4 new Eagle Scouts work at improving their communities

Four Boy Scouts with ties to Rolling Meadows can call themselves Eagles, and the city is a better place for it.

Only about 2 percent of Scouts achieve the top rank in scouting. That's perhaps because planning and carrying out an Eagle project is no small task.

But Jason Gibbs of Rolling Meadows and Cameron Kasmar of Barrington dug right into projects that benefited the Rolling Meadows Park District.

Jason, 18, built an orienteering course last summer at Kimball Hill Park. He's a fan of orienteering and geocacheing, says his mom, Fran, a troop committee member.

"He built the course and provided the equipment, put together binders and packets the park district can give out for people who want to learn," she said.

Scout groups already have begun using it to earn merit badges.

Jason, a senior at Rolling Meadows High School, plans to join the Air Force after graduation.

Fellow troop member Cameron, 18, saw an opportunity to help the park district's annual Terry Moran Family Day.

The wooden games children play at the event were showing their years of use. With his troop he freshened them up by rebuilding worn-out parts, sanding and repainting them. They were finished just in time for last July's event.

Sue Lehde, Scoutmaster for Barrington-based Troop 29, said Cameron has enlisted in the Marines, "so the day after graduation, he reports for duty." She added that an Eagle rank gives military recruits advancements even before they start.

With 70 active members in Troop 29, boys often find Eagle projects outside Barrington's borders. "We look to see where the need is and try to match it with what the boys want to do," Lehde said.

Mayor Ken Nelson honored Jason and Cameron at the April 22 city council meeting.

Two other Scouts, both from Rolling Meadows, also recently reached the top rank after completing projects.

Dan Gill, 17, of Troop 96 designed and constructed a gardening area at the Northwest Community Hospital Adult Day Center.

The "enabling garden" allows seniors in wheelchairs and with other mobility challenges to plant and tend the garden with ease.

Dan will be recognized at a ceremony May 31.

Chris Carter, 17, also helped out the park district by rebuilding and repainting wooden backdrops used for the annual Halloween party.

Chris plans to stay involved in Troop 168 during his senior year at Meadows. "I'm going to finish out my term as Senior Patrol Leader for the troop, then when I turn 18 I plan to become an assistant Scoutmaster," he said.