Starkville students build mobile hunting house for local non-profit
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Starkville High School students are working on projects beyond the classroom.
Construction and welding students joined forces to build a mobile hunting house for the Calhoun-Webster chapter of the non-profit Hope Outdoors.
The ministry helps those with special needs or physical challenges hunt and participate in other outdoor activities.
“Probably 60% of our hunters are in wheelchairs, and this will make us more mobile and more comfortable. We can have heat, and we can actually run a generator. It’ll be wired for lights. It’s going to be a big help for us getting them out into the outdoors,” said Robert Ray, a Fundraising Director for Hope Outdoors.
Students started working on the project in February.
After the ministry provided the fresh lumber and trailer for the house, they got to work.
“It was an old, rusted camper trailer. And we took it, we cut off all the extra stuff we didn’t need. Painted it, and then started our floor system,” said Benjamin Carr, the Construction and Carpentry teacher for SHS.
On top of the trailer’s base, the students will add walls — creating an accommodating space for people of all abilities to hunt.
Students meet for the construction or welding classes for an hour and a half each day.
“We have done about seven different bigger projects. This is probably the biggest we’ve built. It’s just all framework. We’ve been framing walls and getting the floors set up and put on. We’re going to hang the walls and finish up with plywood,” said Jace Phillips, a construction student.
“We basically had to hole punch like 15 little elbows on the end to support where the wheelchairs are going to come up at. We had to grind out some spots, take out a hydraulic line and all that, so we’ve been doing some work on it,” said Tylan Calvert, a welding student.
Hope Outdoors services are free.
The project is expected to be complete by the end of the school year.
“We’ll have it by this coming deer season, and we’re going to put it to use. I guarantee you; we’re going to put it use.”
For more information about the non-profit, you can visit the Hope Outdoors website.
