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The soccer field at West Salem High School will get its own lighted flag soon and the school itself is already the beneficiary of new bushes, trees and landscaping. Both improvements are courtesy of Eagle Scout community service projects initiated by Andrew Quinn and Aaron Tourville.

Quinn, a soccer player himself, says he got the idea for the flag project while at a soccer game that his sister was playing in.

“When it came time to sing the national anthem, everyone had to turn and face the high school flag, which is probably about 300 yards to the west of the field,” Quinn said. “I felt bad that we couldn’t respect the flag on our own field and I decided that the situation needed to be corrected.”

After talking the situation over with his unit leader, David Halverson, and with Principal Troy Gunderson, Quinn began planning the project. In addition to a flagpole, there will be a spotlight on top of the scoreboard and landscaping with shrubs and mulch in the immediate area. The total cost will be about $2,700, but much of the material will be donated.

It took a lot of organizational skills to get things moving.

“I have to keep track of hours logged and I’ve sent out letters to parents of soccer players for donations of time and money,” Quinn said.

He expects the project to be completed toward the middle of this month. Those who have donated include soccer parents, the American Legion, the booster club and the West Salem Area Community Foundation.

Tourville’s project is already completed and the trees and bushes that he and the volunteers he gathered are planted on the north side of the school and already established and growing. Again, there were plenty of organizational skills called upon.

It took 27 hours of planning and 88 man hours of work to install the mulch, landscape fabric, Japanese juniper bushes, a linden tree, maple trees and Kentucky coffee trees.

The total cost was $711 but, as with Quinn’s project, Tourville solicited and received donations from the community and businesses.

Although both Quinn and Tourville won’t be spending much more time at the high school — Quinn graduates next year and Tourville just graduated — it’s a safe bet that the improvements they made to the school grounds will be enjoyed for decades to come.

School board president Errol Kindschy is grateful for both projects.

“First of all, it’s wonderful that Eagle Scouts even think about the school for projects like this. Both projects are things that we might not have thought to have done ourselves. I consider myself patriotic, but I never thought of the need for a flag at the soccer field and I probably should have. I’m very thankful that Andy came up with that.

“And as far as the Aaron’s project, as many times as I’ve driven by the school, I never thought to get out to look at things like the shrubs and the window wells. You just assume they’re fine and it turns out that they’re not.

“We’re so very happy that the Eagle Scouts were able to find a project that makes the school a better place plus fulfill their obligations for a badge— the two work hand-in-hand.”