Article Contributed on: 9/1/2008 5:56:10 PM
The month of August was a busy one for the Boy Scouts of Denver's Troop 5, which owns the title as ' the oldest troop west of the Mississippi River'. After days of atypical, drenching rains, a group of hardy volunteers tackled one of their city's biggest challenges-graffiti vandalism.
Led by Eagle Scout candidate
Riley Price, a cinematography major and senior at Denver School of the Arts, a crew of 12 gathered near Hudson Park on the city's southwest side the morning of August 17th for breakfast and a safety briefing. Once the two-daysoaking stopped and the skies lightened, their plan was to police and paint over graffiti on City property in the area.
Alleys are a favorite target for vandals along South Federal Blvd. so the goal of the project was two fold-paint over graffiti on dumpsters and also make sure all these trash receptacles along the Troop's assigned route had warning stickers that outlined the hazards of playing on or around dumpsters.
"It wasn't the most glamorous Eagle project I've ever worked on but it was rewarding," admits Price who latched onto the idea after his first plan-expansion of a community garden at his former elementary school-fell through.
"While it may be smelly, sweaty work, it really meets a big need in the area. This sort of graffiti is ugly and can lead to an increase in crime if left in place. These alleys close to the park are a constant target for vandals and my guys just love to paint," he added.
During the daylong effort, Price directed three different volunteer crews. Two were designated to paint over graffiti or to remove old, peeling safety stickers and replace them with crisp new warning signs. The third gathered up trash and broken glass along the fifteen-block route; in all dozens of trash bags were stuffed for the final beautification step.
"Lots of neighbors stopped to thank us," Price added. "That was the highlight of my day-that and lunch." Price obtained donations from Chipotle and Einstein's for his ravenous group; he also raised more than enough funds to pay for supplies. The balance will be donated to the City's Graffiti TaskForce, the division of Denver Public Works that provided training, dumpster paint and helped identify the target area.
Troop 5 Scoutmaster
Scott Dory was on hand to advise and pitch in with litter collection. "Community service is a big part of scouting and essential for all our Eagle Scout candidates.
"Our Troop has an enviable record in helping boys attain the rank of Eagle Scout; over 90% of our Life Scouts eventually soar as Eagles. Riley has been with us through his entire career as a Scout, "Dory added, "and served as our Senior Patrol Leader several years ago. He faced a challenging time organizing his crews then rescheduling due to repeated weather delays."
Troop 5, a.k.a. TOTWOTMR (TheOldest Troop West of the Mississippi River), was founded in 1910 and has enjoyed an affiliation with the University of Denver since its early days. TheTroop is now gearing up to celebrate its centennial in 2010 and meets every Tuesday at University Park UnitedMethodist Church, 2180 S. University, which has beenits home for the past 5 decades,.
Recent Troop 5 Eagle Scout projects supporting the community have included replacement of the historic boardwalk at the Littleton Historical Museum, replacement of a rotted bridge in a Littleton greenway, building a split-rail fence at Chatfield State Park, retirement of 300 American flags this past Flag Day and the construction of erosion controls in the Hayman Fire devastation area. Learn more about the Troop and its community work at troop5denver.org.
J.L .Schultheis Price is a freelance writer and parent volunteer for Troop 5 She can be reached at otlgroup@comcast.net.