Manhattan Scouts receive Eagle awards

NEW YORK — A group of Mormon Boy Scouts in New York were able to fulfill requirements for their Eagle Scout award by taking a 20-mile hike up the streets of Manhattan.Joshua Buckner, Garrett Houston, Jonathan Moe, Adrian Perry, Ben Shavitz and Aidan Short from Boy Scout Troop No. 526 in New York recently received Scouting's highest award. The Scouts are the largest group to receive their Eagle Scout awards in Manhattan, being that their troop was established by Latter-Day Saints only eight years ago.They had to adapt certain requirements to be conducive to their surroundings, such as hiking the entire length of Broadway Street, with one Scout even camping in Central Park to receive his camping merit badge.For their Eagle Scout leadership service project, the boys organized a group within their community to contribute 475 hours of service repairing parks, assisting in food banks and donating books to a hospital pediatric ward."It (gave me) a sense of accomplishment," Short said of the honor. "I stuck to it and didn't give up."