Laborers, Cement Masons Local 90 help Boy Scout with his Eagle project, improving no-kill animal shelter

By CARL GREEN

Illinois Correspondent

Granite City, IL – Landon Mosele, a Boy Scout with Troop 46 working toward the rank of Eagle, had a great project to do, but he needed some help to get it done.

One of the requirements for Scouts seeking the rank of Eagle is to organize and complete a project to benefit their community.

Mosele turned for help to the Greater Madison County Federation of Labor, which put him together with local union members who provided Mosele with the push that he needed.

Mosele’s troop is sponsored by the Long Lake Fire Department in Pontoon Beach, which isn’t too far from the Granite City APA, a no-kill adoption shelter for dogs and cats at 5227 Canham Road.

The APA (Animal Protective Association) needed more room to keep dogs overnight in shelters that have to have concrete flooring, and it also needed a larger cat pen, also with a solid floor.

Mosele figured out what materials were needed and raised about $2,000 to pay for them. The Federation, with support from United Way, put him in contact with the Illinois Laborers & Contractors Joint Apprenticeship and Training Program in Edwardsville and with Plasterers and Cement Masons Local 90 out of Troy, IL, both of which agreed to provide some muscle and expertise.

The work was completed over Oct. 16-19. About eight Laborers apprentices prepped the site. “We got everything up to grade,” said Vicky McElroy from the training center staff. “It was a nice job.”

Then they worked with several Local 90 apprentices led by retiree Terry Miller as they poured and finished the concrete. Everything had to be wheel-barrowed in.

But the results couldn’t be better – four new dog pens with concrete floors and a 10-foot by 20-foot screened cat enclosure, providing better care and a better future for the animals.

“They had a lot of people out there doing a lot of work,” said Nick Dodson, a United Way labor liaison in Madison County.

McElroy said the Training Center is always ready to help on community projects, as did Local 90 Business Manager Shannon Foley. “We definitely want to help with any chance we get to give back to the community,” he said. 

Granite City APA has plenty of dogs and cats to adopt and is looking for volunteers and donations, such as soap, litter, paper towels and blankets. Call 618-931-7030; write to them at P.O. Box 1311, Granite City, 62040; or go online to critter@gcapa.org.