Five seniors on Spartan hoop team will receive Scouting’s Eagle honor

Five seniors on the Rosalia basketball team, who have been teammates and classmates since beginning school, will receive the Eagle award, the highest rank in scouting at a special court of honor Sunday, Jan. 23, at 3 p.m. in the Rosalia United Methodist Church.

The five scouts will also be recognized in the Rosalia gym Jan. 22 at 6:30 before the Tekoa/Oakesdale game. They are part of the Rosalia team which rolled up an undefeated record in SE league play.

In addition to completing require badges in scouting’s trail to Eagle, recipients of the award are required to undertake an Eagle project for the betterment of the community. They are required to organize and coordinate work on the projects.

The five Eagles and their projects are listed below:

Casey Brown

Casey Brown, son of Pat and Tami Brown of Rosalia, has been involved in scouting since the first grade and earned his Arrow of Light as a Webelos Scout. He chose the Holy Rosary Cemetery fence as his Eagle project. He saw the need to remove the old fence and build a new fence to keep cattle and other animals out and to preserve the beauty of the cemetery. The Holy Rosary Cemetery board let Casey design, budget, pick up building supplies and organize volunteers to help build the fence.

Other activities Casey is involved in are basketball, golf, National FFA and Future Business Leaders of America. He plans to enroll at Spokane Community College and move on to a four-year college and study business.

Flash Hodges

Flash Hodges, son of Brad and Teresa Hodges of Oakesdale, completed an Eagle project involving the flagpole at the Malden-Pine City Gun Club. Several Boy Scouts trapshoot at the Gun Club, and when he realized the club had a flag donated by a veteran, he decided to take on the project. He designed and built the flagpole from scratch and poured the concrete base. The pole stands 30 feet high and is a welcomed addition to the Gun Club’s grounds.

Flash joined scouts in the first grade as a Tiger Cub. He earned his Arrow of Light as a Cub Scout.

Some of his other activities include varsity baseball, basketball and football. He has also played American Legion baseball for four years. He is a member of the National FFA and Future Business Leaders of America. He is a state finalist for the Wendy’s High School Heisman. Flash is involved in trapshooting, land judging and robotics in FFA. He plans to attend Washington State University.

Jared Hereford

Jared Hereford, son of Jed and Trish Hereford of Thornton, organized the removal and replacement of the home run fence at Rosalia’s softball field in the city park as his Eagle project. He was responsible for budgeting, design ideas and raising money to pay for the project. Support poles were re-set into concrete and gaps have been covered up with plywood.

In addition to his scouting, Jared has been involved in football, basketball and baseball, and is a member of FFA and FBLA in Rosalia. He plans are to attend either the University of Idaho or Washington State University and study the field of drafting or engineering.

Nathan Richards

Nathaniel Richards, son of Dan and Tami (VanDyke) Harwood of Malden, lead a project to complete a memorial project at the Malden Volunteer Fire Department as his Eagle project. Memorial donations received after the passing of his grandfather funded the project. It was started four years earlier. The flagpole was completed, but the public information sign remained unfinished. The sign provides Malden a centralized, illuminated, covered location to post notices and information. Nathan completed the project by coordinating with local leaders, firemen and scouts.

Nathan has been involved in scouting since the first grade and earned his Arrow of Light as a Webelos Scout. Some of his other activities are varsity basketball, track, Rosalia FFA and band. He was also selected for the Eastern Washington AAU Elite Traveling Basketball team and attended the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership training, He was recently published in the America Library of Poetry.

Tom Carrothers

Tom Carrothers, son of Jane Carrothers of Rosalia and Chad Carrothers of Richland, designed and constructed flagpole holders and installed them on the light standards in downtown Rosalia. Tom came up with this idea after having the duty of setting up the American flags for the community on designated holidays. The previous setup for the flags was cumbersome and did not properly support the flagpoles.

In addition to scouting, Tom is active in basketball and baseball, the National FFA and National Honor Society. He is also the president of FBLA as well as the band council. Tom’s plans are to attend Washington State University or Arizona State University and pursue a career in the engineering field.