The Eagle Court of Honor is, from left, Troop 2 Committee member and West Orange Board of Education member Mark Robertson; Councilwoman Susan McCartney; Eagle Scouts Andrei Rosu, Evan Dean and William Fanslau; and Mayor Robert Parisi.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Evan S. Dean, William J. Fanslau and Andrei J. Rosu, all of West Orange, have earned the highest advancement award the Boy Scouts of America offers to Scouts: the Eagle Scout Award.
Eagle Scout rank is earned by less than 2.5 percent of all boys involved in Scouting. To earn the Eagle Scout rank, a Boy Scout must fulfill requirements in the area of leadership, community service and outdoor skills. Each candidate must earn 21 merit badges signifying the mastery of certain skills and successfully complete a community service project to earn his Eagle.
Rosu, the 61st scout from West Orange Troop 2 to earn the rank of Eagle and a junior at West Orange High School, began scouting as a Tiger Cub Scout in Pack 10 and, after earning the Cub Scout Arrow of Light, he crossed over to Troop 2 in March 2010. Rosu has served many leadership roles within the troop including senior patrol leader, patrol leader and troop guide. He is also a brotherhood member of Scouting’s Order of the Arrow.
Rosu’s project was to clean up the ecosystem at a local park in the summer of 2013. The project consisted of removing all the water plants from the pond, clearing swales of debris and vegetation, trimming shrubs around the perimeter and also lining the swales with new river rock. In addition the project also entailed the power washing and re-staining of the dock, railings and seating area. Rosu had to coordinate with the West Orange Department of Public Works and schedule the other Boy Scouts to work in shifts over several weekends.
Dean, the 63rd scout from West Orange Troop 2 to earn the rank of Eagle, began scouting as a Tiger Cub Scout in Pack 10 and, after earning the Cub Scout Arrow of Light, he crossed over to Troop 2 in December 2008. Dean has served many leadership roles within the troop, including assistant senior patrol leader, patrol leader and den chief. He is also an Ordeal member of Scouting’s Order of the Arrow. He completed the National Youth Leadership Training Program in 2014 and was on 2015 summer camp staff at Floodwood Mountain Reservation. Dean, who was graduated from West Orange High School in 2015, is a City Year/Americorps volunteer assisting students in an high-poverty neighborhood in Philadelphia achieve academic success.
Dean’s service project constructed boardwalks for nature trails at the Essex County Environmental Center in Roseland. Working with county naturalist David Alexander, they agreed that when the areas of the trail flood, people wander around it creating new paths and step on plants and wildlife around the sides of trail. The walkways would prevent that because people will be able to walk over wet areas, and not hurt plants and wildlife. Working with his Scouts, Dean designed movable boardwalk planks. With donations from the West Orange Elks and Kuiken Lumber in Roseland, and time and support from the Scouts and adults of the troop, approximately 20 boardwalk segments were built and installed around the nature trail.
Fanslau, the 65th scout from West Orange Troop 2 to earn the rank of Eagle and a senior at West Orange High School, began scouting as a Tiger Cub Scout in Pack 10 and, after earning the Cub Scout Arrow of Light, he crossed over to Troop 2 in March 2009. Fanslau has served in several leadership roles within the troop, including patrol leader and assistant patrol leader.
After learning about the diminishing bluebird population in our area, Fanslau’s project consisted of building bluebird houses. The project enabled the Essex County Environmental Center to monitor the houses’ inhabitants while protecting the birds from harmful predators. The houses will keep the bluebirds safe and allow the protection of their eggs and young in the hopes of increasing the population. Together with volunteer Scouts, 25 birdhouses were constructed and installed.
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