Graduating Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education (CTE) students are making a lasting gift to the Schoharie community through improvements along Fox Creek.
On May 16, students in the Commercial Construction/Heavy Equipment program began work on a project to improve the safety of the area leading to the Fox Creek Bridge. Once completed, an approximately 300-foot-long wooden fence along the embankment of Fox Creek will protect motorists and pedestrians from falling or driving into the creek.
The new fence will replace the existing one, which is more than decade old, dilapidated and missing sections of railing. The project will take about two weeks to complete.
Earlier this year, CTE Commercial Construction/Heavy Equipment teacher Bill Rouleau was approached by the Village of Schoharie and the Kiwanis Club, which supervises the park the bridge runs through, about making this a project for his students.
“It’s a great way for the students to give something back to the community while gaining real-world experience,” said Rouleau.
“A project like this makes you feel like you are leaving a mark,” said Ryan Haskin, a senior in the program from Middleburgh.
Classmate Dan Meszaros of Berne-Knox-Westerlo concurred.
“I feel good that we are doing something for the community,” he said while taking a break from digging a hole for a fence post.