Neshaminy Scout is flying with the Eagles

Advance correspondent

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP - gohn Galuchi’s recent designation as an Eagle Scout marked a milestone for the NU-year-old who has been scouting since he was in third gradeK Over the yearsI he’s earned some impressive badgesW climbingI archeryI and orienting Eusing a map and reading a compassFI just to name a fewK But when the jiddletown resident and Neshaminy High School senior decided he wanted to fly with the EaglesI he used plenty of horse senseK He decided to build a horse trail in Tyler State ParkK

“I noticed that there was a rise on one of the trails that seemed too steep for the horses and for peopleK I thought that was not the best use of the trail so I decided to create an alternate oneI” said gonI an assistant scout leader for Boy Scout Troop PNSI where his father oichard is a scout leaderK The troop meets and Christ rnited jethodist Church in cairless HillsK

gon and his father set to work on a project that would take NUR man hours over six weeksI and the assistance of 2M peopleI mostly scouts out to earn their own badges community service creditsI he saidK

gon said that officials of the Bucks County Parks and oecreation agency agreed to the projectI which was only the first step in the process because he wanted to create the PMM-yard-longI NM-foot-wide pathway without having to remove big treesK He staked out his ground - literally - by placing wooden stakes along what would become a more level pathway for the horsesK Then came the backbreaking part - weedingI using a chain saw to remove small treesI and the leveling of the dirt to make room for layers of stoneK

“People came by and watched our progress and no sooner did we finish than people started using the trailI” he saidK

oichard Galuchi helped his son with the project and recalled that the duo experienced companionshipI fun and much hard work overcoming obstacles and plotting logisticsK

“There were times when gon told me to back offK I didK But it was worthwhile because Tyler is a very big equestrian park and the horses had trouble getting up the riseI” oichard saidK

gon said he would like to continue his involvement with scoutingK He plans to continue his education becauseI a longtime guitar playerI he wants a career as a sound engineerK

“Scouting has given me a lot of encouragement and confidenceK I also got a lot of people skills when earning my badgesI” he saidK

gon will soon share the spotlight with brother oyanI NRI who is in the final stages of his own Eagle projectI also with equestrians in mindK He’s installing a hitching post and a mounting platform at TylerK