Scout finishes project on Pepin Park gazebo

A local Boy Scout recently completed his Eagle Scout project out at Pepin Park.

Anthony Borowiecki of Havre's Troop 1438 said his project was to re-deck the decking and re-do the stairs on the gazebo in Pepin Park.

"I came up with the idea because, when I was younger I came here a lot, and a lot of the time I played in the park and stuff," he said. "When I was a Scout, as I got a little older, I noticed that the gazebo was kind of looking a little rundown and could possibly be dangerous in some spots, for especially little kids."

One of the structures on the steps had to be rebuilt, he said, because the structure was all rotted, so he had to get new wood.

He has had the project approved for about a year and began working on it in May, he added.

He said he has been in Boy Scouts for about six years now.

"It was a really cool idea to me back then, and my grandpa was an Eagle Scout, so hearing that he was an Eagle Scout, and that I had seen some of my other friends were in Scouts when I first moved here, it definitely contributed to me wanting to do it," Borowiecki said.

Boy Scouts taught him a lot, he said.

"It has really taught me a lot about leadership, how to be a good leader and that's a lot of what this project is about too - showing you know how to be a leader, that you can be a good leader," he said. "It's really what I like the most about scouting is how much it teaches you and how it changes you to be a better person."

Before living in Havre, he said, he lived in Belgrade for two years, and prior to that lived in Tennessee, where he was born.

He plans on spending the summer working at K-M Scout Ranch near Lewistown, he said.

He added that he graduated from Havre High School this year.

He said is planning to attend Montana State University in Bozeman to study music education.

"A lot of the leadership stuff really applies into being a teacher, especially a director of like bands and choirs, you  really need that leadership qualities and the ability to teach well," Borowiecki said. "That is part of what you learn in Scouts is how to really teach someone, how to teach groups of people in the best way."