Du Quoin, Eagle Scout candidate will work together to protect vet memorial in Keyes Park

Thomas Brantley was looking for a meaningful Eagle Scout project to cap off almost 12 years of devoted Scouting.

The city of Du Quoin was unhappy that the Veterans Memorial in Keyes Park has been sustaining damage - vandalism and unintended accidents alike. The stone pavers around the main memorial are chipped and some are falling out.

Brantley, 17, met with Du Quoin Mayor Guy Alongi this week to test fire some projects he could do for his Eagle award. The Du Quoin Fire Department wants the fire hydrants in town repainted. What about a dog park? And so on.

They were all good ideas but Brantley had his heart set on something that would have lasting value for Du Quoin.

"My Scoutmaster drills us on our projects," said Thomas, who is grateful that Du Quoin is taking an interest in it. "He says don't just build a bench - do something that will actually last in your community and will be a great help to them."

Then he and Alongi hit on it: Why not erect a fence - a nice fence, in wrought iron - around the Veterans Memorial in Keyes Park? The memorial would keep its status as a centerpiece for park visitors but be spared the vandalism and skateboard damage.

Brantley formally pitched the idea to the Du Quoin City Council on Monday. Commissioners liked it so much they pledged $5,000 in city funds to jump-start the fundraising campaign. The entire cost of the project is expected to be $15,000 to $20,000.

Thomas Brantley, his mother Catherine and the mayor met in Keyes Park on Wednesday, and already reality was setting in. The mayor explained that after talking with a fencing company, it looked like high-grade commercial aluminum would be a better material to work with - wrought iron would be too expensive, and too hard to match if a piece had to be replaced at some point.

But on Thursday, after a favorable conversation with the ironmongers who did the fencing for Croessman Square in downtown Du Quoin, Alongi says wrought iron is back on the table.

Because this is Thomas Brantley's Eagle Scout project he'll have to pay meticulous attention to every detail, handle the fundraiser and advertising and report back to his Eagle Scout adviser. Alongi said the teen will be present when the iron company does the estimates and be involved with the choice of fencing. He'll have a big part of the fundraising, Alongi added.

"Thomas came up with the idea," Alongi said, who added the city might be able to increase its $5,000 contribution if necessary.

For Thomas, all of this is made a bit harder by the fact his Boy Scout Troop is in O'Fallon, where Thomas grew up. When Thomas and his sister Allison were children the family lived in Du Quoin. They moved to O'Fallon in 2009, moved to Augusta, Georgia in 2016 and just recently relocated to Du Quoin.

But all through the moves to Augusta and now Du Quoin, every Monday Cat and Thomas would make the trip to O'Fallon for troop meetings, where Cat is an assistant Scoutmaster.

Thomas attributes his unwavering love of Scouting to some excellent adult troop leaders.

"I've had good mentors that helped keep my motivated," said Thomas, who admits he started to waver a bit in junior high but recovered. "My mom has been a big factor, too."

His sister, Allison has been a role model too - she achieved the Trifecta in southern Illinois Girl Scouting with her Bronze, Silver and Gold awards.

Thomas is excited that his Eagle Scout project has Alongi and the city of Du Quoin pumped. He's been doing community service all his life - mostly through Scouting and in helping friends work on their Eagle projects.

"I guess a lot of people see (community service) as lame but I see it as fun and a good way to give back to the community," he said.

After high school, Thomas has options. He's been talking about military service since was a little kid, and dreams of enrolling at The Citadel and becoming a Marine officer. On the other side of the coin, he part of a punk-grunge rock group called V for Hate that is "pretty good" and he'd like to see if they can achieve rock star status. So the future is an open book.

"We're committed to making a try (at music)" he says. "Why not? We're young, and we have time."

For now, however, his performance at Keyes Park is the one Du Quoin is looking forward to.