The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office now hosts two Safe Exchange locations thanks to the efforts of Jaden Arnold and his crew for his Eagle Scout project.
The designated Safe Exchange parking spots are now located at the Sheriff’s Office District 1 Station in Charlotte Hall and at the Sheriff’s Office Headquarters in Leonardtown. Under video surveillance by the Sheriff’s Office, the Safe Exchange locations are marked by posted signs for child custody exchanges, in-person transactions or meeting with a buyer or seller for online transactions.
They are the first of their kind in St. Mary’s County.
Sheriff Tim Cameron called Arnold’s Eagle Scout project “true community service.” The Safe Exchange parking locations “turned out better than I could have hoped for. Awesome work!” the Sheriff said.
Jaden Arnold is a freshman attending St. Mary’s Ryken High School and an active member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 420 based in Leonardtown. In looking for his Eagle Scout project, Arnold contacted schools, churches and other community organizations asking if they had any projects that needed doing. Sheriff Cameron had the Safe Exchange project in mind and the Eagle Scout project began.
In addition to creating the parking spaces, Arnold, his family and crew presented William Baker of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division a Quilt of Valor for his service in the United States Air Force.
After coordinating with the Sheriff’s Office, Jaden and his crew spent two days on Oct. 3-4, 2020 on the two locations, clearing and cleaning the designated parking spots, removing oil and gasoline residue so the paint would properly adhere. The spaces were then painted bright yellow with white lines and signs were posted.
