By JOHN EBY
Dowagiac Daily News

CASSOPOLIS – Cass County commissioners viewed a video Thursday night narrated by Parks Director Scott Wyman about the latest Eagle Scout project at Lawless Park.

Evan Baker and friends logged more than 300 hours building a floating dock on Hogback Lake.

“Eagle Scouts have to try to secure materials on their own,” Wyman said. “We tell them what they can’t secure, we’ll help them in some way to purchase these projects. This was about a $6,000 project. We put in about $2,000 to get it done.”

“I can tell you from first-hand experience,” Wyman continued, “that this dock is getting a lot of use. People fish off it. We happen to have a beaver lodge about 30 feet away from it. We put benches on the dock so people can sit and enjoy the beautiful scenery that is Lawless Park,” the county’s largest park southeast of Vandalia.

“We hope to put at least another three to four docks in the park,” Wyman said. “With this one on the lower lake, we hope to put one on the upper lake, so someday we can allow kayakers to go from one to the other. It’s a beautiful half-hour trip” offering a glimpse of “a great blue heron rookery where they raise their young. We’ve seen bald eagles, otter, ducks and deer.”

County Administrator Terry Proctor proposed the board plan on a closed session Dec. 17 to be updated on pending litigation, as well as to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining.

“At the end of the meeting this evening, I would request that you go into closed session to hear a complaint brought against an employee, if requested by the employee,” Proctor said. “I am the employee, and I request the executive session,” which lasted about 45 minutes.