Eagle Scout sprucing up Valley Park

HURRICANE, W.Va. -- The Valley Park will benefit from an Eagle Scout project that will provide new benches and a fishing pier for the park's new pond site.

Glen Smithberger, 16, a member of Boy Scout Troop 236 of Hurricane, has been working with friends and family to complete the project. Under the supervision of his father, George, six wooden benches were installed around the pond on Friday and Saturday. That project was financed through a spaghetti dinner fundraiser.

The proposed fishing pier, modeled after the Hurricane City park location, will be 14-by-24 feet and handicap accessible. Construction will start soon and the completion date is expected late in July.

The benches around the pond are aligned in a horseshoe shape, and the pier will be located in the open space at the end of the pond that has a dam. Putnam County Parks is expected to pay for the pier.

"When people go there to fish, they'll have a place to sit instead of sitting on the ground, Glen Smithberger said. "And for people that are handicapped or in wheelchairs, it will make it easier for them to have access."

Smithberger said both efforts will cost more than $2,000 in supplies alone.

Parks and Recreation Director Scott Williamson said that Smithberger's efforts will benefit park-goers greatly. Williamson hopes to plant additional trees in the area for shade.

"We want to be careful of where we put them to avoid them being in the casting lanes, so dads aren't fishing lures out of the trees," he said.

Because the pond is new, it has few habitats established for fish to hide, eat or breed in. Williamson expects to introduce some devices called "fish attractors" into the water soon. That will allow places for smaller fish to hide and larger fish to hunt.

"I just want to make it a nice fishing pond," Williamson said. "Now we have a nice place for folks to sit, so I think it's getting there."