by Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
Manville Boy Scout Tim Santoro is getting closer to earning the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest honor in Boy Scouts as he completes a beautification project at Manville High School.
”I always wanted to do something for the high school,” the 17-year-old MHS senior said. “In the front there used to be trees but they got bug infested and had to come down. It just looked bare.”
He started off the project planning to just plant trees at the school, but soon he added benches and tables. Tim said he did this project so the seniors at MHS could go outside and have somewhere to sit and have lunch.
”There is no place we can go, except for the courtyard and that’s kind of boring,” he said. “Having them come out here, they can eat lunch or read a book.
”It will also help the senior citizens when they do their walks around at night,” Tim said. “If they want a place to sit, they will have the benches. When the trees grow, they’ll have some shade
Tim’s project included planting four Cleveland flowering pear trees, with paver brick patios in front of them. Two patios will have black park benches and two will have green picnic tables.
Tim has been working hard for the past few weekends to get his project done, getting help from members of his Scout troop in Hillsborough. The brick laying, edging and leveling was all part of the project.
”The pavers, stone dust and most of my materials were bought for me by the town,” Tim said. “Overall, funding was pretty good and I would like to put a thank you out to them for doing this.”
Tim’s mom, Barbara Santoro, said she hopes other Scouts will be encouraged to tackle the Eagle Scout requirements by Tim’s efforts.
”We’re very proud of Tim for doing his project,” she said. “He has worked very hard and this is a nice ending to be so many years in Scouting. It is a great accomplishment.”
Once the work is done in about two weeks, Tim will write a report to submit to Boy Scouts for the final approval.
