Scouts earn Eagle rank

Ron Apostle (l-r), Patrick Cardone and Roy Apostle), all of Freehold Township, have reached the highest rank in scouting- the Eagle Scout honor. The young men received their Eagle awards during a ceremony held at St. Rose of Lima Church, Freehold Borough, on March 29.

Ron Apostle and Roy Apostle, twin 16- year-old Boy Scouts from Freehold Township, have reached the highest rank in scouting - the Eagle Scout honor. The brothers, along with Patrick Cardone, also of Freehold Township, received their Eagle awards during a ceremony that was held at St. Rose of Lima Church, Freehold Borough, on March 29.

As a member of his high school cross country team, Ron Apostle was familiar with an erosion issue at Durand Park off Randolph Road in Freehold Township. Along with fellow members of the Colts Neck High School cross country team, Ron would regularly run the path over the earthen dam, which also served as the main access path from the visitors parking area to the park's butterfly meadow. The access path was being eroded by rain water and its associated runoff created dangerous ruts in the pathway.

Left unabated, the path's erosion would result in a dangerous situation for path users and severely limit handicapped visitor access to the park's butterfly meadow. Additionally, the fine blue stone being washed away from the path and into the nearby fishing pond could endanger the pond's ecosystem as the continual addition of the stone could result in a change of pH of the water, making it unable to support life.

With the support of the Freehold Township Shade Tree Commission and his project mentor, Mike Alvarado of the Alvarado Nursery, Freehold Township, Ron set about to remedy the situation. Ron created a plan to install a catch basin to divert the water away from the path and directly into the pond. To stabilize the area he proposed the construction and installation of an 18-foot wide by 32-inch high GeoWeb stepped wall system, providing proper drainage and stopping the rain water runoff fromcontinuing to erode the path. In addition, the new system's steps also doubled as easy and safe access from the path to the fishing pond below the earthen dam.

Ron raised the necessary funds for such an undertaking with a pancake breakfast that he organized at the First Presbyterian Church in Freehold Borough. He received material and equipment donations from local businesses. More than 30 scouts and 12 adult volunteers were involved in the installation of the catch basin, GeoWeb staircase and planting of bushes and natural pond grasses around the wall.

Roy Apostle's Eagle Scout project focused on the reconstruction of more than 955 feet of "Revolutionary War" style split rail fencing that encompasses the historic Monmouth Battlefield site at Monmouth Battlefield State Park inManalapan. Over the years, the roughly 5-foot high split rail fencing had become damaged due to weather, rot and age.

After initially surveying the conditions of the historic site, Roy directed a team of 10 scouts and four adult volunteers to locate indigenous locust trees and fell the trees in an effort to duplicate the original split rail fencing.

Roy directed fellow scouts and instructed them on the appropriate use of axes, hatchets and saws to remove the small branches and leaves from the trees and then how to actually create the split rails. The next stage of the project was to replace the rotten split rails with ones that his volunteers split. He also directed the boys to fix the angles of the rails so that the fence would not collapse in future years.

Roy led a team of four scouts who trimmed the trees with bow saws and hand axes.After the limbswere removed, another team of four scouts split the trees with wedges and hammers. Dr. Garry Stone, Resource Interpretive Specialist atMonmouth Battlefield State Park, provided consultation to Roy throughout his project to assure that this scouting project accurately recreated the fencing throughout this historically sensitive location. Roy's project was completed over a four-day period involving about 370 man hours last July.

Roy's project benefited Monmouth Battlefield State Park and visitors to the park in several ways. By repairing the fence, the park will continue to look like it did during in the Revolutionary War as well as make the park more aesthetically pleasing. The park's wildlife, such as fieldmice and small birds, also benefited from the improvements, as the fence's nooks and crannies make natural homes for these animals.

Patrick Cardone has been involved in scouting since he was in the first grade. During his scouting career he has earned many awards, including the St. Tarcisius Award and theAdAltari DeiAward. In the summer of 2006 he traveled to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, where he backpacked more than 60 miles with a crew of 11 others.

Patrick's Eagle Scout project, which benefited the historic Oakley house in Freehold Township, as well as the Freehold Heritage Society, was to construct 26 signs, as well as a map and an information board to identify the different species of plants in the fields and meadows behind the Oakley house, off Wemrock Road in Freehold Township.

Patrick is a senior at High Technology High School in Lincroft, where he is an active member of the school's academic team as well as in his local chapter of the Technology Student Association and the National Honor Society. He is also involved with his school's Robotics Club, Yearbook Club and Multicultural Club. Additionally, he is a teacher's aide in the St. Rose of Lima Religious Education Program.

Patrick will attend college in the fall and plans to major in civil engineering.

Each Scout met all of the requirements and has accomplished the necessary tasks to achieve the Eagle Scout rank.