Granby Scout Tyler Neveu donates picnic tables

GRANBY - If aspiring Eagle Scout Tyler Neveu had his way, his Eagle Scout project would not even be written about.

Tyler, a person of very few words, is also shy, according his mother, Debra A. Neveu.

That's why it was officials of the Granby Housing Authority at Phin's Hill Manor who contacted the press to get a story written on his Eagle Scout project. The project consists of two picnic tables for the handicapped along with pots of chrysanthemums and sedum that are now on the patio at the manor's community center. Phin's Hill Manor provides state-subsidized apartments for low-income elderly and the disabled.

"It was such a wonderful thing for him to do. He is only 15," Nancy J. Brown, the authority's executive director, said during a recent interview in the community center.

"I think it's wonderful ... He's a good kid," said 65-year-old Phin's Hill Manor resident Sandra L. LeBeau.

Tyler got the idea of doing an Eagle Scout project to benefit residents of the manor because she wanted to honor the memory of his great-grandparents, the late Joseph and Cecile Cote. The Cotes lived at the manor and Tyler can remember visiting them as a small child.

When he approached officials asking them what sort of project would benefit residents, he was told building picnic tables would be a big help. The manor had gone for many years without any picnic tables on the patio because the old ones had rotted, according to George K. Knight, the chairman of the Phin's Hill Manor Board of Commissioners.

Because an Eagle Scout project is a way for a Boy Scout to learn about leadership, Tyler directed about 15 fellow members of Granby Boy Scout Troop 303, ranging in age from 13 to 16, in building two picnic tables. He raised more than $300 by sending out about 30 letters to family and friends seeking donations.

Tyler started work on the project about six months ago, deciding to build tables out of pine rather than pressure-treated wood because the pressure-treated wood has arsenic and should not be used as a service area where eating will take place.

The tables are designed so that people can slide in and out of the seats without having to lift their legs. Each has an end that protrudes more than usual for use by a person using a wheelchair.

Tyler worked with his father, Douglas P. Neveu, to assemble the metal frame for the tables.

Becoming an Eagle Scout will be an honor that taught him about leadership, the Granby Scout said.

If awarded his Eagle Scout badge, Tyler will be among the youngest Scouts in the area to earn that honor, according to his mother.

Tyler got the idea of doing an Eagle Scout project to benefit residents of the manor because she wanted to honor the memory of his great-grandparents, the late Joseph and Cecile Cote. The Cotes lived at the manor.