Eagle Scout Riverwalk project fulfills fitness mission

ByMatthew Crane Reading Time: 4 minutes
Nick Hedinger decided to create a handicap-accessible fitness center at the Jasper Lions Riverview Park. The new fitness area was completed Wednesday evening.
Nick Hedinger decided to create a handicap-accessible fitness center at the Jasper Lions Riverview Park as his Eagle Scout project. The new fitness area was completed Wednesday evening.

Chad Lawson, Troop 182’s scout master, stood with his hands on his hips.

“He’s in charge,” Lawson said nodding at Nick Hedinger. “I don’t do anything until he tells me to.”

“Hey Nick, what do you need me to do?” he hollers at the 17-year-old project manager.

Work was just beginning on the final workday to complete the most recent addition to the Jasper Riverwalk and Lions Riverview Park. A handicap-accessible fitness center featuring several workout stations that Nick had planned for his Eagle Scout project. About 35 volunteers were brought together by the Eagle Scout hopeful to complete the new feature.

Nick, a junior at Jasper High School, decided to add fitness stations to the Riverwalk next to the Jasper Lions’ Riverview Park because he felt it would be a great feature to include in the future improvements planned at the city’s only handicap-accessible park.

“With the Riverwalk and the interest in fitness, we thought it would be good,” Nick said about the multistation addition. “I think this is a very beneficial addition for the community.”

Nick’s dad, Kurt, is a member of the Lions and after the club received a donation of a special swing to be added to the park, he suggest that his son could look into it as an Eagle Scout project. Nick had been planning a project with Patoka 2000 to develop a trail around downtown Jasper that would include Indiana native tree species. However, that project had stalled out as other issues popped up.

Nick's dad, Kurt Hedinger, is a member of the Lions Club. The owner of Hedinger Roofing helped Nick work through the process of bring the fitness center to Jasper.
Nick’s dad, Kurt Hedinger, is a member of the Lions Club. The owner of Hedinger Roofing helped Nick work through the process to bring the fitness center to Jasper.

The Lions Club approached Nick about the project and as he researched the installation of the swing, he found the company carried several quality pieces of outdoor fitness equipment. So, he pitched them on adding the fitness center. “They loved the idea,” Kurt said.

The Jasper Lions installed the park in 1998 as the area’s first handicap-accessible park. Nick’s idea fit nicely into their plans to improve the park — they have a gazebo and some other amenities planned for the near future.

On top of a $5,000 grant the Lions were able to receive from the Dubois County Community Foundation, they invested about $15,000 from the club.

Volunteers from the Lions Club and Jasper Rotary were on hand to move a huge pile of specially engineered mulch into the new area. The mulch is designed to make it easy for wheelchairs to access the fitness area. The area also has fitness stations that are wheelchair accessible. Dan Colignon, Joe Cozza and
Volunteers from the Lions Club and Jasper Rotary were on hand to move a huge pile of specially engineered mulch into the new area. The mulch is designed to make it easy for wheelchairs to access the fitness area. The area also has fitness stations that are wheelchair accessible. Dan Colignon and Joe Cozza (red) pass each other as they haul the mulch over.

Nick also met with the Rotary Club of Jasper. Every three years, the club chooses a local beneficiary to support; currently that is Tri-Cap. According to club president Judi Brown, they saw the project as an extension of Tri-Cap’s mission of providing a multitude of services to area residents.

The local club received a $4,250 grant from Rotary International to support the project. They added $5,000 of their own club’s funds and supplied volunteers for the laborious task of building the area.

With the go-ahead from the Jasper Parks Department, who sees the addition as an added benefit at no extra cost to the department, Nick and members of both clubs have been installing the fitness center over three planned work days over the past three weeks.

The project was completed Wednesday as the group moved 21 cubic yards of engineered mulch into the area with wheelbarrows and shovels.

Blake Danzer, 13, a member of St. Joe Troop 182, examines a piece of wood from the debris that was removed to create the park. According to Nick Hedinger, the area was originally swampy so fill dirt was used to create a base for the park. While digging the holes for the fitness stations, the volunteers had to remove the hard pieces of clay, rocks and concrete they found.
Blake Danzer, 13, a member of St. Joe Troop 182, examined a piece of wood from the debris that was removed to create the base for the original park. According to Nick Hedinger, the area was originally swampy so fill dirt was used to create the foundation. While digging the holes for the fitness stations, the volunteers removed several wheelbarrows full of the clay, rocks and concrete they found in the dirt.
Share