HELPERS PITCH IN
Community rebuilds Eagle Scout’s vandalized project
When a Waterford Township Eagle Scout’s project was vandalized at a local nature center, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
In late June Walter Paliga, 17, of Troop 170 in Walled Lake, constructed his Eagle Scout project with help from his father and a family friend at Drayton Plains Nature Center. The project included concrete work, shoring up railings, leveling out the path and cleaning the creek to strengthen culvert drains.
Walter and his father,
Walt, showed up after months of planning and a weekend of manual labor to discover that vandals had smashed the frame and kicked in the railing.
But on the weekend of Aug. 28, the father-andson duo received help repairing the damage from numerous individuals and community businesses, including Gary Wall, Waterford Township’s supervisor.
A Home Depot in Pontiac donated wood, screws, nails and the use of a generator. Tippin Fence in Waterford donated a cement crew to bring mixed cement. Faryl Boyl in Waterford,
who helped during the initial project, donated wood, the use of power tools and a pickup truck.
An Eagle Scout from Waterford, a family and eight people from Troop 170 also chipped in.
While the original project cost an estimated $775, the revamped version cost about $1,100 due to wood and cement.
“I think it turned out a lot better than originally planned, a lot stronger,” said Walter, who was surprised that so many people reached out to help. “It ended up being a better project. It turned out better than I ever imagined.”
Wall said the township’s parks and recreation department made him aware of the situation after the original story of the vandalism spread across the community.
Wall, who has over 40 years’ experience as a rough carpenter contractor, got his hands dirty on the last Saturday of August.
“We got it formed up and reinforced and got the concrete poured,” Wall said. “It’s my field of expertise and I like to help people out when I can.”
Following the project’s completion, Scouts spent the night in case the vandals turned up again. All was quiet that night and has been since.
“For me it was really bad what happened, but to see it turn around and see people say, ‘We will help you,’ it was an example that there’s a lot of good people in the world,” Walt said.