Three more Troop 45 Boy Scouts advance to highest rank at Eagle Court of Honor

On Saturday, May 18, Warwick's Boy Scouts of America Troop 45 advanced three more of its members to the rank of Eagle, raising the Troop's total of Eagle Scouts to 120 since it was charted by American Legion Post 214 and first organized in 1960.
The statistics are remarkable since less than four percent of all scouts attain this rank, the highest one awarded in scouting.
Troop 45 presented the awards at an "Eagle Court of Honor" for Nicholas Jackson, the son of Lisa and Robert Jackson, Jeffrey Koff, the son of Cheryl and Robert Koff and Matthew Kaytes, the son of Karen and Leo Kaytes.
The event was held at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, which sponsors Troop 45.
State, county, town and village officials along with representatives of many local organizations were among those attending the Eagle Court.
To achieve the Eagle Rank, the scouts were required to complete a minimum of 21 Merit Badges, have leadership roles in and outside of the troop and participate in community service.
Each candidate must also complete a major community service project as the last requirement before attaining the Eagle rank.
Nicholas Jackson
Nicholas Jackson's service project entailed cleaning, repairing and restoring the burial site of Captain Thomas DeKay and his family at the DeKay family cemetery in Warwick.
Captain DeKay was an officer during the Revolutionary War.
The Warwick Historical Society uses the site for teaching fourth grade students who are studying that era.
Jeffrey Koff
Jeffrey Koff's project consisted of a video project to document the development of the Daniel Fratto Memorial Field at Wickham Woodlands Town Park for Beautiful People, an organization helping adults and children who are differently abled.
The video is currently displayed on the Beautiful People/Miracle League Website at www.beautiful-people.us
Matthew Kaytes
Matthew Kaytes' project was renovating the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce "Caboose" office on South Street by repainting the skirt of the caboose and the fence along with placing gravel under the fence and adding a reservoir area for improved drainage.
He also added a gravel walkway and restored the appearance of the train tracks.
- Roger Gavan