Scout camp getting some serious upgrades
(LOREN BENOIT/Hagadone News Network) Alden Tryon of Boy Scout troop 498 climbs out of the water during a relay activity at Camp Easton in 2017.
(LOREN BENOIT/Hagadone News Network File) Caleb Fromherz, left, and Brandon landgren, both of Boy Scout Troop 22 out of Spokane, Wash. tie a clove hitch knot around a banana for a relay activity at Camp Easton in 2017.
Little
(LOREN BENOIT/Hagadone News Network File) Kids and camp couselors gather outside the Trading Post during a summer camp day at Camp Easton in 2017.
KOOTENAI COUNTY — Tom Little hopes the happenings around Camp Easton on the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene squelch any rumors that the 383-acre Boy Scout site will be sold.
That’s old — and fake — news.
Work has started on the much-anticipated pedestrian tunnel under Highway 97 to increase pedestrian safety.
"It's to keep the kids safe," said Little, a former ranger at the site who lives nearby and continues to be involved in Boy Scouts. "We wouldn't want to ever see somebody getting hurt. A lot of motorcyclists think it's a raceway. This will make it safe for everybody. Kids from around the world come here."
Highway 97 is expected to be closed starting Tuesday through no later than May 16 for construction.
Drivers are advised to use Burma Road as a detour while the 10-foot wide tunnel is being constructed at the current location of the camp’s crosswalk.
The tunnel is being funded by a $230,000 grant from the federal Transportation Alternative Program. East Side Highway District sponsored the application. The Boy Scouts of America Inland Northwest Council contributed an additional $45,000 as a match.
Per the grant application, an average of 220 campers cross the highway multiple times each day during the summer.
Little said the tunnel has been in the works for about three years.
"This is a huge deal for the Boy Scouts and Camp Easton," he said, adding that it's amazing there haven't been any accidents that he's aware of in the crosswalk.
The tunnel will be just one of the new additions to the camp this summer.
A 40-by-60-foot boat storage building was donated by developer John Stone and the late Jim Tidyman, as well as eight beginner sailboats.
A 24-by-24 pavilion with a concrete floor next to the lake was also constructed in honor of Chuck Fisk, a former longtime Scout master.
The Boy Scouts are also raising funds to buy a pickup for Camp Easton Ranger Sean Wiley after he was involved in a vehicle accident during inclement weather last fall.
"A lot of people who had been helping us and donating backed away due to (the earlier sale possibility)," Little said. "But we're keeping our camp, maintaining it and constructing."
Little said a new dining hall at the camp is also being explored.