Boy Scout seeks to revitalize cemetery

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By Dan King
John Hollister, a tenth grader at Whitehall High School has come up with a unique community service project.
In order to achieve Eagle Scout status, Hollister must complete a community service project and he chose to revitalize the Boardman Street and Smith Street cemeteries.
Last week, Hollister had to present a rather extensive proposal of this idea to the Whitehall Village Board of Trustees, and to say board members approved of the idea would be an understatement.
“I love that he is taking on a civic project to beautify this community.” Trustee Walt Sandford said.
“I think it’s a fantastic idea.” Said Trustee Marge Mohn, who is the supervisor of the cemeteries.
“It’s nice to see young people getting involved in their communities,” Trustee Michael LaChapelle said.
Trustee Ken Bartholomew added, “It’s a big project and I’m glad to see someone take it on.”
The cemetery cleaning project will not simply address one issue at the two cemeteries, but will address many different aesthetic problems. The main project revolves around removing overgrown brush at the two locations, but there are also a few other issues that will be addressed.
Hollister will be making a sign for the cemeteries, which will include the name and year that each cemetery opened.
Pete Terry, Hollister’s supervisor for this project, explained to the board members that the blue prints show there is room on either side of the road for the sign to be erected. There are two substantial areas where nobody is buried and the sign could be properly secured in the ground with cement.
“I will be making a sign and a base for the sign; I was thinking gold lettering on it,” Hollister explained to board members, as he showed them his proposed design.
Safety of the project
While presenting this project to the board, members of the Boy Scouts Troop 83 made it clear that only adults would be permitted to use gas powered equipment, such as chainsaws, during this process.
Additionally, board members discouraged the volunteers from attempting to fix or lift any stones in the cemetery, for fear that they could collapse and cause harm.
“We don’t want you to try and lift heavy stones or anything like that; but please if you see a stone that is leaning or looking like it might fall over, let us know so we can do something about it.” Mayor Peter Telisky said.
Both Boardman Street and Smith Street cemeteries have been a hot bed for vandalism, trespassing and mischief, especially at night time. Some residents in attendance advocated “no trespassing” signs, which the board will potentially consider.
The Boy Scouts of America will be covering the insurance aspect of the project.
Timeframe and fundraising
This project, as is the case with most other community service projects, will be completely volunteer-driven.
Hollister will be conducting fundraisers to get some of the equipment that is needed and any money that is left over from the fundraising, goes directly to the beneficiary, which in this case is the village.
“If there is money left over, it will go right back into the cemetery.” Telisky explained.
There is a lot to be done and only a short amount of time before the weather turns against the workers. The volunteers, including Hollister, will begin getting to work in the near future, but anticipate that the project will have to leak over into next spring.
When it came time for the board to vote on this project, the Trustees unanimously decided to allow Hollister to work on this community project.