Scouting News

Building a path to Eagle Scout

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After nearly a year of planning, Billy Paraszczuk’s Eagle Scout project is finally coming to fruition. The Boy Scout from Valley Stream Troop 109 is constructing a walkway for the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

Paraszczuk, 17, must complete a community service project before he is eligible for his Eagle rank, the highest honor in Boy Scouts. He has previously volunteered at Jamaica Bay during summers, so he decided to do something there. “I asked around and wanted to know if they needed anything done,” he said.

The need for a walkway was brought to his attention. The purpose of it will be to provide bird watchers access to the east pond, as the only way to get there now is on a muddy, uneven dirt trail. His wooden walkway will be 90 feet long.

Last Saturday, about 15 volunteers including fellow scouts and their parents gathered at his house to construct the walkway in six-foot sections. Next month, the pieces will be trucked to the refuge and put together.

Before Paraszczuk could start on his project, he had to secure donations. He had a fundraiser at Cross Island Fruits where he stood outside the store for a day and told people about his project. That money, couple with donations from family and friends, totaled about $900. Most of that went toward the purchase of lumber, while the rest will be used for a sign advertising the new walkway.

Paraszczuk, who aspires to be an engineer, said it was left up to him how to design the walkway. He consulted with his father, and they came up with a plan. “We wanted to keep it simple,” he said. “The more complex you get, the more lumber you need, the greater the cost.”

Among his favorite scouting activities are camping and fishing, so Paraszczuk has a penchant for the outdoors. “I like nature, animals and the environment,” he said, “so this project was right up my alley.”

While Paraszczuk spent Saturday mostly supervising his volunteers, he did do a little building, as well. After helping about 10 other scouts with their Eagle projects over the years, this was his first time in command.

Paraszczuk attends Valley Stream North High School, where he will be a senior in the fall and plays football. Once the school year ended, he focused all of his attention on his Eagle project. He has been in the scouts since first grade, starting out as a member of Cub Scout Pack 74. He then moved on to Pack 109 before entering the Boy Scouts.

Earning his Eagle rank has been a goal for several years. He has cousins in Maryland who are Eagle Scouts, and he is looking to join them in the elite group. The rank is earned by only about 5 percent of boys who enter the scouts.

“When you put this time and effort into something you’ve been working at, it’s kind of a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve been striving for for a while.”

Paraszczuk, a Life Scout, says he still has a few more merit badges to earn, and wants to have all of his Eagle requirements done by the fall. He is hoping for a spring Court of Honor ceremony.