Boy Scout’s big brain aids collection drive

Inclement weather did not stop ingenuity on last Saturday as Nassau County Legislator Steve Rhoads and Town of Hempstead Councilman Christopher Carini hosted another Personal Protective Equipment Drive at Wantagh Park, with the aid of a local Boy Scout with a knack for creation.

Jack Friedfertig is a member of Wantagh Boy Scout Troop 96. Applying his affinity for technology, Friedfertig used a 3-D printer and a template designed by another Boy Scout in Canada to create homemade clasps for surgical masks, to keep them tight and secure. The clasps allow medical workers, who wear the masks for extended periods, to alleviate the discomfort of wearing them around their ears.

The Boy Scout hand delivered the bags of clasps to Rhoads and Carini,. They are being donated to medical facilities across Nassau County to help healthcare workers stay safe — and comfortable.