Paige Spears, the 18-yearold daughter of Meshell Squyres and Josh Spears and a member of Scouts BSA (formerly Boy Scout) Troop 14 of Jena, was recently recognized for attaining Scouting’s highest honor, Eagle Scout.

A Court of Honor celebrating her achievement was held at Nolley Methodist Church in Jena on January 21. She is the first female Scout from Troop 14 and only the second female in the entire Louisiana Purchase Council to earn this honor.

The Louisiana Purchase Council consists of 20 parishes across Northeast and Central Louisiana. Troop 14 is sponsored by Nolley Memorial United Methodist Church.

The last step in attaining Eagle is to develop, fund and lead a service project that benefits a church, school or community. Her Eagle Project was the rebuilding and planting of the raised garden beds at Fort Randolph State Historic Site in Pineville.

After acquiring enough material and monetary donations, Spears and her volunteers met at the site several times to replace and rebuild individual beds, install a new herb garden, repair a water line, improve picket fencing and plant various herbs, vegetables and flowers. A total of 202 manhours were spent on the project. Herbs and vegetables harvested from the garden will be distributed through the Food Bank of Central Louisiana.

Spears would like to extend a thank you to Lowe’s of Pineville and the Alexandria Wal-Mart for donating wood, plants, soil and seeds. A special thank goes to the many friends, family members and scouts of Troop 14 and Pack 14, who volunteered their time and labor; to Bill and Nobie Ross for monetary assistance and Dewitt Lurry for the use of his tools and knowledge.

She is especially appreciative of the Fort Randolph Historical Site and Richard Holloway for the opportunity to work at the site and make a difference.