Scout goes to bat for oft-dreaded creature
BY JESSICA SMITH
Staff Writer

Keith Obzut, of East Brunswick, is pictured with Milltown Mayor Gloria Bradford during the recent sign presentation at the Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership headquarters in Milltown.

Thanks to Keith Obzut, Milltown has gone batty.The 16-year-old Eagle Scout decided to earn the highest Scout rank attainable by completing a project dealing with bats.

“I wanted to educate the community on bats because bats have gotten a bad image from movies and Halloween, when in fact they actually help the community by eating bugs and [producing] guano,” Keith said. Guano, which comes from bats’ excrement, is used for fertilizer.

With the help of his troop members, the East Brunswick resident built nine bat houses, one of which was donated on the Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership (LBWP). The bat house was installed in the spring at Milltown’s LBWP headquarters at 85 Washington Ave., Keith said. Another is located at Janet Court Park; still others were sold to members of the community.

Those anticipating bat-sightings at the houses will have to wait for spring, because bats migrate in the winter, Keith said. Due to bats’ love of warmth, the houses have to be a dark color, so they can attract and store heat from the sun during the day, and the openings on them must be no larger than three-quarters of an inch, so little heat escapes. Keith said it is also important that the houses are placed in an open area, where bats can fly in and out easily, and that they are near water, where insects thrive.

Sign presented by Eagle Scout Keith Obzut for the Lawrence Brook Watershed Partnership headquarters.

To fulfill his goal of educating the community on the often-feared creatures, Obzut gave talks for the LBWP, as well as for his colleagues in Troop 33. He became interested in bats as a young child, when his uncle showed him a group of them living underneath his porch.

On a recent Saturday, Keith presented Milltown Mayor Gloria Bradford and LBWP President Alan Godber with a sign to be placed at the LBWP headquarters. He had to clear his project with both the mayor and LBWP before beginning it back in 2005.

“This is a great moment for an exceptional young man,” Bradford said during the ceremony, noting that being able to work with youth is a highlight of her career in public service.

The LBWP was able to help Keith get his badge while he helped them get publicity for their nonprofit organization, according to Ralph Steiner of the LBWP.

Keith has been with the Scouts since first grade. Now a junior at Saint Joseph’s High School in Metuchen, he has fulfilled all of the necessary steps to achieving status as an Eagle Scout. According to the Boy Scouts of America Web site, only 5 percent of all Scouts reach the top rank.

“It taught me many lessons that I’ll need for the future, and I plan to use those,” Keith said.

placed at the LBWP headquarters. He had to clear his project with both the mayor and LBWP before beginning it back in 2005.

“This is a great moment for an exceptional young man,” Bradford said during the ceremony, noting that being able to work with youth is a highlight of her career in public service.

The LBWP was able to help Keith get his badge while he helped them get publicity for their nonprofit organization, according to Ralph Steiner of the LBWP.

Keith has been with the Scouts since first grade. Now a junior at Saint Joseph’s High School in Metuchen, he has fulfilled all of the necessary steps to achieving status as an Eagle Scout. According to the Boy Scouts of America Web site, only 5 percent of all Scouts reach the top rank.

“It taught me many lessons that I’ll need for the future, and I plan to use those,” Keith said.