Teen builds track of dreams
Eagle Scout finds a way to help Casa Pacifica kids
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers GOOD WORKS- Eagle Scout Frank Moran takes a test ride on the new Casa Pacifica BMX dirt track he designed and helped build as part of a community project for the Boy Scouts of America. Frank helped oversee the large-scale project that included manpower and material donations from the Amgen law department, Agromin, Earthwork Services, the Casa Pacifica Amigos volunteers, Seabees from the nearby Naval Base Ventura County and the Ventura and Oxnard fire departments.

Frank Moran knew if he built it they would come.

The 17-year-old high school student gave more than 100 hours of his time to build a bicycle motocross track for the children of Casa Pacifica recently.

Casa Pacifica is a Camarillo-based residential therapeutic treatment facility and crisis care center for the county's abused, neglected and severely emotionally disturbed children.

"I just really believe in what they do," said Frank, who chose to build the track as an Eagle Scout project and community service effort for school. "I support what they do."

The senior at Foothill Technology High School in Ventura designed the track and involved Casa Pacifica's men's volunteer group, the Amigos, in planning the dirt track.

Together they recruited help from the community to turn the track into a reality.

A Camarillo soil manufacturer donated tons of dirt and crushed rock sand. Boy Scouts, high school students and Casa Pacifica children joined Seabees from Ventura County Naval Base in sculpting the heaps of earth into jumps and curves. A local company donated use of earthmoving equipment, and Amgen of Thousand Oaks donated helmets and 25 assembled BMX bikes.

Frank organized the dozens of volunteers so that construction was finished in two days instead of two weeks.

"It was more work than I expected but . . . definitely worthwhile," Frank said.

Tim New, Amigos vice president, said that before the track was built, the children had to ride on vacant areas on campus grounds. The day the new track opened, 25 children were giving it a test ride, he said.

"They just had a great day," New said. "Now they have one more outlet to get all that energy out."

Frank, an outdoor sports enthusiast, learned through his mother, Myra Saltoun, Casa Pacifica's director of Clinical Services and Programs, that many of the children who come to the Camarillo residential care facility have never had the chance to play sports, let alone ride a BMX track.

"It was a perfect fit for him because he wanted to give the kids something that he enjoys," Saltoun said. "He likes sports, and he knows what he gets out of it."

Saltoun said because of the trauma they've suffered, many Casa Pacifica children are depressed or experience anxiety. Bicycle riding, considered recreational therapy, releases endorphins in the brain, which improves mood, she said. Some children at Casa Pacifica never learned how to interact positively with others, and by taking turns riding the BMX track, they develop better social skills, Saltoun said.

"Recreational therapy is a very key component to their treatment, more than individual therapy can do, and I'm a psychologist," she added.