Eagle Scout project involved cleaning up land

A Columbus Signature Academy — New Tech freshman has completed his Eagle Scout project which involved cleaning up and restoring the Old Norton Cemetery in Clifford.

Dalton Hayward Lee Barwick, 14, son of Kenneth and Kay Barwick of Elizabethtown, has been a Scout for eight years and has the current rank of Life Scout. He decided to take on the cemetery project because he thought it would be a respectful thing to do for the people who were buried there.

Barwick removed trees and bushes from the cemetery, replacing grass and weeds with pea gravel for easier upkeep. He located and straightened gravestones in the cemetery, some of them dating back to the early 1800s.

He then planted flowers near the gravestones and by the corners of the cemetery and installed a small bench and a birdbath as part of the landscaping.

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Barwick then placed a metal fence and gate around the cemetery area and added a sign with the cemetery’s name.

He worked 87 hours on the project, his family said, and invested more than $800 to complete it. The money for the project was raised by collecting donations from area businesses, friends and family.