Page 12 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • December 7, 2011 Ho-Ho-Kus Scout works toward final approvals for Eagle project by Jennifer Crusco Ryan DeMarco, an Eagle Scout candidate from Ho-Ho-Kus Boy Scout Troop 54, recently gained the Ho-Ho-Kus Council’s approval of his completed service project. DeMarco is still working toward all the requisite approvals before he receives his award. DeMarco told the council that he and his volunteers worked from July 4 through Labor Day to complete the project, which involved painting house number on the curbs in front of borough residences for greater visibility. The goal of the project is to help emergency first responders locate homes quickly and easily. When DeMarco’s proposal was approved earlier this year, Councilman Phil Rorty advised DeMarco that the curbside house numbers would be a great help to firefighters and other emergency responders. The Scout reported that his team had painted numbers at 176 residences throughout the borough, including 10 on the far side of Route 17. Most residents who requested the service, he said, were located in the area of the public school on Lloyd Road and near North Field. He added that many people responded after he placed flyers about his project in local mailboxes and ran notices in the local newspapers. DeMarco also kept meticulous records of all of the streets and homes where he and his crew had worked. Ho-Ho-Kus Mayor Thomas Randall asked DeMarco how he had persuaded his fellow Boy Scouts to volunteer their time. “I brought food with me,” the Eagle candidate responded. “This has made a big difference, and will help many people,” Councilwoman Maryellen Lennon told DeMarco. “You did a lot of work. Well done.” Randall and the council members also praised the Scout for his work before officially providing final approval. DeMarco must also obtain approvals from the Eagle Board before he receives his award. In 2007, Ramsey resident and Eagle Scout Tyler Buysse of Boy Scout Troop 31 carried out a house number painting community service project in his town. The Ramsey Scout encouraged residents to contact him by e-mail or by telephone with their requests for house numbers, and publicized his contact information in the Ramsey edition of this newspaper. Buysse and his volunteers received hundreds of requests, and painted approximately 500 house numbers, which are now affectionately referred to as “Buysses.” In areas where there were no curbs, Buysse or a member of his crew painted the house number onto a rock in a prominent place. Parental participant On Parent Participation Day, Austin Zhou of Ho-Ho-Kus was assisted by his mother, Grace, as he built a vehicle powered by the spring device of a mousetrap for his class More Technology Lab. the class is offered by the Gifted Child Society at rgw HoHo-Kus Public School. The project is a study in kinetic energy, friction and force, and troubleshooting.