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Two Eagle Scout projects enhance Forest Park Eagle Scout Jarek Lindholm supervises a crew that built a shelter on the Twin Peaks Trail in Forest Park. Sunday Nov 13, 2016 at 12:01 AM Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune JACKSONVILLE — Two new Eagle Scout projects will help Forest Park users keep their feet dry or take scenic rest breaks. A footbridge over Jackson Creek was completed in late summer, and a shelter on the Twin Peaks Trail was finished earlier. Forest Park is located in the city’s watershed a mile west of town. Jarek Lindholm, 13, of Layton, Utah, built the shelter. His grandfather, Tony Hess, is a volunteer who helped start the park a decade ago. Reed Hungerford, 15, a South Medford High School student who lives in Jacksonville, put the bridge together. Both Scouts were assisted by local Scout Troop 61, Forest Park volunteers and city crews. The city supplied both new and recycled materials for the projects. Hungerford and his crew got the bridge built over seven half-days, working in the mornings because of summer fire restrictions. “When the fire danger went to extreme, we couldn’t operate any machines or even drive down there,” said Hungerford. “The main challenge was the way he we had to bring all the materials down from the road.” The bridge includes 18-foot-long, 20-by-16-inch beams that the city obtained several years ago when a railroad trestle was being dismantled. Planks on the bridge were salvaged when a Sara Zigler Trail bridge over Jackson Creek closer to town was rebuilt. Hungerford’s soccer coach, a mountain-bike rider from Jacksonville who uses the park frequently, told him he liked the new bridge. When there was water in the creek, he either had to ford it or ride across a downed tree. “It was sort of a big, flat-topped log,” said Hess. “It was easy to walk on, but if you slipped you would have dropped into running water.” The Scouts also handled the organizational end of the projects, getting people and materials together and obtaining project approvals from the city’s Parks Committee. Both Scouts personally put in more than 100 hours on their projects. “I learned how to communicate better with people, just how to conduct myself in special situations,” said Hungerford. ”I also learned how to coordinate with people and scheduling.” Lindholm also needed to get approval to use the project as part of his Eagle requirements from his local Scout council in Utah. Lindholm has now obtained the Eagle rank, while Hungerford is still completing parts of the process. “I learned how to use different types of tools and how to work with people,” said Lindholm. “I was also learning time management.” Lindholm and his volunteers worked full days over a nine-day stretch with just one day off. During previous summer visits, he spent time in the park with his grandfather, which prompted him to take on the shelter project. An 8-by-10-foot base is covered by a roof that extends 2 feet beyond all sides of the shelter, and there’s a bench where hikers can sit. The site looks out across the town to the Cascade Range. “You can sit and look at the U.S. Hotel while on the bench,” said Hess. “There were several hikers that came by the shelter almost every day,” said Lindholm. “All of them were happy to see that they will have a new rest stop.” — Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]