WILCOX — This past summer, Friends of Twin Lakes, Allegheny National Forest, was approached by area Boy Scouts who wanted to help with the revitalization of Twin Lakes by doing Eagle and Life Scout projects at the recreation area.

After final approval by FOTL, ANF and the scouting council, the boys were given the go ahead to begin.

Participating Scouts included Cody Pontious, Joe Arthurs, Scott Lewis and Kolton Mehalko.

Pontious, who belongs to Troop 422 in Kane, planned and implemented a revitalization project to the 21 picnic tables at the beach area. He and his fellow troop members dug out the area around the tables and put in borders and gravel bases for all 21 picnic tables. The new look has improved the overall appearance of the beach area, and the maintenance crew no longer has to move each table for mowing. This Eagle Scout project took approximately 725 hours to complete.

Arthurs of Troop 93, Ridgway, completed his Life Scout project. He planned, constructed and installed four new benches near the lake. Two of the benches have fishing pole holders for local fishermen. There were approximately 95 hours of work put in to complete this project.

Lewis from Troop 83 in Johnsonburg completed his Eagle project. He planned, constructed and installed new steps from the lower group site, up the back side of the dam to the breast of the dam, and also from the dam area to the upper group pavilion. The previous steps were unsafe and not able to be used. A total of 256 hours were needed to complete this project.

Mehalko is a member of Troop 83 in Johnsonburg. For his Eagle Scout project, Mehalko purchased and installed 12 new cooking grills around the beach area. The old ones were rusting out and many were not usable. His project took approximately 125 hours to complete.

Members of the Friends of Twin Lakes reported they are pleased with the work the young men put into the recreation area.

“The projects have greatly enhanced the look and the functionality of the area,” the group stated. “Their projects will be enjoyed by many people in the years to come.”