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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Boy Scout Kaleb Sepe built a gaga ball pit for Stadium Drive Elementary School as a part of his criteria to earn the Eagle Scout rank. Pictured are, from left, Aiden Hammer, Andrew Eberth and Kaleb Sepe.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Kaleb Sepe, a Boy Scout of Troop 80 from North Lima, chose to help the Boardman community with his service project because he lived in the community for 12 years before moving and attending South Range High School. As a child, he attended St. Charles School, a school near Stadium Drive Elementary.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Kaleb Sepe received help from many volunteers while building Stadium Drive Elementary's gaga ball pit. Sean and Evan Mcgrath, Andrew Eberth, Aiden Hammer, Marc Hack, Dylan Campanelli, Ian and Nick Usis, Connor Sepe, Bill Sepe, Johnny Tomaino and David Vuksanovich. Rick Eberth and Erik Hammer acted as Sepe's mentors on the project.
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Neighbors | Zack Shively.Kaleb Sepe received many donations for his gaga ball pit project. Familes, businesses and family friends raised more than $4,800 in donations. Families donated food during the building process. The Vuksanovich Family donated the plaque that will be on the gaga ball pit.
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Neighbors | Submitted.The project to build Stadium Drive Elementary's new gaga ball pit broke ground on June 9 and had been mostly completed by June 16. Kaleb Sepe, the scout who led the project, presented the idea to principal Michael Zoccali in November.
By ZACK SHIVELY
A current Boy Scout from South Range built a gaga ball pit for the students at Stadium Drive Elementary over the course of a few weekends for his Eagle Scout project.
Kaleb Sepe, a 15-year-old sophomore at South Range High School, began the process for creating the gaga ball pit at the school in November. Over time, he raised more than $4,800 for his project to help Stadium Drive Elementary.
Sepe said that he is interested in helping the community and he wanted to help Boardman since he had lived there for 12 years. As a child, he attended the nearby St. Charles School.
Kurt Hilderbrand, Scout Master of Troop 80 of North Lima, brought the idea forth to Sepe. Sepe talked to Stadium Drive principal Michael Zoccali, who brought the project to the board to be approved.
Sepe and his volunteers broke ground on the project on June 9. They levelled the ground and built the gaga ball pit behind the school’s existing playground. They expect to have the project completely finalized by fall, but they finished the construction of the pit on June 16.
The gaga ball pit will give the students outdoor equipment to play gaga ball. The game is a form of dodgeball, created to be a safer style of play where the players swipe the ball and try to hit below opponent’s waists as opposed to throwing the ball at a person.
Rick Eberth and Erik Hammer were the mentors on the project. Sepe received help from Sean and Evan Mcgrath, Andrew Eberth, Aiden Hammer, Marc Hack, Dylan Campanelli, Ian and Nick Usis, Connor Sepe, Bill Sepe and Johnny Tomaino.
David Vuksanovich from Troop 2 in Poland also volunteered, and his family donated the plaque for the pit. Elliot’s Garden Center helped the landscaping needs for the project, including 27 tons of limestone. Local families, businesses and family friends donated to the project. Boardman families donated food to Sepe and his volunteers for the weekends spent building the pit. The ball pit came from Coach Cliff’s Gaga Ball Pits, based in Illinois.