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MANSFIELD: Boy Scout fire pit impresses township

By David Kilby, Special Writer
   MANSFIELD — The Boy Scout fire pit built by Eagle Scout Victor Csirip IV and company now is complete, and township leaders said they were impressed by the workmanship Victor displayed throughout the project.
   It was built at Veterans Park right by the Mansfield Township Municipal Building on East Main Street in the village of Columbus.
   Victor, 17, a member of Troop 45 of Columbus from South Hockey Drive, Mansfield, thought of the project idea on his own and approached the Chesterfield veterans community around Memorial Day to get things started.
   Victor presented his Eagle Scout project to the Mansfield Township Committee at its July 25 meeting. The committee unanimously approved the project, and work began a few weeks later.
   ”In Boy Scouts, we have a lot of fires. It’s a staple part of being a Boy Scout,” Victor said, adding his favorite thing to do as a Scout is to go camping.
   ”We got a lot of donations,” he said.
   Timothy’s Center for Gardening in Robbinsville as well as G&G Landscaping of Columbus also were a big help, he added.
   Victor said he and his crew finished the fire pit over the weekend of Aug. 18, more than a month ahead of schedule. Victor originally planned to finish the project by Sept. 23, his 18th birthday.
   It took a total of about 16 hours to complete building the pit. His crew consisted of fellow Boy Scouts Tyler Sapp and Nicholas Alzarado, both 10th-graders, eighth-grader Dylan Sapp, and four adults.
   At the Township Committee meeting Aug. 22, the entire committee commended Victor and his crew for the professionalism displayed while creating in the fire pit.
   Committeeman Alfred Clark said he thought a gang of teenagers was going to build the fire pit, and it would end up being uneven, and someone would have to rebuild it.
   ”It looks like a professional mason did it,” Mr. Clark said.
   He also said he has two nephews and one brother who are Eagle Scouts, and he knows how important the rank is to them.
   Mr. Clark served in the Navy and expressed how highly esteemed the Eagle Scout rank is in the military.
   ”Once you’re in boot camp, they always ask are there any Eagle Scouts, and if there are, they’re put in charge right away. It’s very important,” he said.
   Victor has been a Scout since 2006 and graduated from Northern Burlington High School in June. He plans to attend Mercer County College and enter into either the premedical or physics field.