Published: September 25, 2009 11:07 pm      

MIDDLEPORT: Teen shines in community as he pursues Eagle Scout rank

MIDDLEPORT — Seventeen-year-old Matt Carey is going out of his way to help clean up the community.

As a Boy Scout working his way up to Eagle Scout, Carey needed to partake in a major project; he stood up to the plate to become the leader in a Troop 23 project to renovate the LeValley Cemetery.

“It broke my heart to see how bad the condition of the cemetery was,” Carey said.

To get his project idea approved, Carey attended three town meetings and pleaded his case to Hartland town officials. He pitched the idea with a PowerPoint presentation and received the approval in July, Carey said.

Since then, he spent nearly 160 hours planning and helping renovate the cemetery, and more than 200 hours with the Troop 23 group in the renovation process. The outside deadline for the completion of the project is the first week of November.

Some of the tasks are pulling stones, knocking out stumps, and ordering and using granite epoxy to fix the broken stones.

Ask anyone in Middleport and they’ll likely tell you Carey is the epitome of a role model and standout citizen.

Carey’s mother, Rose Carey, said that random people in the area stop to thank her son for his contribution. “We’re all very proud of him,” Rose said. “He goes above and beyond to give back to the community.”

Carey raised more than $300 in fundraisers, bottle and can collections, car washes and hot dog sales to help with the project, but is still looking for donations.

The town plans to pour the concrete during the first week of October. Once it dries, soil can be put down, grass can be planted and the project is complete; the only potential obstacle is the weather, Rose said.

Carey has been in Scouts since he was 6; this is the last major project he needs to complete to become an Eagle Scout before he turns 18. His name will turn up at the Board of Boy Scouts, and then he can be recommended for approval.

You can find Carey coaching youth football during the season and acting as the school mascot for the Royalton-Hartland High School Rams.

“Matt donates a lot of his time to help others,” Rose said. “He has good grades, a good personality ... he’s a good kid.”

After Matt graduates in June, he plans to attend college and join the Air Force Reserves.

Contact reporter Britney Milazzo at 439-9222, ext. 6251.