27-05-2025
Boy Scout honors family legacy and serves community with Eagle Scout project
SINKING VALLEY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Boy Scout is honoring his family's legacy and serving his community through his Eagle Scout project.
Blake Riddle is a Boy Scout with Troop 3015 in Blair County. He had high hopes for his project to earn the rank of Eagle Scout: Create a park in honor of his great aunt Helen Riddle.
'I figured what better way to honor her and to also achieve my Eagle Scout by doing this project,' Riddle said.
It was a huge undertaking, and one he was not sure about taking on at first.
'My question to him was, 'Is it going to benefit the community?' Because that's what your Eagle Scout project's supposed to do,' Troop 3015 Scoutmaster Donald Irvin Jr. said.
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Riddle knew his project would benefit the community, but that did not make the task any easier. He had to plan out the project, work with his local government to get permission to change the landscape and, of course, put in a lot of elbow grease. The end result:
2,000 ft of fully blazed trail
5 benches
ADA accessible picnic table
Multiple navigational signs
The benches have names engraved of members of the Riddle family who have passed on. According to Irvin, Riddle has grown up throughout the over-year-long process.
'I could see there was a big change in him,' Irvin said.
Riddle's next step is to become a naval officer. He is currently under review for the Naval Academy and wants to major in mechanical engineering. Whether it is his country or his own community, his future is sure to be blazed with service in visit the Helen M. Riddle Memorial Park, go to McMullen Road in Sinking Valley, then the destination will be on the left.
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