NORWAY — Construction of the town’s warming hut at the outdoor skate rink on Cottage Street has begun.

“The goal is to use it for the winter of 2011,” said Recreation Department Director Deb Partridge, referring to the winter of 2011-12.

Partridge said the idea to build the warming hut came from a couple different needs. “We needed a larger building to house children in our programs and the general public of all ages during ice skating time,” she said.

The small outdoor rink is open during the winter for public skating, but it is also used for three public ice skating nighttime parties, she said. The recreation area also has open space where children can build snowmen, individuals can walk, snowshoe and cross country ski. The 24- by 30-foot building will allow those people to warm up while they participate in the activities. The hut will also include an open deck and lobby area with a bench and storage cubbies.

Currently, the outdoor rink has a small building to store about 100 pairs of skates. Most skaters simply go home when they get too cold.

Students from the Oxford Hills Technical School’s building technology class have been building the hut, she said.

“We typically look for nonprofits — something to give back to the communities,” explained Dan Daniels, co-instructor, along with Scott McElravy, of the building construction classes’ decision to undertake the project.

Daniels said two classes of nine students each work at the Cottage Street site several times a week, depending on the academic schedule. The classes generally undertake yearlong projects.

“It takes us a really long time to complete a project,” Daniels said. Students take the skills that they learn in the classroom and apply them to their outside projects. Daniels said the instructors generally stand back and let students learn from their mistakes, if they make them.

The project is being funded by a $15,000 donation from the New Balance Foundation, a charitable organization established in 1981 and funded by New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. Additionally the R.E. Lowell Lumber Co. of Buckfield has offered a discount on the building materials.

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