Fulton Boy Scouts repair, donate bicycles

(Front row, from left) Lawrence Loftus, Grant Hendriscks and Andy Lidner with Boy Scout Troop 5o, along with (back row, from left) Kathy Becker of Girls Town, Tammy Wyman of Wal-Mart and Troop 50 Leader Tim Loftus present refurbished bicycles to Missouri Girls Town. Troop 50 has spent the past several months repairing broken bicycles from Wal-Mart and donating them to area groups and individuals.
(Front row, from left) Lawrence Loftus, Grant Hendriscks and Andy Lidner with Boy Scout Troop 5o, along with (back row, from left) Kathy Becker of Girls Town, Tammy Wyman of Wal-Mart and Troop 50 Leader Tim Loftus present refurbished bicycles to Missouri Girls Town. Troop 50 has spent the past several months repairing broken bicycles from Wal-Mart and donating them to area groups and individuals.

This Christmas nearly 30 children signed up with SERVE's Adopt-a-Family program will wake up to find a new bicycle, courtesy of Boy Scout Troop 50 and Wal-Mart.

For the past several months, Scouts with Troop 50 have been refurbishing broken bicycles provided by Wal-Mart and giving them to area individuals and groups such as Missouri Girls Town and Camp Hickory Hill for Diabetic Children in Columbia. On Saturday, they will be delivering at least 28 more to SERVE for distribution to its Adopt-a-Family registrants, bringing the total number of bikes donated thus far to approximately 50.

Scoutmaster Tim Loftus said he and another troop leader came upon the project at a Knights of Columbus meeting last spring.

"One of the ladies works at Wal-Mart and said they had these bikes that they couldn't sell because they were broken but didn't want to throw them away," Loftus said. "We thought this would be perfect for the troop (to take on)."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.