Scout to fix Rotary Park train as Eagle project

Vander Swensen, 15, a Boy Scout of America looking for his Eagle Scout status, is going to replace the mock train at Rotary Park in order to give back to the community.

Every Eagle Scout candidate embarks on a projects to receive that top rank, and they have to be projects where the youth works with others to improve a community. Swensen chose the train.

"What we're doing is, there's a wooden train there for kids to play on and it's all beat up - there's broken boards everywhere, it's pretty weathered," Swensen said. "You can grab a hold of the caboose and wiggle the walls and the entire thing will rock."

He said he and his crew are going in and disassembling the cars, taking the parts to his work station back his place and refurbishing the entire structure. He's going to sand down restain, repaint, and do whatever is necessary to fix the old train.

"The Rotary Park has been told they either need to fix up the train or get rid of it," Swensen said about his reasons for choosing this project. "Some of the members of my church actually introduced the idea to me and I figured, first of all, it's a cool train. I used to play on it and it would be nice to have it fixed up. ... It's also a safety issue - broken boards and nails everywhere."

The Rotary Club made an account at Pro Build so Swensen could go there and get supplies to fix up the train. Swensen said he hopes to be done by the end of the month.

"The Eagle Scout project - I mean, sure, you get a badge and a cool thing to put on your uniform, but that's not really what it's about," Swensen said. "It's more about helping the community."