In June, Chris Carr, Liam Cascelli, Grant Tush and Nick Zamora of Troop 317 in Montrose received their Eagle Scout designation at a Court of Honor conducted at Holy Redeemer Church’s Healy Hall.

Family, friends, Scouts and troop leaders attended the large celebration for these four young men whose projects were varied.

Chris Carr’s project took place in June 2014, when he renovated the stage of the Msgr. Barry Hall at St. James the Less Elementary School in La Crescenta to resolve several safety issues and make it a more pleasing venue for school and parish community performances and meetings. Carr focused on the replacement of the stage extension flooring from carpet to hardwood floors. He repaired the stage curtain which could not be efficiently opened and closed because it was torn. He repainted the cabinets that were permanently built in at the rear of the stage and realigned the cabinet doors to the storage section.

Liam Cascelli’s project was done in December 2013. He built tables and chairs, two planter boxes and an enclosure for the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary who moved into the convent across the street from Holy Redeemer Church in Montrose one year earlier. He cut wood and assembled two tables and eight chairs and then painted them. He filled the planter boxes with dirt and the Sisters’ 70-year-old rose bushes. In addition to this work, Cascelli erected a wood enclosure to beautify the shed area in the corner of the garden.

Grant Tush tackled a landscaping improvement project in March 2014 at St. James the Less Elementary School in La Crescenta. He oversaw the removal by chain saws of half a dozen large bushes and the installation of drought resistant plants to a 70 ft. long garden adjacent to the classroom building. A separate 15’x10’ garden area in front of the parish rectory was covered with decorative rock and a planter box filled with ice plant. Scouts and volunteers amended the soil, dug up large rocks, and planted kangaroo paw, yellow lantana, lavender, daisies and ornamental grasses. Tush maintained and watered the garden for the next 12 months.

Nick Zamora’s project was at the top of Tongva Peak in the Verdugo Mountains. In September 2014, he coordinated the construction of a large stone bench at the trail summit. It took two days to mix, pour and smooth the cement for the bench. The bench has a 9″ x 12″ plaque that was donated by the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley and designed by Zamora. He worked in coordination with the City of Glendale’s Parks & Open Spaces Dept. as well as with several engineers from Clear Channel who needed to provide approval for the project.

In August, Tush and Zamora began their senior year at St. Francis High School in La Cañada. Cascelli, a recent graduate of St. Francis High School, began college at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Carr, a graduate of Loyola High School, will be a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. All four boys graduated from Holy Redeemer Middle School in Montrose. Cascelli, Tush and Zamora began their scouting career with Cub Scout Pack 317 at Holy Redeemer. Carr started as a Cub Scout with Pack 314 at St. James School.

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program. Since the first Boy Scout earned his Eagle award more than 100 years ago in 1912, the distinction has been earned by more than two million young men. Requirements include earning at least 21 merit badges and demonstrating ideals of service and leadership, including organizing and leading an extensive service project. Fewer than 5% of Boy Scouts nationwide attain this illustrious rank.