Boy Scouts earn Eagle rank with projects in Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair
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Thanks to the efforts of four Boy Scouts, institutions in Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair have received upgrades and new amenities.
Projects organized by Troop 4 members Teddy Allison, Cavan Gable, David Lusk and Jack Miller helped them earn the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement attainable in Scouting.
Their accomplishments were acknowledged during a Court of Honor ceremony in February at St. Louise de Marillac Church in Upper St. Clair, where the troop, led by longtime Scoutmaster Tom O’Brien, regularly meets.
During the height of the covid-19 pandemic, members of the Bethel Park Lions Club invited the troop to gather at the club’s park, which became the site for Allison’s Eagle project.
The Peters Township High School student led efforts to extend a split-rail fence by 120 feet, build two gates and doing landscaping at the park. Sixteen members of his troop volunteered 152 hours, and others contributed 76.
Allison raised $1,235 during a spaghetti dinner he organized, and he received additional donations of $1,310, which resulted in $1,000 of extra funding for the Lions Club.
Gable’s project involved construction two garden benches, six seating benches, two end tables and three saddle racks for the nonprofit Horses With Hope, formerly located in Bethel Park and now at Gilfillan Farm in Upper St. Clair.
An Upper St. Clair High School student, Gable raised $650 through a grant from the Rotary Club of Upper St. Clair-Bethel Park (Breakfast), $573 at a car wash he organized and $424 in donations. At Horses With Hope, 21 Troop 4 Scouts volunteered 157 hours, and the help of others added up to a total of 232 hours.
Lusk selected Wesley Family Services as the beneficiary of his project, which consisted of building two benches, two stools and a picnic table. He funded his project through a car wash, which raised $543, and obtained $250 worth of donations.
The student at Peters Township High School led 16 members of his troop in volunteering for 151 hours, and the combined efforts of everyone totaled 229 hours.
Miller removed some existing benches and constructing three new ones at St. Thomas More Church in Bethel Park.
He funded his project through a sale of Sarris Candies sale ($1,512) and obtained donations ($189). Seventeen Troop 4 Scouts volunteered 145 hours, and overall volunteer hours totaled 243.
Among those offering congratulations at the Court of Honor were:
• State Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, from the Pennsylvania Legislature on behalf of Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, and Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Peters.
• Russ Spicuzza, representing the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks’ South Hills (Bethel Park) Lodge 2213 on South Park Road.
• Brian Schill, executive director of the Peters Township Chamber of Commerce and member of the Rotary Club of Upper St. Clair-Bethel Park (Breakfast).
• John Erskine, who manages the Court of Honor Committee for the National Eagle Scout Association —Pittsburgh.
• Donna Meidenbauer, Bethel Park Lions Club 2022-23 president, and Jim Willison, past club president.