By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

BURRILLVILLE — The Parks and Recreation Department won't be looking for any high-priced landscape architects or engineers when the time comes to construct a proposed new town park near the historic Shippee Bridge.

Instead, the project's design and implemenation will be handled by Eagle Scout Candidate Jeffrey Bowser.
The park, which is still in the planning stages, will include a grassy area with plantings, benches and picnic tables for the nearby fishing area.
The Parks and Recreation Department recieved a state Department of Environmental Management Passive & Historic Park Grant, which has provided funding for the project.
As part of his Eagle Scout project, Bowser will raise 10 percent toward the project's cost.
Burrillville Parks and Recreation Director Cheri R. Hall has no doubt the project will be first class considering the many previous town park projects taken on by Eagle Scout candidates as part of their Eagle Scout projects.
It's the latest project in what has become a mutually beneficical partnership between the town and its Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops. The scouts earn badges by taking on projects at community parks and the town town benefits because it gets a first-rate project with little to no financial investment.
And in these days of tight departmental budgets, having the scouts on board has been a  tremendous help to the department, says Hall, adding that most projects are funded with money the scouts raise as part of the project and bolstered by grant money received by the department.
"We've had Eagle Scout candidates do a lot of projects in town," said Hall, adding when she did some research on the Narragansett Council Boy Scouts of America a few years ago, she discovered there were 250 Eagle Scout projects being worked on throughout the state that year and that a majority of them were at municipal parks.
It didn't take long for Hall to realize the potential of such a partnership, which has resulted in some ambitious projects in Burrillville over the past few years.
Last summer, Eagle Scout candidate Justin Bondesen gave White Mill Park a new makeover with newly-painted railings and new historic signage. Three years ago, Eagle Scout Greg Bowser - Jeffrey's brother - blazed a trail at the park and also constructed foot bridges for his Eagle Scout project.
This year, Eagle Scout candidate Nathan Desautels is getting ready to construct a new amphitheater at the Spring Lake Campground, a project slated to begin in the spring.
"These kids do great work and have helped the town enormously and in return they are able to come take on a solid project to help them attain the rank of Eagle Scout," Hall said.
The Parks and Recreation Department also has a good realtionship with Cub Scouts Pack One Pascoag, which helps out with various department-sponored programs, Earth Day clean ups and other town events.
As for the Shippee Bridge park project, Bowser will have to wait until the state completes structural improvements to the bridge, which has had its weight limit reduced from 5 tons to 3 tons.
This bridge carries Sherman Farm Road (Route 98) in the village of Harrisville, over the Nipmuc River. A previously established detour for trucks and heavy vehicles will remain in effect to bypass the bridge. Traffic on the bridge is restricted to one-way alternating passage for northbound and southbound traffic.
RIDOT intends to begin the bridge repair project as soon as possible. Once that is completed, the weight restriction should be eased to approximately 15 tons.