KIRBY, Texas – A Kirby 17-year-old Life Scout with Troop 1412 is hoping to inspire others to be positive problem-solvers after someone vandalized his community service project Monday.
Anthony Quiboloy spent at least 20 hours creating large concrete foundations in a park near the Kirby Senior Center.
"The idea for the project was to build concrete slabs and put benches on them," Quiboloy said. "I came out and asked the community what they would like here, and they gave me this idea."
He said because the area near the basketball court lacked seating and places to throw trash away, he hoped this would prevent people from having to cross over the ditch to sit down.
"Sometimes, this area can get really wet, so having a seating area near the court for people to watch the game would be nice," Quiboloy said. "There was trash around here, and I didn't really like that, so we did trash can slabs to go with it."
Over the weekend, Quiboloy, his family, volunteers and others in his troop worked on measuring, building and pouring the slabs.
"I did paperwork for months, and I have just been coming up with ideas and figuring out ways to get this started," Quiboloy said. "We raised money and all. And when we came out here, we had to level the foundations out and make sure it was smooth, so there is no curvature or elevation for the tables and trash cans."
Jessica Wagner, Quiboloy's mother and the advancement coordinator for the troop, said the project was expensive and exhausting all around.
"It was about $1,150 total, but it is not the material that cost a lot; it was the labor. Everyone chipped in," Wagner said. "We were able to get donations. We did garage sales, and we ended up spending $500 out of our pocket to make it happen."
Quiboloy's vision of becoming an Eagle Scout hit a snag after returning to his project Monday, the day after he completed the last large slab for it to dry overnight.
Someone vandalized the concrete, deeply carving it with names, profanity and more.
"I think the most emotional part was to see my son in an emotional state and just break down and not understand why this happened," Wagner said. "There were a lot of sticks on the ground that had a lot of concrete on them. We were heartbroken to find it this way."
"It is about a quarter of an inch deep," Quiboloy said. "Concrete does not stick to itself, so we can't put another coat on top of it. My team, we came out here and we worked really hard just to see it destroyed. I got a little sad and just very disappointed."
Wagner said it was a goal of hers to support her son at all costs.
"Since he was a Tiger in Cub Scouts, he has been in it to win it," Wagner said. "I remember him going to a ceremony, and he said to me, 'Mom, I want to be an Eagle Scout.' I saw an opportunity for my son to be something and somebody, something he wanted. And for him to set a goal at such a young age was amazing. We are finally at the end stage. He made it to Life Scout, which is a big deal. To me, it is so beautiful to see that I have a wonderful 17-year-old son that wants to do so much for his community."
Wagner said she filed a police report for the incident, but like her son, she hopes this serves as an important lesson to those in the community.
"My message is that we need to unite as a community," Wagner said. "No matter what happens and the challenges we face, we need to unite as a family. We need to say, 'Hey, we are going to be better and overcome this setback."
Quiboloy agreed, saying, though he was initially sad, he saw a real opportunity shortly afterward.
"There is a lot of hardship and things that will bring you down and make you really sad," Quiboloy said. "That happens. That is life, but the only thing you can do is respond to it in a positive way and find ways to be a problem solver."
The family said because replacing the full slab completely will cost them at least $5,000, they plan to use a unique tool to buff it down. That process, they said, will cost at least $500, which is why they are raising money to complete the task at hand.
"After we get that done, we plan to build the picnic tables from scratch," Quiboloy said. "It is just very important to be an Eagle Scout. It is something I think everyone should strive to be."
