Eagle Scout project to make Kinchafoonee Creek safer

LEESBURG — In hopes of creating a safer environment on one of the area’s most popular recreation areas while also earning the Boy Scouts of America’s highest honor, local Life Scout Nathan Talley plans to place mile markers along Lee County’s Kinchafoonee Creek.

Talley, a scout with Troop 1 out of First Baptist Church of Albany, said he hopes to earn his Eagle Scout badge by completing the mile marker project. He presented his plans publicly last week to the Lee County Board of Commissioners, who seemed quite taken with the idea.

“I’d just like to say this is a phenomenal project,” said Commissioner Luke Singletary. “I think the waterways in Lee County have become more popular for fishing and kayaking. And I know that we’ve all seen it on the summer afternoons and Saturday afternoons, there’s tons of people putting kayaks in or boats in.

“I know that Jim Wright said that people using the waterways will benefit from this. So we thank you for your efforts.”

Commissioner Billy Mathis agreed, saying Talley had distinguished himself and his organization by coming up with such a practical and thoughtful project.

“I’d like to also say thank you,” Mathis said to Talley. “I don’t know how many of us were Boy Scouts, but it’s a tremendous organization, and you’re proof of how great an organization it is.”

“It is a great project, I’d like to just echo that,” added Commission Chairman Rick Muggridge. “What an idea. It’s just a great idea. I know that I’ll benefit personally, so I’m just thrilled.”

During his presentation to the commission, Talley said the motivation for the project was to make sure that people, like himself, who enjoy being on the creek will be safer and able to call for help more effectively if something unforeseen happens to them on the water.

“I chose this project because I enjoy being outdoors, especially in the water,” said the Scout. “But sometimes emergencies occur, such as injuries, medical emergencies and just bad planning.”

Talley reasoned that by placing mile markers along the 20-mile stretch of the creek from Pinewood Road to the Lee County/Dougherty County line, emergency personnel would be able to find people more easily.

“When emergencies arise, it’s critical to know where you are so you can tell the 911 operator your location,” Talley said. “Oftentimes, people do not know where they are along the creek, so all they can tell the 911 operator is that ‘I am somewhere on the creek.’ And that’s not very helpful.

“My project will place these mile markers every mile along the creek, which ensures that people on the creek will most likely be able to see the markers, and if an emergency were to occur they would be able to at least tell the 911 operator the last mile marker they passed so they will know the general location.”

According to county Co-manager Mike Sistrunk, Talley’s project had a certainly timeliness to it. Recently, some people were stranded on the creek and needed to call for help and didn’t know where they were.

“About three months ago we had a quick storm come up, and we actually had three people in a boat that the top broke on them or something and they had to pull to the side and they had to call 911. They had no idea where they were,” Sistrunk said. “Thank God they were close enough to Sunbelt Ford that they saw the blue sign and said, ‘We don’t know exactly where we are, but we’re close to here.’

“This gentleman has gone well above his call of duty. I was a Boy Scout, and I’m real proud of you.”

Sistrunk added that Talley’s idea has already gotten notice outside of Lee County, as representatives from the Flint Riverkeeper are rumored to be interested in piggybacking off the project in Dougherty County.

“Flint Riverkeeper, they’re so excited about this, I think they’re actually going to take off on your idea and carry that through the Flint River, too,” said Sistrunk.

Currently, according to Jim Wright, the head of Lee Code Enforcement (and, through Rivers Alive, a de facto steward of the county’s waterways), the plan is to wait until after deer season to place the mile markers.

Each marker, which will be green with reflective lettering (similar to highway signs), will read “Emergency Call 911” and will be embossed with a K for Kinchafoonee and then the mile number (0-20). The bottom of each sign will have the Lee County Rivers Alive logo.

While waiting to place the markers, Talley is working with Lee County Public Safety and Wright to find suitable spots to place them and establish various access points where emergency personnel can get on the water quickly and respond to an emergency.

For Talley the overall focus on creek safety and saving lives is at the heart of his Eagle Scout project and one of the reasons the 16 year-old son of Eagle Scout Mike Talley has put forth the effort to move the project forward.

“I’m excited about this project and I firmly believe that this could save someone’s life,” he said.