ROTHBURY — Several members of the Czarny family were on hand
Saturday morning as the village of Rothbury dedicated a new sign at
Czarny Park, which served as an Eagle Scout project for Shelby High
School junior Jaden Furman.
Furman, whose family owns and
operates Ray's Automotive next door to Czarny Park, said he noticed over
the years while working at the shop in the summers that the original
park sign needed a refresh, and since he needed an Eagle Scout project
idea, he thought it would be a perfect fit.
"I started with making a proposal to take to the village to get it
approved, and then they
offered to pay for the whole project," Furman said. "I got the sign done at Windridge
in Shelby. Everything else I got at
Lowe's and made it with my grandpa at his shop and brought
it here and put it up."
Furman said the village paid $550 for
the materials needed to build the sign, which looks virtually identical
to the previous one, just newer. With the village having submitted a
grant proposal to the state department of natural resources to renovate
the park, that was no accident.
"I wanted to keep it near what it looked like,
because I knew they would be renovating the rest of (the park)," Furman said. "I wanted to
keep the blue with it because I knew the dugouts were still blue."
Furman
added that he enlisted friends of his father to help him with the
construction and placement of the sign, with four or five people
involved in all.
The original sign, said village trustee
Mike Harris, was donated along with the park's land around the time the
village was incorporated in 1966. Harris conceded the park has "seen
better days," but noted the village has "big plans for it" with its
grant proposal, which would provide several updates to the park.
Harris
added a recognition of Furman's achievement, noting that only four
percent of Boy Scouts of America members earn Eagle Scout designation.
"He demonstrated that he has community spirit by doing this," Harris said of Furman.
Furman expressed pride in seeing his work on display and being honored by the village.
"I'm more proud of
it now than I was when I was building it," Furman said. "I knew it would be good,
but it's way better actually seeing it completed."
