VENTURA : Park Project to Help Youth Attain Eagle Scout Rank

For 15-year-old Aldo Quintana of Ventura, reaching the level of Eagle Scout has been an uphill struggle. Two years ago, he all but gave up on Scouting after his father’s death.

“I lost interest in Scouting after my father died, but my mom urged me on,” he said.

Now, Aldo’s renewed goal of becoming an Eagle Scout is within reach as he completes his final step, delivering a picnic table that he built for the disabled to Camino Real Park.

The bench on one side of the picnic table is shorter than most, providing wheelchair access.

“I like the idea of helping the handicapped,” Aldo said. “There was a need for this and I was willing to do it.”

The project was assigned to the 15-year-old in April. Using supplies donated by G & S Building Supplies in Ventura, he began work on the table in November. Aldo and his crew worked on the table every Sunday. By the time he completed it this week, he had spent 40 hours on the project.

The St. Bonaventure High School sophomore plans to install it in the park before Christmas Eve.

For Aldo, the table represents the last of the 21 badges he had to earn to achieve Eagle rank. The badges are given for activities ranging from citizenship to camping to emergency preparedness.

The construction project had more to do with community leadership than with Scouting, said Sue Potter, whose husband, Clarence, is scoutmaster of Aldo’s troop. “Aldo is the boss of this project. He supervised five other boys, and received no adult help,” Potter said. Aldo, who is scheduled to receive the merit badge for his project this week, says he expects to reach the level of Eagle Scout by February.

Aldo and his Scout troop aren’t the only ones satisfied with his work: The Ventura Parks Department is grateful for the addition to Camino Real Park. When the Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect in 1990, all facilities had to become accessible to all citizens, said Debbie Solomon, recreation supervisor for the Department of Parks and Recreation. But the department’s funds are limited.

“He is very much appreciated for his work by both the city and the disabled community,” she said.