Students build structure for community
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CHARLO – Passersby may have seen the development of a framed structure in the Charlo Park as they drive through town, possibly wondering what it will become.
“We are building a pavilion,” said Charlo High School student Packer Pearson.
Six Charlo High School students in Mr. Stan Atchley’s shop class spend an hour each school day in the park, building the pavilion as a class project that started in November 2015.
“This is about bettering the community,” student Tristan Stevens said. “People can use it as a shelter for all kinds of things with the picnic tables.”
The students are part of a beginning skills construction class. Each year, Mr. Atchley finds a new project to help the students get hands-on construction experience. In the past, students in the class built a structure for the track team and a shelter for a tractor. This year’s class is working on the pavilion.
“This is a good character-building project,” said Christopher Hahn, student. “It teaches you to use your hands and to be a good person by doing things for the community.”
Student Caleb Dotson agreed that construction skills are a great asset. He said he enjoys the class and hasn’t caught his thumb yet while hammering in the nails. Brady Fryberger and Shad Andersen also helped with the project.
The students used plans to build the 16-by-28-feet structure on a slab of concrete that was left after an old building was torn down.
“They stood the posts, put the brackets and bolts in, and put the beams on the trusses,” Mr. Atchley said of the construction process. The students will soon put up a metal roof.
The project should be finished before June when school is let out for the year. Donations provided funding for the project through the Leon Community Club, a nonprofit organization.
“We got a line of credit so the students could buy whatever they needed for the project,” said Connie Plaissay, Leon Community Club president.
Members are still working to collect donations to clear out that credit account. The project was estimated at $4,000. Donations can be sent to the Leon Community Club at P.O. Box 83, Charlo, MT 59824 and should be marked “for the park pavilion.” More information is available at 406-644-5001.
A celebration begins as soon as the project is finished.
“We hope to have a pavilion party with music,” he said. “This is a great thing to bring the community together.”
In a separate park project, Lake County Parks provided a bike rack that will soon be added to the park.
