Masonry students help rebuild district dugouts

The grounds of the Meyersdale Area School district sustained significant damage following a spring 2020 microburst. Among the most heavily damaged areas was the girls varsity softball complex. However, school officials identified a unique way to have the damaged structures replaced and improved with a bit of student and staff ingenuity. With the help of students from the Somerset County Technology Center (SCTC), the Lady Raider Softball team now has new dugouts for both the visitors’ and home teams.

According to Jessica Deakins, Lady Raider assistant coach, the dugouts sustained considerable damage. “The roof of the visitors’ dugout became airborne during the storm and landed at Horning’s auto/title business. It traveled a serious distance. Also damaged at the softball field were the league concession stand roof and the batting cage and pitching lanes. The hitting cage frame and net were totally destroyed and had to be replaced.”

Officials knew the complex would require significant repairs and improvements. “Without safe and stable dugouts, players are exposed to safety hazards and to volatile weather conditions. These rebuilt and repaired dugouts and facilities are also important because the field is heavily used, not just by the high school team, but by various league and travel softball teams. On any given night, both softball fields are fully occupied by players, coaches, and parents.”

Deakins said the work was prioritized for safety and the continued growing interest in the sport. In fact, this year’s roster includes 17 players. “The interest in the sport of softball is very strong in Meyersdale, so we hope to foster that interest at every age level, and to do so, we need to provide safe areas to pitch, to hit, to field, and to avoid hazards, like hard-hit foul balls, batters on deck, and lightning.”

As officials began planning for these repairs and improvements, the suggestion was made to utilize the skills and talents of students from the Masonry program at the Somerset County Technology Center. School maintenance employees salvaged one foundation and poured the cement for the foundation of the other; then, SCTC students came to the field to lay the concrete blocks. Jason Huston is roofing both dugouts. The new home dugout was designed with a small storage addition as well.

“Meyersdale School District is a strong supporter of SCTC and we have worked together on various projects over the years. When the dugouts needed replaced, Dr. Karlie thought of the SCTC Masonry class for the work,” explained Mark Lyons, SCTC Masonry instructor. Lyons has 21 years experience as a brick/block mason and continues to work concurrently as a mason, while sharing his talents with a new generation of skilled laborers.

“The job consisted of laying approximately 750 eight-inch concrete blocks to build the two dugouts. Each dugout has an attached storage building. The Masonry students who worked on the project are in grades 10 through 12. The students mixed the mortar, laid the block and installed anchor bolts in the top course and were responsible for building, working from, and disassembling scaffolding. The project took five days from start to finish and was completed on March 30.

Lyons said this experience allows his students to have a “real picture of what it’s like doing the job that they are training for. They have factors to deal with that can’t be replicated in a lab setting such as weather, working conditions, timelines and scheduling.”