Skill Club students from left, Mariah Moore, Lyndsey Bannister, Braylin Gordon, Austin Marchesseault, Owen Estes, Fred Steeves, Izzy Farrar. Submitted

PARIS — One of Oxford County’s major snowmobile bridges is passable again, thanks to the hard work of the Skills USA students at Oxford Hills Technical School (OHTS), and the Bog Hooters Snowmobile Club. The USA Skills students finished resurfacing a bridge on Saturday along one of the Interconnected Trail System thoroughfares connecting Oxford to Minot.

“It was awesome getting all of us together from different programs at OHTS to help out the snowmobile club,” explained Junior Braylin Gordon.

Over the past two years, 15 students from the USA Skills at OHTS have donated weekend time to complete the project. Snowmobiling is big in Oxford County, bringing thousands of tourists to explore its hundreds of miles of interconnected trails on IT89 and IT80. Volunteers from the region’s 20-plus clubs partner to keep trails groomed for the many locals and visitors who traverse them throughout winter.

Record Lumber donated lumber for the project and the Building Trades program at OHTS loaned out necessary tools. Over 100 volunteer hours went into the project. Ted Morris, Club Trail Master concluded the weekend’s experience by adding: “We are so appreciative of the work of the students over the past two years. Especially with trail openings right around the corner, those volunteer hours help us keep our network of trails open and our communities connected.”

“This was a perfect project for our USA Skills students,” commented one of the three Skills advisors and OHTS instructor Fred Steeves. “For our students, it’s a great prelude for developing both the building and leadership skills that are necessary for participating in State challenges, and it also gives us a chance to give back locally.”

Lumber for the project was donated by Record Lumber and necessary tools were loaned out by the Building Trades program at OHTS. Over 100 volunteer hours went into the project.

Each year, OHTS has upwards of 50 students who participate in Skills, which takes place cumulates in Bangor, Maine. The event is a three-day State Leadership & Skills Conference, where teams from 27 Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs across the state compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals. Gold medalists are then eligible to move on to national competitions held annually each June. OHTS often has students who attend nationals.