JAY — Students in two construction classes at Spruce Mountain High School are getting hands-on experience building dugouts at the ball field at French Falls Recreation Area.

“Kids today don’t get real-world experience,” instructor Daniel Lemieux said. “How will they know if they want to do something if they’ve never done it?”

On Thursday, as students pounded nails and passed rafters, Lemieux said the class first learned to draw floor plans and made sawhorses. They used computers to create house plans.

“I learned carpentry skills I can use after high school,” senior Kevin Harrington said.

“I learned the value of materials needed to build a house,” classmate Jason Howes said.

The recreation area is owned by Androscoggin Land Trust, which gave Jay easements for the field and parking area.

“There is a good relationship between the Trust, Jay and the Recreation Committee, committee member Rob Taylor said. “That area has been completely refurbished in the last three years.”

Last fall, Michael Grimaldi of Grimaldi Construction in Jay volunteered his time to pour the concrete foundations, and the school’s cross country team helped remove the forms afterward.

Other students helping were freshmen Bryce Kendall, Laura Pease, Rachel Hanson, Marissa Hall and Twyla Lane; sophomores Tyler Chicoine, Damien Clapsaddle and Brady Pelletier; and juniors Tyler Chute and Brett Hunt.

“This is a good collaboration between the town and the school. It benefits everyone,” Taylor said.

pharnden@sunmediagroup.net 

Students in the Home Repair and Building Construction classes at Spruce Mountain High School in Jay are building two dugouts at the French Falls Recreation Area ball field in Jay on Thursday. Sophomore Tyler Chicoine hammers nails into the outer wall of a dugout. (Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser)

Spruce Mountain High School freshman Laura Pease hammers nails into a dugout being built at the French Falls Recreation Area ball field in Jay on Thursday. Students in the Home Repair and Building Construction classes at the school took on the project. (Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser)

Spruce Mountain High School freshmen Marissa Hall, left, and Rachel Hanson hammer nails in one of two dugouts at the French Falls Recreation Area ball field in Jay on Thursday. Students in the Home Repair and Building Construction courses at the Jay school took on the project to gain hands-on experience. (Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser)

Spruce Mountain High School senior Jason Howes uses a nail gun to secure a rafter on a dugout while junior Brett Hunt steadies the ladder and sophomore Tyler Chicoine looks on Thursday. Students in the Home Repair and Building Construction classes at the school in Jay are building two dugouts at the French Falls Recreation Area ball field in Jay. (Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser)

Students in the Home Repair and Building Construction classes at Spruce Mountain High School in Jay building two dugouts at the French Falls Recreation Area ball field in Jay on Thursday. From left, sophomore Brady Pelletier, senior Kevin Farrington and freshman Twyla Lane help instructor Daniel Lemieux dismantle the staging used to put up rafters. (Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser)