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Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Eagle Scout

Eagle Scout project yields outdoor classroom

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Ashton Offutt was just in fourth grade when he came up with the idea of creating an outdoor classroom — but it wasn’t until he was a high school junior that the idea became reality.

When he was in fourth grade, Ashton Offutt came up with the idea of creating an outdoor classroom. The Gaither High student recently led the effort to build one, as his Eagle Scout project. (Courtesy of Lynnette Offutt)

Ashton, who is seeking the rank of Eagle Scout, enlisted the help of volunteers and raised money to create an outdoor learning space, with a sunshield, at Claywell Elementary.

Ashton said part of the motivation for creating the classroom outdoors is because he knows having that would have benefited him, personally, during his early school years.

The Gaither High student estimates it took about 40 hours to plan the project and about 30 to complete the work.

Tampa Electric Co. stepped up to help — donating poles and providing some physical labor.

He had lots of helpers.

Tampa Electric Co. stepped up, donating six 15-foot poles and a crew to help install them.

They had planned to use a crane, but that had to be scrapped because the concrete was too thin and the weight of the crane could have cracked it, Ashton explained.

So, five grown men worked together to lift and guide the poles, which had to be buried 5 feet into the ground to support the sunshade, Ashton said.

The weather-resistant fabric stretches above 12 classroom benches, a dry erase board and a communication board.

The communication board is a tool to enable students who can’t speak to convey what they want to say, Ashton said.

In addition to the TECO crew, folks from the BPOE Elks Tampa 708 and others pitched in — for a total of 57 volunteers. Ashton also raised $3,845 to pay for the project.

Scouting has been a way of life for Ashton who became a Tiger Scout shortly after finishing kindergarten. He’s now a member of Boy Scout Troop 339, in Lutz.

Second-grade teacher Dawn Phillips takes advantage of the new classroom, to move learning outside for her students.

Ashton has a connection to Claywell because he went to school there. To this day, he appreciates the help he received from his tutor, Jenny Paloumpis, who is still a teacher at the Northdale school.

Permission for the project at the school came from Claywell Elementary Principal Rob Jones and from the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, said Lynnette Offutt, Ashton’s mom.

Besides scouting, Ashton enjoys orienteering with the Gaither High School ROTC program, and operating remote-control cars.

He plans to attend college, but isn’t sure which one yet — and he aspires to join the U.S. Army, where he hopes to be part of a bomb squad, working with canines to sniff out explosives.

Published September 09, 2020

Scout project creates fun options for dogs at park

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When Sean Monahan brainstormed ideas to gain the rank of Eagle Scout, he finally settled on a way to help man’s best friend.

The scout decided to incorporate new accessories for dogs at the Carolyn Meeker Dog Park in Lutz.

The member of Boy Scout Troop 12 – also in Lutz – had to tackle a project that betters his community as one of his requirements to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.

Members of Boy Scout Troop 12, in Lutz, rallied around Scout Sean Monahan to help build new equipment at the Carolyn Meeker Dog Park. The project was done as part of Monahan’s quest to advance to the rank of Eagle Scout, while providing more fun options for dogs at the park. (Courtesy of Todd Pratt, Hillsborough County Media Relations Strategist)

Monahan said that his adoration for dogs sparked the idea to create a more fun and energetic environment for them.

“I thought adding agility equipment in both the big and small dog areas would kind of give them a little something more to do,” the 16-year-old said.

Joe Monroe is the recreation program supervisor for Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation.

The scout approached Monroe and explained the upgrade he wanted for the dog park.

“Before that, there were actually zero obstacle course pieces there,” the supervisor said.

Monahan unveiled several schematic drawings of what he had in mind.

He took a survey and found that visitors wanted new amenities for their dogs, too.

With the help of his fellow scouts, Monahan raised $3,100, pushing his agenda forward.

The team also worked together to install the equipment.

The bigger park area now has two loops for dogs to jump through, as well as an accessory to jump over. The smaller area has a tunnel for dogs to run through and a platform where dogs can learn commands from their owners.

The four new pieces of equipment were placed in the park during a span of three days.

Monahan did not take full credit for the project.

“I led it, but I did have a lot of help from a lot of other people, the Scout said.

Monroe admired the Scouts’ ability to wrap up the effort in less than a week.

“We were impressed by the timeline,” he said. “The planning took a lot longer than the actual installation of the project.”

It was a win for Hillsborough County, the Scouts and the community, Monroe added.

In his six years in Troop 12, Monahan has helped his community in other ways, too.

He has handed out cool drinks at the Lutz Fourth of July Parade, and he has picked up trash on U.S. 41.

Monahan has earned numerous merit badges. He and his fellow Scouts also have gone on camping expeditions, including out of state.

Eventually, he wants to become a Sea Scout, advancing his boating skills.

He thinks other youths should be afforded these same opportunities, and find ways to better their environment.

He believes this recent accomplishment, at the dog park, has helped to build his character.

“I feel like finishing the project really helped me more clearly define my definition of leadership,” the Scout said. “It taught me that if you’re doing something, you’ve got to be prepared for every single thing.”

Published March 18, 2020

Boy Scouts build a new pathway at Lutz Nature Park

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It was the break of dawn, and while many were spending their Saturday sleeping in — members from Boy Scout Troop 12 were hard at work at Lutz Nature Park.

Equipped with rakes and shovels, the youths were building a new sidewalk, under the direction of Luke Romesburg, a 15-year-old leading the effort in his pursuit for the rank of Eagle Scout.

Luke Romesburg, of Lutz Boy Scout Troop 12, decided to give back to the community in an effort to obtain his Eagle Scout medallion. Romesburg and fellow scouts, on Aug. 3, helped construct a new sidewalk at the Lutz Nature Park. (Brian Fernandes)

The Lutz Nature Park recently had constructed a sidewalk connecting its pavilions, but there was no pathway leading to the parking lot. So, the teenager decided to address the need.

He reasoned: “Originally, they (patrons) could not get the wheelchairs out here to the existing sidewalk. If someone that was handicap came out here and wanted to go through the park, they would have to go through the grass – and that’s just not safe.”

Before the project began, the Boy Scout received the go-ahead from Terry Donovan of the Lutz Nature Park, as well as Travis Hancock of the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department.

After learning about the scout’s community efforts, Jeff Potvin of Coastal an Oldcastle Company, donated stacks of the concrete blocks for the project.

The county dug out the existing grass, going 4 inches deep, where the concrete blocks would be placed.

While this was Romesburg’s project, fellow troop members rallied around him to help out, donning their signature red shirts.

The boys came early on Aug. 3, unloading the blocks, one by one, and strategizing how to make them fit, stay level and have an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Troop members were sure to fill in the open crevices of the blocks with dirt and to pack down sod in the shoulders where the blocks meet the grass. They did that to  help ensure the new sidewalk will remain sturdy.

Lutz Boy Scout Troop 12 rallied around fellow member Luke Romesburg in developing a new sidewalk to help disabled people at Lutz Nature Park. The new pathway connects the pavilions to the parking lot.

Nicholas Evans, senior patrol leader for Troop 12, was one of the many, hard at work .

Romesburg and his dad recently helped him to complete his Eagle Scout project, and the patrol leader was eager to return the favor.

Evans noted: “I think that it’s good that it’s helping everybody. It’s just a really positive impact. Troop 12 has been here for over 85 years, and we’ve always given back to the community.”

The scouts have been a fixture in Lutz, contributing to its Fourth of July Parade festivities, assisting other organizations and helping at various community events.

They also pick up trash along U.S. 41 every month.

Paul Evans, Troop 12 scoutmaster, said in addition to benefiting the community, these projects also benefit the boys.

“There’s a lot of personal growth that the boys develop as they do outdoor activities,” he said.

“The boys are actually doing the work. It’s a legacy that we’re giving, and that will continue on for years and years,” the scoutmaster said.

Published August 21, 2019

Creating an outdoor place to pray the rosary

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When Gabe Vega was a little boy, he was not the slightest bit interested in joining the Cub Scouts.

However, once he did it didn’t take long to overcome that initial resistance.

This is what the Blessed Mary’s garden looks like, at the completion of phase one of Gabe Vega’s Eagle Project. (Courtesy of Edwin Vega)

And now, the 16-year-old can’t wait to earn the rank of Eagle Scout — the highest honor a member of the Boy Scouts of America can achieve.

The completion of an Eagle project is one of the requirements necessary to earn that distinction.

And, Gabe — who belongs to Troop 33 based at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church — is well on his way to accomplishing that.

After conferring with various groups at the Land O’ Lakes church, Gabe decided to build a Rosary Garden.

His garden features a garden, with a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as its centerpiece, and a seashell path surrounding that garden, which will have engraved pavers, representing the beads of a rosary.

In the Roman Catholic Church, a rosary is a set of beads that are used in a form of devotion, during which five (or 15) decades of the Hail Mary are recited, preceded by an Our Father, and followed by a Glory Be.

Stones line the border of the path, which will be covered with seashells before pavers will be installed to signify rosary beads. Shown here, Spencer Huffman bends over to place a rock on the edge of the path, while a number of other volunteers help, too. (Courtesy of Edwin Vega)

To get started on the project, Gabe and his father, Edwin, visited a rosary garden at St. Paul Catholic Church, 12708 N. Dale Mabry Highway, for some ideas. That visit came at the suggestion of Leo Gendreau, who recommended Gabe check out that garden and consider creating one for Our Lady of the Rosary.

The Land O’ Lakes High School junior also talked things over with Rich Thibeau, of Natural Designs Landscaping, who is the teenager’s coach for the Eagle Scout project.

“He helped me map everything out. The kind of rocks we needed. The kind of flowers we were going to plant in the garden,” Gabe said. “I went with the idea of having the rocks and the crushed shell, then selling the pavers to have the beads.”

The project has involved help from many sources, said Gabe, who lives with his parents, Edwin and Sheila, and his twin sisters, Rosie and GiGi, in Land O’ Lakes.

The Rev. Ron Aubin, pastor at Our Lady of the Rosary, gave the project his blessing and his support. The monsignor allowed Gabe to run an article in the parish bulletin explaining the project and announcing the sale of pavers.

The pavers that will represent Hail Marys, and will be used as stepping stones on the shell pathway, sell for $100 each.

A set of four smaller pavers will be joined together to represent each Our Father and Glory Be. Each of those pavers goes for $75.

Edwin is delighted by how well the project is being received, and supported.

A group loads rocks in a pickup truck to carry them closer to the Rosary Garden being created at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church. Working here, from left, are Sean Smith, Jim Pasek, Clayton Hagel, Matthew Thibeau and Tommy Ploor. (Courtesy of Edwin Vega)

“Everybody has been so nice and responsive,” he said.

“For me, this has taken on a life of its own, all of the support at the church. They’re spreading the word. They’re backing it up,” he said.

People have helped in all sorts of ways, Gabe and Edwin said.

The physical work has been done mostly by Gabe, his Scout friends and a few men from the church.

Contributions have come in through the sale of pavers, but also in many other forms, Edwin said.

For instance, the sod cutter needed to put down the seashell path was provided for free by Dot Geho, of West Coast Events and Rentals, and Joseph and Casie Lynn Holloway, of Holloway Farm Store, provided a free cement bench.

The statue of Mary, which now serves as the centerpiece of phase one of the project, was donated by Hal and Betty Montgomery.

“We had the Blessed Mother here (in the family’s family room) for months,” said Sheila Vega, Gabe’s mom.

Paver sales have been going well.

Sean Smith, left, and Gabe Vega carry a very large rock, with Evan Hernandez in the background. (Courtesy of Edwin Vega)

“This past Saturday is when we built the path. One gentleman came down and said he was going to buy one for each of his children, and he has six children,” Gabe said.

A woman called to say she would be buying a paver to honor the memory of her nephew, who was killed by a drunk driver.

Another woman, who initially thought she could only swing a $20 contribution had second thoughts and decided to go ahead and buy a $100 paver.

Building the first phase of the project — Mary’s garden — took two days.

“Day One was putting the boulders in and filling the hole with dirt. Day Two was putting all of the plants in,” he said, as well as installing the statue of Mary.

That part of the project involved help from a dozen scouts, and four or five adults, Edwin said.

“Those were big boulders we were moving,” he said. “We had to have a special cart. No one could lift it. It was so heavy.”

Gabe said that after a while, they came up with a better plan.

“Eventually, we just lifted them into the back of a pickup truck,” he said, and moved them closer to the site.

Building the seashell path, the next phase, took another day.

Eight scouts and a few adults helped that day.

All of the scouts, Gabe said, are close friends who he’s known since he was a Cub Scout.

This is the Rosary Garden, after the completion of the shell path. The final phase will be to install pavers, which represent the beads of a rosary. (Courtesy of Edwin Vega)

“It made it easy being the leader of them. The dynamic of it all was easy,” said Gabe, who is enrolled in the International Baccalaureate Program at Land O’ Lakes High.

The last phase will be to install the pavers.

Polar Engraving, which is engraving the pavers, is based in Naples. It was hit by Hurricane Irma, which has affected its schedule, Edwin said.

Overall, Edwin estimates the cost of the project to be about $10,000.

But, the value to the community, he said, far exceeds that.

Edwin expects the pavers to be ready before Thanksgiving, so they can be installed. Meanwhile, orders are still being taken for the pavers not yet sold.

Want to help?

If you’re interested in purchasing a ‘rosary bead’ paver engraved with your personal message, visit PolarEngraving.com/BoyScoutTroop33. If you have questions, call Edwin Vega, (813) 838-2400, or email .

Published Oct. 4, 2017

Eagle Scout project honors those who served

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When Michael Valenti was looking for his Eagle Scout project, he didn’t have to look very far.

He belongs to Boy Scout Troop 12, in Lutz, and it meets just a couple of blocks away from the Lutz Memorial Park.

Michael Valenti joined scouting when he was in third grade. The 16-year-old spearheaded a project to spruce up Lutz Memorial Park. (Courtesy of Ron Valenti)

The 16-year-old said he had noticed that the Lutz Memorial Park, at 98 First Ave., N.W., needed a bit of sprucing up, and he decided it would be a fitting Eagle Scout project.

So, he organized a team of helpers, secured donations and got busy.

The base for the flagpole was already there, but it wasn’t in good shape, Valenti said.

“There was just grass all around here, so when the mowers would come, they would chip out the base,” he explained. “Some of the paint was peeling off.”

The plaque wasn’t in great shape, either.

“We removed the sign, scraped all of the paint off. We repainted it, and we got these two new signs,” Valenti said. The new plaques came from Crown Trophy in New Tampa.

Before the project began, crews from Hillsborough County’s Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department removed some concrete.

Then, Valenti and his volunteers went to work.

Michael Valenti, of Lutz, did an Eagle Scout project to spruce up Lutz Memorial Park. More than 40 people helped, over two weekends, to beautify the space.

“We laid the concrete, then we planted this large flower box around it,” he said.

The volunteers also built a flower box near the Lutz Memorial Park sign.

The teenager wanted plants that could tolerate the sun, the rain and the drought. In other words, he was looking for low-maintenance plants that could survive in sandy soil, he said.

Since he wasn’t sure what would be best, he turned to gardening experts for advice.

He settled on blue salvia, pink guara and firebush.

“Over the course of two weekends, we had more than 40 people,” he said, including several members of Troop 12 and friends from Freedom High School.

Several local businesses helped out, too.

“John’s Butcher Shop and Benedetto’s (Ristorante Italiano) provided the food,” he said. “People allowed us to use their facilities, like their water and their bathrooms,” he said.

“It would have been about $2,000 with everything, including food and whatnot, but Lowe’s and Home Depot gave us significant discounts,” he said. Ace Hardware, in Lutz, helped, too.

Valenti is gratified by the prospect of becoming an Eagle Scout.

These are just a few of the 48 badges that Michael Valenti has earned. He recently completed his Eagle Scout project, which involved sprucing up Lutz Memorial Park.

“It’s kind of the pinnacle of your scouting career,” said Valenti, who lives in Lutz and is the son of Ron and Rose Valenti.

“It’s taken years of hard work to get where I am,” said the teenager, who will be a junior at Freedom High School.

And, it’s an accomplishment with staying power, he noted. “Once you’re an Eagle, you’re an Eagle for life.”

Valenti was a third-grader when he joined scouts, and he hopes he will become a scout leader when he’s an adult.

“It just ingrains very important values,” he said, and prepares youths to become good citizens.

Besides being on the path to becoming an Eagle Scout, Valenti has earned 48 scouting badges and is a member of the Order of the Arrow, scouting’s national honor society.

While he does well in school and plans to attend a state college, he hasn’t pinned down which career path he’d like to pursue.

Published July 5, 2017