Sylvan Park renamed for Kyle Vissing

Clark County

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July 12, 2006

Youth’s mother to encourage Eagle Scout projects there

By LARRY THOMAS The News and Tribune Wed Jul 12, 2006, 05:09 PM EDT

The park in which Kyle Vissing was killed will bear his name and will serve as an arena for Eagle Scout projects.

On Monday, the Jeffersonville Parks and Recreation Board voted 4-0 to name Sylvan Park after Vissing, after his mother Carole pitched the idea of encouraging Eagle Scout projects there.

The park — which is maintained by the city but is located in Oak Park — had been named after the street that is adjacent to it.

Kyle Vissing was 18 when he died following a one-car crash at Sylvan Park on March 18. Driver Matthew Chinn, 21, whose blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit when the crash occurred, faces three felony charges in connection with Vissing’s death.

Carole Vissing said her son had been a Boy Scout for 12 years at Sacred Heart of Jesus’ Troop 89. She told the park board that her son’s Eagle Scout project — which consisted of erecting a flag pole at the Clark County Youth Shelter — was nearly completed when a paperwork error disqualified the effort.

“It really did teach him a life lesson,” she said.

Carole Vissing told board members that only about 4 percent of Scouts attain Eagle Scout status.

Kyle Vissing Park is the second park to bear the Vissing name. The original Vissing Park is named for the late five-term Mayor Richard L. Vissing.