November 9, 2015 at 3:20 p.m.
Blackwell's largest student built structure on campus nearing completion
Blackwell's largest student built structure on campus nearing completion
A team of carpentry students has been working on the structure since mid-June, the organization said in a press release.
According to the class instructor, the project is the largest on-campus student projects in many years and represents a legacy that will be shared by classmates many years into the future.
Most of the work was completed around Oct. 9. However, rails and a stamped cement floor will be added in the spring of 2016.
"It's the largest project ever undertaken by Blackwell Job Corps Center in the last 14 years," said career technical skills instructor Eric Martinson. "It's been going very smoothly, the students seem to enjoy seeing a project from start to finish and they get to enjoy it."
Carpentry students assembled the building. The welding class fabricated brackets. Construction craft laborers demolished the old blacktop, hung scaffolding and poured and stamped the concrete, he said.
Future students and center staff will use the gazebo for picnics, games and as a place to "hang out," he said. Although the structure will not include walls or heating, it will be available for year-round use.
When finished, the eight-sided gazebo will measure 40 feet across and 18 feet tall. Like every other project, there is more than construction taking place," Martinson said.
"Even the math teacher has been coming out here and using this (project) as a teaching tool," Martinson said.
The math and geometry teachers discuss the calculations behind the work, he said. After discussing the concept in the classroom teachers and students go out to the job site to see how the classroom concepts fit into the work. Other classroom skills that become real on the job site include power tool use and safety.
"That is what Job Corps is all about: it makes everything come about full-circle - the education, the trades and the applied academics. This is a perfect example of how it's used to the best," Martinson said.
Career Technical Skills Training funds paid for the materials and other expenses, Martinson said. Building materials and other services were purchased from Laona-area merchants.
"I was told that is one of the biggest gazebos we have ever built," said Kidale Smith, while checking the quality of the 16-foot long tongue and groove boards before handing them up to the roofing crew.
Smith said the toughest task on the job so far was lugging and placing the 19-foot long, 800-pound upright wood beams used to support the structure. It took six students to heave them into palace.
"This is definitely teaching me a lot," Smith added.
"I am going to look at it and say 'my God, we built this,'" said carpentry student Joseph Zoboroski. "My carpentry team built this for the center. It's unbelievable how much work we put into this, how much time and effort. I am proud."
The Blackwell Job Corps, located in the town of Blackwell, is associated with the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
The center serves about 160 students living and training on its residential campus. Nationally, the Forest Service manages 28 Job Corps centers in 18 states.
Blackwell offers training in office automation, carpentry, construction crafts, health occupations, masonry and welding.
Additionally, students can earn their high school diplomas either through a partnership with a local high school, online or through General Educational Development (GED) or High School Equivalency testing. To learn more about opportunities at the Blackwell Job Corps Center, visit http://blackwell.jobcorps.gov/home.aspx.
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