Eagle Scouts Honored For Achievements

Newtown residents Daniel Letson and Matthew Barackman were honored last month at a joint Eagle Scout ceremony held at The Meeting House. Eagle Scout is the highest rank a scout can attain.

Friends since the fourth grade, Matthew and Daniel were longtime members of Newtown’s Troop 70 and are now college freshmen. Each directed a project that improved natural resources in Newtown. Each Eagle Scout project totaled more than 100 hours.

Daniel Letson’s project consisted of building and clearing a connector trail to Al’s Trail, a hiking trail in Newtown. He worked with Pat Barkman and the late Al Goodrich of the Open Space Task Force. His goal was to provide better access to public land by town citizens. Daniel surveyed, planned, marked, cleared, and built a new connector trail. He also recleared and marked an existing trail in the Black Bridge Road area of Newtown. The security of the private land surrounding the trail was maintained, and erosion was controlled along the way. His Eagle Scout project gives citizens the ability to drive to Antler Pine Road, park, hike into the woods, and eventually arrive at the wooded section of Black Bridge Road.

Matthew Barackman’s project focused on improvements to the Cullens Youth Association property in Newtown. Cullens is home to many community youth groups, who use the area for camping and other activities. Matthew’s team created a trail linking Cullens waterfront instruction area to a system of trails a distance away. Matthew supervised scouts and other volunteers to establish a campsite with a picnic table as well as create an expansive gravel boating launch on Cullens Pond.

The perseverance and leadership skills the young men developed continue to serve them as first-year undergraduates. Daniel is currently studying graphic design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pe3nn., while Matthew is concentrating on the sciences at the University of California at Berkeley.