by Will Bryant

CORNELIUS – Austin Carpenter, 16, is a junior at Lincoln Charter High School, and has been a Boy Scout since he was 5 years old. After spending 11 years in the program, Austin is about to receive Scouting’s highest honor – the Eagle Scout.

Though proud to join Scouting’s elite brotherhood, Austin said his time as a Scout has been more than just earning ranks.

“It’s not about the Eagle Scout. It’s more than that. It’s about getting out and helping the community,” he said.

And that’s what Austin did in Bailey Road Park.

For his Eagle Scout project, Carpenter recently completed a number of improvements at the park. With the help of his father, John Carpenter, Austin built a 12-by-12-foot sand box in the park’s playground, adding landscaping near the baseball field and planted concrete trail markings along the park’s 1.14-mile loop.

Austin is a  member of Troop 82, which has a proud history of producing Eagle Scouts.

John Carpenter, Austin’s father, serves as scoutmaster of Troop 82, and he said every boy who has remained in the troop to age 18 has earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

Austin is the second Eagle Scout in his family, joining his older brother, Travis.

The community is a better place because of the work of Eagle Scouts, according to Troy Fitzsimmons, director of the Cornelius Parks, Arts, Recreation and Culture Department who manages all the Eagle Scout projects in town parks.

“It’s a great benefit to the community to get these Scouts out here doing projects,” Fitzsimmons said.

Seven Scouts have completed Eagle Scout projects in town parks in the past three years, Fitzsimmons said, and five are working on their projects now. “So we have plenty to look forward to,” he said.