Cat Sieh, Make.Shift director (and a former Bellingham Herald reporter), the group has until 9 p.m. Aug. 31 to earn as many online votes as possible. The top 10 projects with the most votes win $50,000 each. The trick is, specially marked Pepsi caps and boxes have "Power Vote" codes that allow voters to vote between five and 100 extra votes.
Winners will be announced Sept. 1. Make.Shift, which has fought its way up from 110th to 63rd place, hopes you'll help them get into the top 10.
Make.Shift, which recently took over Jinx Art Space at 306 Flora St., would use the money to continue to update the space, and create paid staff positions to make sure it thrives. Make.Shift plans to create a community silk screening studio, hire a programs coordinator and gallery manager, fund further improvements to the space, and keep the "Magic Van" program running.
To vote for Make.Shift, click the vote button on its website at makeshiftproject.com. Supporters who want to donate their cap or box codes can "power vote" online, or send their code to Make.Shift at info@makeshiftproject.com.
