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M/CLOUDY Temp: 39 °F Wind: ENE at 7 mph Monday, March 3, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend February 8, 2003 Brandon Smith and Amanda Sprinkle of Crater High School add the finishing touches on a dog house during Friday�s Build-a-thon at the Jackson County Expo. Teamed up with classmate Randy Slater, the trio was a step ahead of the competition while being judg Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli High school students compete in Build-a-thon construction contest By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune Construction students from four local high schools let their skills go to the dogs Friday for charity. Students competed in the third annual Build-a-thon event sponsored by the Rogue Community College 2+2 High School outreach and construction technology department. The event, a competition to build dog houses, is held to give high school students a real-world work experience through reading blueprints, figuring out lumber lists and working as a team to complete a quality project on budget and on schedule. B.J. Taylor, event coordinator for 2+2, said the event not only connected three "generations" of the construction industry — high school students, college professors and contractors — but also helped to support the Southern Oregon Humane Society. The competition resulted in nine dog houses — eight built by students and one prototype. Three of the houses were sold; the proceeds and the remaining six dog houses were donated to the Humane Society. Also for the first time, the event was advertised and held in conjunction with the Jackson County Homebuilders Association Home Show. Taylor said the association helped find contractors to serve as the competition’s inspectors, and also has encouraged young people to consider construction as a career. "They really want to encourage these kids in the high school construction classes to go on in the field of construction and realize there are more than labor jobs that they should further their education in order to achieve," she said. First place for the competition was awarded to a Grants Pass High School team and second and third were awarded to teams from Crater High School. Luke Woodruff, construction instructor for Grants Pass High School, said the event was key to giving students a link to the working world. "Competitions really bring out that ‘I wanna learn as much as I can,’ attitude in the students," he said, laughing, "but the biggest thing is this type of event gets the employers involved with the high schools. I don’t think a lot of the contractors realize the amount of training that goes on at the high school level." Ralph Henderson, department head for the RCC Construction Technology Department, said the event was a great stepping-stone for students. "This is something that shows them they can get further training after they graduate," Henderson said. "It shows them there is a career waiting for them, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun." Dan Rightnour, human resources director for Batzer Inc., spoke to students before the event about the importance of education in the construction field. He also was one of the competition’s six inspectors. "This is our future work force," Rightnour said. "From an employer’s perspective, I like to be able to network with the high schools and the college. It’s a win-win situation for everybody, even the dogs." Buffy Pollock is a free-lance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S