By Jesse Wood
Nov. 21, 2013. Seven years since fundraising began and seven years since building plans were drawn, Boy Scout Troop 109 finally broke ground on its new 4,200-square-foot facility located on the Boone United Methodist Church property in late August.
The Town of Boone issued a building permit in June, yet the rainy season delayed construction even more. Longtime Scoutmaster Arvil Sale said the foundation is currently being dug and boxing up the footers will hopefully occur next week. The building will be located near the church’s picnic shelter that is in a wooded area.
For years, the 75-year-old Boy Scout Troop 109 has been operating inside the Family Life Center in the Boone United Methodist Church, which chartered the troop. Soon, Troop 109 will have a space all to itself. The land was donated by the United Methodist Church; architect Randy Jones donated the building plan drawings’ and contractors and construction crews wishing to stay anonymous are helping to build the facility.
Sale said that the new building, which consists of 2,100 square feet of meeting space upstairs and 2,100 square feet of storage space downstairs, will provide adequate storage for all the equipment that it utilizes for camping and other projects. The new facility will also allow the troop to leave a project idle for a while. Because other groups use the Family Life Center, the troop, which consists of 50 to 60 members, must pack away everything accomplished before others use the space.
While that has worked fine in the past, Sale said it will be nice to have a facility of its own, and after watching the recent groundbreaking, Sale and the troops are getting excited.
“Well, it’s very encouraging,” Sale said. “Until I see it come out of the ground, it will be a sigh of relief.”
Recently, Sale, Joe Miller, a former scoutmaster, and Jim Furman penned a letter to Boone Area Chamber of Commerce members seeking support.
In the letter, the trio noted that Boy Scout Troop 109 has supported the community with “countless acts of support” that include:
- Greenway improvements
- Adopt-A-Street program
- Food for Hunger Coalition
- Trail maintenance on Blue Ridge Parkway and much more
So far the facility costs are expected to exceed $100,000. To date, Troop 109 has raised $50,000.
Sale said that if anybody would like to help out, the Boy Scout Troop 109 would greatly appreciate the assistance. The troop is also selling Richard Tumbleston prints called ‘Raven Knob.”
Boy Scout Troop 109 is a member of the Blue Ridge district of the Old Hickory Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
For more information about Boy Scout Troop 109 or the ‘Raven Knob’ prints, call Sale at 828-964-2865 or click to Facebook or http://bsat109.org.
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