VO-TECH STUDENTS COMPLETE HOUSE ON RANCHITO

A two-year project comes to an end for Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical students this afternoon when their house goes on the market.

Students in the vo-tech building trades classes hope buyers will want to purchase the house it took them two years to build. The house, which is owned by the Cape Girardeau School District, is a two-story brick residence at 2605 Ranchito. It features two bedrooms, a basement and garage, and several special features, including a security system on every window and door and heat detectors in the kitchen and garage.

This is the ninth house in 16 years built by vo-tech students. Each year residential sites are chosen by instructors, and students design and build a home to match others in the neighborhood.

Bud Johnston, one of two building trades instructors overseeing the students, said nearly all of the work that went into the house, including plumbing and electrical work, was performed by class members.

"Students built it from the basement up," said Johnston. "They get a lot of practical hands-on experience in this, and later on we help the seniors find jobs."

Johnston said although students spent time in the classroom before each new project, they were treated as professional employees while on-site. This meant they had to work on their own while being supervised by an instructor, he said.

"I move from room to room helping students with their assignments," he said. "Sometimes they make a lot of mistakes and we take a lot of stuff down, but I think we end up with a good project."

Although the project was the largest one for many of the students, it was not the only building project they have seen this year. Students were rotated to another building project that is just beginning, and several were pulled at the beginning of the year to prepare the Cape Civic Center for the Alternative Education Center.

"We took out six weeks and completely remodeled the Civic Center to get ready for the alternative school," Johnston said. "We did a lot of work there so the alternative school would have everything it needed in the facility."

Anyone wishing to see or buy the completed home may attend an open house from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday. Bid sheets are available at the vo-tech school and the Board of Education office. Interested buyers may make bids at any time within the next two weeks.

The minimum bid for the home is $122,000. Money raised from the sale of the home will be used for the next housing project.