Aiming to making it easier for first responders to find a house in an emergency, Boy Scout Michael Bellars is painting the house numbers on the curb in front of houses in an East Windsor Township neighborhood to complete his Eagle Scout project.
Michael, who is a junior at Hightstown High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 5700, unveiled his project for East Windsor Township and gained municipal officials’ approval for it.
Michael told Mayor Janice S. Mironov and members of the Township Council that his project, which is being accomplished with the help of younger Boy Scouts in Troop 5700, will help police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians find a house.
Painting the house numbers on the curb also will help postal service employees, as well as residents’ friends, to find the house, he said. The numbers will be painted white on a black background. The white paint will be a special reflective paint.
“This is a good project and we appreciate it. I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Mironov said.
The streets in Michael’s project include Lynnfield Drive, Edward Drive, Brooktree Road, Poplar Run, Shagbark Lane, Charred Oak Lane, Maple Stream Road and Oak Creek Road.
Michael said his father, Joseph Bellars, undertook the same project for his Eagle Scout project when he was a Boy Scout in Boy Scout Troop 110 in Lincroft.
“This project stood out to me. It’s something other Boy Scouts could do. It’s a really good project,” Michael said.
Hopefully, some of the younger Boy Scouts can take on the project and expand it to other neighborhoods, he said.