Scout building, installing flag boxes as Eagle project

People will soon be able to leave tattered American flags at locations in and around Havre, thanks to the efforts of a Havre Boy Scout.

Kougar Lanier, 17, along with four other members of his Troop 1438 and his father Bill Lanier, who is committee chair for the troop, began work on the flag drop boxes Thursday afternoon in the basement of First Lutheran Church.

Kougar Lanier is making boxes for his Eagle Scout project.

"We have been asked by some other people outside of Scouts if we would take some of the flags that they have," Kougar Lanier said.

Bill Lanier, who is also committee chair for Troop 1438, said Scouts are often inundated with requests from people looking to get rid of flags. Scouts, he said, often hold flag retirement ceremonies to properly dispose of those flags.

Though some of the boxes will be built, the first ones will be converted from decades-old boxes that had been used to transport supplies on Scout camping trips.

Kougar Lanier said the boxes being repurposed will be cleaned, sanded and have the rope handles on the sides of the boxes replaced and another added on the top. The sides of each box will be painted red, the front and back blue and the top red with white stripes.

Bill Lanier said his son initially wanted to build all the drop boxes but then came up with the idea of converting the patrol boxes.

"We were looking at making some bigger ones but then, meantime, these came up, and we thought since we have a few people and businesses that have expressed interest in having them now, let's just repurpose some of these old patrol boxes and do that," Bill Lanier said.

Locations have already been picked for the first two boxes: the Havre-Hill County Library and Anthony Cammon's State Farm Insurance on Fourth Avenue West and First Street.

The four other spots have yet to be chosen, but Bill Lanier said it is ultimately the hope that two more boxes will be in Havre and two others in neighboring communities.

He said it is the troop's aim to have the first two boxes completed and in place within the next two weeks, and the rest completed by the end of January.

The flags will be collected from each of the boxes and disposed of in a flag retirement ceremony June 14, Flag Day, on the at The Bridge youth center near the 5th Avenue Christian Church.

Bill Lanier said a temporary fire pit or two will likely be built and the flags burned in accordance with flag etiquette.

The boxes will remain in place and periodically emptied by Troop 1348 and possibly others Scout troops, he added.

Before repurposing and building could get underway, Kougar Lanier said, he raised about $600 for the effort from Bear Paw Credit Union, Triangle Communications, NorthWestern Energy and individual members of the Elks Lodge.

More fundraising will likely be required since some of the other boxes will be built from scratch, Bill Lanier said.

People looking to get rid of a damaged flag or make a donation can contact Troop 1348 on their Facebook page.