Local scout freshens up Crabapple Community Center.

If you like the new look of the Crabapple Community Center, be sure to thank Nate Vernon, a rising Milton High School senior and Boy Scout with Troop 841 of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Crabapple.

Vernon chose the long-closed community center on Broadwell Road as his Eagle Project, a community improvement endeavor required for him to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest honor in Scouting. Currently, the building is used as a landmark for the Milton Market, a weekly summer farmer and merchant’s bazaar.

Vernon was contacted about the project by the Crabapple Community Association, a group of local residents and business owners in the area. It’s a labor of love for the Scouts, as Troop 841 was founded more than 60 years ago and used the Community Center as a meeting place. The troop also participates every year in the Crossroads at Crabapple Arts and Antique Festival, cooking burgers and hot dogs to raise money for supplies and camping trips.

“I’m always an advocate of improving the way our city looks, said Vernon in between swipes of paint. “I and the Scouts are representatives of this city, and this is our job.”

As part of his project, Vernon and his fellow scouts will completely repaint the building and add planting boxes full of fresh, new shrubbery. Work will continue through July and should be finished by early August.