A badge of honor
Sean HarkinsArticle Photos
Seventeen-year-old Alpena High School senior Joshua Root is leaving his mark on Alpena.
Actually, 14 of them.
Root placed the last of 14 posts along the city's bi-path on Thursday, completing the elbow grease portion of his application for an Eagle Scout merit badge.
The posts mark distances for various loops in the bi-path system. Pamphlets with maps of the color-coordinated routes are placed at Sytek Park, Island View subdivision, and behind the NOAA building.
Root, who has been involved with Boy Scouts for 11 years, said he got the idea for his merit badge project after noticing the milemarkers along the path and spoke with City of Alpena Assistant Engineer Steve Schultz about ways to improve the system.
Schultz said the city had marked the path along its entire exterior loop. He said if bi-path users take an interior loop they wouldn't know how far they've gone.
"(The city's markings) kind of got mixed reports," Schultz said.
He met with Root three or four times and mapped out the loops.
While he did offer guidance and a green light from the city, Schultz said Root deserves credit for the improvement to the path.
"It was a project he had to do almost entirely," on his own, Schultz said.
Each post took about 20 minutes to put in - unless complicated by hitting rocks while digging - and painting and placing numbers on the 14 posts took about 10 hours, Root said.
"It's quite an accomplishment, it's really hard work. It helped me along the way with my leadership skills and my planning skills," he said.
Work for his merit badge has to be complete by Oct. 6, and Root said there is still paperwork he needs to complete after the posts are placed.
Root said he has considered joining the Air Force after graduating high school, but has no definite plan. Even if he does leave Alpena next year, he's already left his mark.
Sean Harkins can be reached via e-mail at sharkins@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688.
