And yet another reason that I am grateful that I am a mom, just in time for Mother's Day!

This is taken from the Southern Standard Sunday, May 11 edition (FRONT PAGE!)I didn't include the big picture of William that she also put on the front page because I figure you are probably getting sick of looking at pictures of this Eagle Scout Project. But just in case you aren't, here is the link to the Eagle Blog:


Hale reclaims historic spring-He works to make permanent path as Eagle Scout project

By Lisa Hobbs

Eagle Scout candidate William Hale is setting his sights to uncover the historic
spring located behind Warren County Middle School.

“We couldn’t find our
way in and we had no idea where the spring was because it was so overgrown,”
said Hale.

After slowly making their way through the woods, his group
discovered a small stream. While moving slowly upstream, they found the spring’s
beginning marked with large stones and a rock wall.

All projects chosen
as Eagle Scout projects must be ones that give back to the community and help
candidates develop leadership skills. As a general rule, no project is redone.
Because of this, his chosen project almost wasn’t allowed.

Hale is the
second Boy Scout to attempt to reclaim the spring for the benefit of education
as an Eagle Scout project. In 2004, Trey Webster took on the job of beating back
the overgrowth and making a trail to the spring.

Despite hard work done
at the time, nature has a way of reclaiming the land without continued human
interference. Four years later, the spring was once again surrounded by
overgrowth and the path was no longer visible from the school.

After
asking for permission to take on this project, he had to reassure the review
board that the project would be permanent. Where his predecessor used mulch and
landscaping timbers to make a path to the spring, his idea was to use
landscaping cloth, gravel and treated cross-ties.
As an added touch, an
archway will be added to mark the location of the path. Made from cedar, the
archway will hold a sign that reads “Towles Family Spring.”

The
significance of the area was recounted by history enthusiast Jimmy Haley during
the first project in 2004:

The spring was the property of the Towles
family, circa 1840, and had at one time been overtaken by Union soldiers along
with other houses located on Rebel Hill during the Civil War.
At that time,
this area was made up of large homes with 30 or 40 acres each. While the Yankee
soldiers camped, they used the spring and had slaves from some of the area homes
cook.
Many years ago, when the middle school was the high school, teachers
would take classes on trips down to the spring. As time passed, the trips
stopped and the spring was hidden in overgrowth.
As a result, not many
recent students knew of the spring’s existence.

“I went through middle
school and never knew about it,” said Hale who is now a sophomore. “I never knew
it was here.”

When the project is complete, teachers will be encouraged
by WCMS principal Betty Wood to use the spring in history and science classes.

“Mrs. Wood wants to incorporate the spring into some of the history and
science classes, so those students can come down,” said WCMS guidance counselor
Nancy Hale. As grandmother to the Boy Scout, she was on hand for the placement
of the graveled path May 3 by Hale and numerous volunteers.

Once access
to the spring has been made with gravel, efforts will begin to clear around the
spring without disturbing the rock wall.