CRANBERRY TWP — The township at 11 a.m. Oct. 7 in Graham Park will mark 100 years of scouting in America and will dedicate the nation’s only permanent monument to honor the centennial.

“I am proud to have the nation’s only monument celebrating the 100th anniversary of scouting here in Western Pennsylvania, and especially proud to see it in Butler County and Cranberry,” said Bruce Mazzoni, who co-chaired the Cranberry Township Community Chest’s scouting plaza Community Project of the Year.

The other benefit for the community, he said, is having a new 1 acre lake for the public to use. The township plans to have the grand opening of the lake this fall.

Situated at the edge of the lake, the monument and plaza are designed to offer a site where Boy and Girl Scouts can meet, plan, and carry out community service activities in the tradition of duty that has remained central to scouting.

The memorial features a plaza with a stone monument in the middle. Three acres adjacent to the plaza will be reserved as an environmental area for scouts and residents to care for and enjoy.

The architecture of the plaza, which includes a monument containing three graphic panels that illustrate the scout cycle, also will have time capsules to be opened on the 125th, 150th, and 200th anniversaries of the plaza’s dedication.

The fishing lake, which is scheduled to open for public use on or shortly after the plaza dedication, will be available for license-free catch-and-release fishing throughout the year.

About 500 fish salvaged from the drained Hereford Manor Lakes last year arrived and were placed in a new pond. About 450 bluegill and 30 largemouth bass were relocated there.