Ring For Service

Mineral Ridge High School senior to restore Rams’ Victory bell for Girl Scout’s Gold Award

By MARY SMITH

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

The original, 20-year-old Victory Bell for Mineral Ridge High School will soon be repaired and restored with enhanced protection as part of a service project of senior Susan Lee-Maher.

Susan, 17, is working toward Girl Scouting’s top honor — the Gold Award.

She’s the daughter of James and Gina Maher of Main Street, and has been active in Girl Scouts for 13 years, since she was in kindergarten.

The Gold Award is similar to Boy Scouting’s top honor, the Eagle Scout Award.

Susan chose repairing the bell as her service project, part of a multiproject list of requirements to achieve the Gold Award, and because she is a member of the high school track and cross country teams.

The bell project is one that will benefit the community, an award requirement.

“This project really touched me because I’m involved in sports,” Susan said.

Ridge Ram teams traditionally go to the bell to ring out a victory after meets, but it has been in disrepair, said Dan Kiger, the school district’s supervisor of building and grounds.

He said a small part inside the metal bell broke, and it can no longer ring.

The bell was donated about 20 years ago and placed on the south side of the high school about 20 feet from the locker rooms and next to the baseball fields.

“The bell goes back with a tradition we’ve had for ages,” high school principal Lew Lowery said.

Lowery said the football team is now using a victory bell that was donated about eight years ago for the new Joe Lane Sports Complex next to the new locker room.

The track and cross country teams still get together at the old bell, however, when they have won a meet or done well.

Lowery allowed Susan to proceed with the restoration project, and she also received permission from the board of education last fall. She showed board members blueprints of her project.

She added a two new steel poles to secure the bell. A shingled roof will be placed over it.

In addition, Susan will add a wooden bulletin board which will be enclosed in glass for coaches to place statistics about how track and cross country teams did in their latest events.

Materials for the project and work to help refurbish the bell’s platform and fix the bell were donated by local businesses or their employees. All business contributors have asked to remain anonymous.

A carpenter who also attends Susan’s church built the wooden shingled roof.

There are several requirements to earn a Gold award.

The Girl Scout council has to approve the project, and it has to be completed, along with her other requirements by the time she graduates.

Part of the requirement is to do different activities and write about them to help extend your horizons, Susan said. She chose travel and went to Belgium for two weeks on a mission trip with a group called Sportsquest, which conducted basketball clinics.

Also required are 40 hours of leadership and 40 hours of working, both of which she accomplished by working at two summer Scout camps in the summers of 2007 and 2008.

The senior is a private in the National Guard Unit based in Newton Falls. She also is active in the Beta club at the high school and Girl Scout Troop 598, led by Barb Rosenblum.

She leaves for basic training in September and when she returns will attend the University of Akron. The guard will pay for her education and the G.I. Bill will pay for her room and board.