Department of Parks
Boy Scouts Work On Eagle Projects At General Butler State Resort Park

CARROLLTON, Ky. -- Eagles are watching over General Butler State Resort Park.

For the past several years General Butler has been working to create a trail around Butler Lake for recreation, fitness and environmental education and safety.  Thanks to the help of two Boy Scouts working on their Eagle Scout projects, that goal is one step closer to becoming a reality.   

Last year, Henry Fremin, 16, a junior at Carroll County High School, came up with a plan to build a bridge over a particularly rough area of the trail.

“I noticed that this particular part of the trail seems to flood a lot.  It is also a difficult part of the trail to access, and I want everybody to able to enjoy the full experience of the trail, so I decided to build the bridge there,” Henry said. Henry has been involved with Scouting for almost 10 years.

Andrew Johnson, 17, a senior at Carroll County High School, worked on building an observation shelter in place of an old pump station that was once used at the park. The shelter is being constructed on the existing concrete foundation for hikers and park guests.

“The station was a huge eye sore. It had gotten very rusty and dangerous because it was so old.  I didn’t want to see anybody get hurt, so I decided to take it down and build an observation shelter in its place so people could sit and enjoy the beauty of the lake,” said Andrew, who has been in Scouting for nine years.

There have now been a total of three Eagle Scout projects for the new trail at General Butler. The first was nearly two years ago when Chris Westrick, now an Eagle Scout, built the first bridge on the trail. 

One of the requirements of becoming an Eagle Scout is completing a service project that benefits a community, church, or school.  The Scout is responsible for drafting the proposal and designing and leading the service project. 

Henry and Andrew are part of Troop 131 with the Lincoln Heritage Council, which covers Louisville and surrounding counties.

“Many members of our troop, including Henry and Andrew, have been working on various trails at General Butler for the past seven years now,” said Jeff Fremin, an adult leader with the troop. “We have established a great partnership with General Butler and we hope we can continue serving our community through them.”

The building of the new trail around Butler Lake has been a park and community project that has been led by the Scouts for the past two years.  When completed, the trail will circle the 30-acre Butler Lake and be a total of 1.6 miles. Projected completion is spring 2008. The Butler Lake Trail is an ongoing vision of General Butler and those agencies that initially developed the community based group called "A Step in the Right Direction." 

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The Kentucky State Park System is composed of 53 state parks plus an interstate park shared with Virginia. The Department of Parks, an agency of the Commerce Cabinet, operates 17 resort parks with lodges -- more than any other state. Each year, Kentucky parks draw 7 million visitors and contribute $317 million to the economy. For more information on Kentucky parks, visit our Web site at http://www.parks.ky.gov