BOUNDARY COUNTY EXCELLENCE: Trio makes Eagle Scout

SANDPOINT — Johnny Upshaw, Josiah Martin and Jason Colgrove, three members of Bonners Ferry Boy Scout Troop 114, received their Eagle Scout rank at the Tango Cafe in Sandpoint on July 22.

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America. Since its inception in 1911 only 4% of Scouts have earned this rank, with over 2.5 million receiving it.

Brian Johnson, assistant scoutmaster, said having three scouts make the rank of Eagle from one troop may not be a large feat in Spokane or Seattle, but for Boundary County, it is quite the accomplishment and doesn’t happen often.

Johnny Upshaw made a carpetball table for his church, the First Baptist Church in Bonners Ferry, displaying his woodworking skills. Carpetball is a game played on a carpeted surface, usually a table, in which players use small balls to try to knock over their opponent's balls or get their own balls into a goal.

Upshaw constructed the project without the help of the troop.

For his project, Josiah Martin aimed to create a digitized map of Grandview Cemetery for family and community use.

Si Thompson, troop leader, said Josiah was inspired to do the project when placing flags for veterans at the cemetery with the Boy Scouts, which they do every year.

Each year there is a paper list with the names of veterans buried in the cemetery, Thompson said, noting that the system is hard to use and locating the graves is an equal challenge.

Josiah wanted to alleviate this issue. By using Google Maps, he hoped to digitally pin the coordinates to every grave in the cemetery and provide a picture of every grave to help family members and visitors find graves. With the help of volunteers and their smartphones, the project was underway. Unfortunately, the project ran into issues as much of the data was corrupted and many of the graves were not correctly pinned as GPS coordinates were not all provided. This was attributed to user error, some data collectors not having their location activated on their phones, or a lack of coverage by their carrier.

“I had to advise him to step back,” Thompson said, as the ambitious venture was worth two to three Eagle Scout projects and that Josiah had put in over a hundred hours to see the mapping through.

Josiah ended up forming a database that can be added to later by others.

“He got the project started and created a framework and set of instructions for the cemetery,” Thompson said.

Josiah did a lot of work, which was recognized by the council when it approved his rank of Eagle, Johnson said.

Jason Colgrove’s project consists of organizing a work party with the United States Forest Service to replace trial signs at Roman Nose, in Naples, last September. Many of the signs were vandalized and needed replacing.

Organized by Jason, the work party carried 40-pound cement bags, set the concrete and replaced the signs.

Thompson said the steel signs were donated at the last minute by a local producer.

Becoming an Eagle Scout is a huge accomplishment and takes drive, disciple and dedication to accomplish.

As an anecdote, Johnson always tells scouts about the accomplishments that many Eagle Scouts have done.

“Only 12 men have ever made it to the moon. 10 out of the 12 were Boy Scouts, and Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, was an Eagle Scout,” Johnson said.

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Boundary County Excellence, is a new column at the Bonners Ferry Herald which will feature community members that inspire others whether through accomplishments, community service or life experiences. If you know someone who is an example of Boundary County Excellence, email us at news@bonnersferryherald.com.