Improving fish habitat at “Sloppy” Floyd State Park in Summerville, restoration of an old church and its cemetery, and improving a neighborhood playground that was in need of some serious maintenance following a tornado are projects that helped three young men from Rome earn their Eagle Scout status.

Brandon Lay, son of David Lay and Allison Shultz; Jamison Christie, son of Doug and Vickie Christie; and Nick Julson, son of Glen Julson and Robin Barfield, completed their Eagle projects earlier this fall.

Lay, a graduate of Rome High now at Berry College, built and placed fish habitat in the two lakes at Sloppy Floyd Park. He worked closely with Georgia Department of Natural Resources personnel to design and complete the project.

Christie, also a Rome High graduate who is now in school at Berry, restored the front porch on the old Mount Vernon Baptist Church off the Old Dalton Road. He also constructed a new sign for the church, painted the building and reset headstones in the cemetery, many of which were very old and had fallen.

Julson, another Rome High graduate who is continuing his studies at Georgia Highlands College, grew up in the Brookwood Estates subdivision off Burnett Ferry Road. He repaired a couple of swing sets, painted and stained the equipment and put down wood chips, obtained from trees that were downed by the storm. He also put a couple of benches on the outskirts of the play area for parents to sit on while their children play.

Julson is studying nursing at Georgia Highlands. Christie is in the pre-pharmacy program at Berry, and Lay is in the nursing program at Berry.

Kurt Eichenberger is the Scoutmaster for Troop 4, which meets at the West Rome Christian Church.