If all goes as planned, Jacob Downing will be an Eagle Scout before school starts in August.
Why is this newsworthy? Jacob has been a Boy Scout for eight years. Seven of those years he was part of Troop 112 in Washington Court House under the leadership of John Pickleheimer. This last year, Jacob became a member of Jeffersonville Boy Scout Troop 67 under the leadership of Glenn Rankin.
The designation of Eagle Scout is the highest rank to be achieved as a Boy Scout. Part of the rather involved journey to Eagle Scout is to complete a community project. Jacob called Washington C.H. City Manager Joseph Denen and asked, “What does the city need?” The answer from Denen was picnic tables for Eyman Park.
Jacob had the what, now he needed the how. The city agreed to donate the lumber, the bolts, the screws and the brushes. Home Depot agreed to donate the green stain for the four picnic tables.
Next Jacob needed a crew, so when you are 15 who do you turn to first? You got it: Jacob’s parents, Tracy and John Downing were brought on board along with uncle Jim Schumacher and some of his scouting buddies. It took one month to build the picnic tables and another month to stain them green.
Jacob will go before a board of review. He needs to successfully answer scouting questions asked by his Scoutmaster before he has his Court of Honor.
Jacob, who will be spending some of his free time this summer working on his soccer skills and improving his swimming skills, will be a junior when Miami Trace resumes classes in the fall.
