Seaholm Student Makes His Town Safer

Hundreds of Birmingham Seaholm students returned to school Tuesday for another year of instruction, but few, if any, other than Chandler Roberts, returned knowing they made their community a safer place. 

Roberts, 15, planned and implemented the updates of the Safety Town set for the Birmingham Public Schools Early Childhood Center’s Safety Town program as part of his quest for an Eagle Scout designation. The Safety Town alumnus and volunteer developed the plans, organized a group of scout volunteers, analyzed the costs involved, and created a computer program to figure the dimensions and make-up of the new Safety Town.

More than 25 people worked 400 hours of community service for the program, which is designed for students entering kindergarten to learn safe practices around roads and homes.

Roberts is a proud member of Birmingham Boy Scout Troop 1032 at First United Methodist Church, where he is a member and he sings in the high school choir. He recently took a few moments to answer five questions from Birmingham Patch.


Of all the possible projects and worthy causes to make Eagle Scout, why choose Safety Town? 

Because Safety Town taught me good lessons as a student, and gave me a place to volunteer over several summers when I was older, I wanted to give something back.

You've attended and volunteered at Safety Town. What is the draw and why are you devoted to it?

When I was in 7th grade I volunteered to work at Safety Town for 2 weeks, I ended up there for 4 weeks – I really liked working with the kids. In scouting, community service is a big part of what we do. So, in 8th and 9th grade I volunteered again. It was fun and I could be with my friends outside helping kids.  

Safety is important and the Kindergarteners need to know how to be safe 
before they go to school. Sometimes, when I am in town walking around kids come up to me and remind me that they were in my Safety Town class, that’s cool. 

What was the highlight of this year's program for you?
While I was not a ST volunteer this year, I think the highlight for me was 350 Birmingham students learning street safety on a brand new layout that my Eagle Scout project made possible. One thing I learned is that doing something good for someone else makes you feel great.

What's the next step for your Eagle Scout certification?
I plan to write up my project and submit it for approval this fall. 

Anything else people should know?
Mrs. Tinsley, Principal at Midvale was very helpful and most of all we worked together. She listened to my suggestions and liked my ideas; she had painted Safety Town several times with students so she had a lot of experience. 

During the planning of the project we looked at the way it was done in the past and talked about ways to make it better. Mr. Talmer of Cranbook Paving offered to help with the project. He donated his experience, paint and crew to help us make it right.