Boy Scout project leads fireman to water

Nov, 17-2009 3:49 pm

By SHAUN SMITH
Staff Writer

SOMERS POINT – With some paint, a stencil of the fireman’s Maltese cross and a little help from his fellow Boy Scouts from Troop 55, Jon Beamer painted 155 of the symbols on streets here to aid firemen in finding hydrants and put himself closer to becoming an Eagle Scout.

Beamer, 15, the son of Jon Sr. and Marie Beamer, has been with Troop 55 for four years. He organized the project from start to finish.

He began his journey over the summer, talking about it with his fellow Scouts and planning the supplies and work needed.

On Thursday, Sept. 24 he asked for and received permission from City Council to paint 80 crosses on city streets to help firemen locate hydrants that may be obstructed, with the goal of ultimately improving response time.

He coordinated the project with Lt. John Batty of Somers Point Fire Company 1 to help him achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, and with the approval, Beamer received a list of the locations of city fire hydrants. Of the 180 within the city, he said 155 are on city streets, while the others are on state and county roads. He ended up completing all 155 that are on city streets.

“Mr. Batty thought it would be a good idea and thought it would be helpful for the community. It was easily done; I don’t think it was too difficult to accomplish,” Beamer said in a phone interview Sunday, Nov. 15.

He then set out to have supplies donated by local businesses. Among those who helped were Soltz Paints, Shore True Value Hardware and Enzo's Pizza of Somers Point, Eastern Sign Company of Egg Harbor Township, Lowe's of Egg Harbor Township, and MAB Paints of Ocean City.

Beamer then had to decide how to coordinate the dozen volunteers, which included Scouts from Troop 55, Scout leaders and parents who offered to lend a hand.

“I had a map I had to divide up that I got that from City Hall. After I divided it up, I showed each group where they would have to go,” he said.

“They just went around and did their own thing from there. My mom drove me around and we would check up on a group and see if there were any problems.”

“He was the foreman on the job; his job is to run to project,” his mother Marie said Sunday. “He had myself and my husband, Jon, drive him around to the other Scouts, and he also helped fulfill the project by painting.”

Since Beamer had three templates donated by Eastern Sign Company, he divided the volunteers into three groups who used rollers to paint the crosses in reflective orange latex paint.

“We painted them five feet away from the center of the fire hydrant – just so if there was a car blocking it, the fire company could still see it if they’re coming down the street and know where to go,” Beamer said.

“It was easy because we had all the volunteers and divided up the work. That made us finish as fast as we did.”

He said they did the work over the last two weekends in October, finishing up on Halloween.

The first day, Beamer said they started at 9 a.m. and painted 103 crosses until they ran out of paint at 3 p.m. On the last day, he said it took about four hours to knock out the remainder.

According to Beamer, other than a few minor spills and learning that oil-based paint dries slower than latex-based paint, the project went smoothly.

He had help from Assistant Scout Leaders Rich Heim and Jim Wanisk, who were his tour leaders, and from Mayor Jack Glasser and Councilman-elect Howard Dill, who came out to show their support.

Beamer said the project was easier than he thought it would be.

“The only hard part is to get all the supplies and volunteers. Once you have everything organized, it’s easy to fulfill the project.”

With only his Citizenship in the World merit badge left to fulfill and a Boy Scout Council review of his project, Beamer is that much closer to achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.

To comment on this story email Shaun.Smith@shorenewstoday.com