WHEELING --  The Wheeling Skate Park has been a great addition to this area, giving kids of all ages a safe place to go at all times of the day and night.

Now, thanks to a young man working toward becoming an Eagle Scout, a new addition is making the park even more enjoyable.

Nick Fledderus, 17, has been skating since he was in sixth grade.

He remembers the time when skating was not possible, at least locally, because the Wheeling Skate Park didn't exist.

"I remember struggling to skate behind the YMCA, everyday, getting kicked out and them yelling at us and when they started building the skate park, I was out here everyday helping these guys skate and stuff and I've put in a lot of work."

Soon after, Nick wanted to make the skate park even better. Since he was active in Boy Scouts Troop 6 and working toward becoming an Eagle Scout, he decided to merge his two loves and come up with his community project.

"There were benches out here but they were the flimsy things, just wooden benches. I thought we needed something better out here. The city thought that too." So after city leaders gave Nick their blessing, he began raising the money to make his project become a reality.

After the concrete base was poured, the bleachers were put into place and Nick's project was complete. Since only 3 percent of all Boy Scouts obtain the rank of Eagle Scout, Nick knows what that honor will mean.

"It's a pretty big deal. A kid in our troop actually got a request from NASA just because they look for kids that were Eagle Scouts. It's a dig deal. I hope I get a lot of good job offers from it."

Two years and $3,000 later, Nick says the biggest lesson he learned from his project is being patient and hard work can accomplish anything.

Nick wanted to thank the Skate Park Committee, including Diana Mey, Troop 6, Tri-Son Concrete and his family and friends for helping him with this project.