The Crookston High School’s Community Projects class is constantly working to create new projects to help the community and the school, and a team of three students have completed another project to help the school and community. Crookston High School seniors Hunter Knutson, Jaren Bailey, and Jackson Demarais built a new front admissions desk, like the one at the entrance of the High School, for the Crookston Sports Center.
The Community Projects class had created a new front desk for the admissions for the basketball, volleyball, and other sports games at the Crookston High School to have it look more like a pirate ship, and felt it was time to treat the Crookston Sports Center to the same treatment as just as many sports teams play there as the High School. “We actually planned to make it last year, but it never really happened. We had other stuff going on. So, this year, Mr. Oliver got all the funding, and we then took measurements off the one in the front of the school, came out here to see if it would fit, then we built our frame and got some tongue and grove to put on,” Senior Hunter Knutson explained. “We then cut circles to put all the logos of the people who donated out of the CNC machine at the school to VCarve. Then for the front piece that says Crookston Sports Center, we VCarved that too. Then we made the top and corners out of cherry.”
To help fund the creation of the desk, the students asked for donations from other departments and clubs that also use the Sports Center to complete the desk. “I did all the programming for the CNC to cut out the logos of all the businesses that donated money to us for it,” Senior Jackson Demarais explained. “So, we asked if people would donate some money for it, and all of the businesses on here donated $200 each to fund the creation of this table.” To thank the organizations for their contributions, the students created wooden circles with their logos to attach all over the desk. The businesses that contributed money to the creation of the desk included the Crookston Parks & Recreations Department, the Crookston Blue Line Club, the Crookston Figure Skating Association, the University of Minnesota Crookston Athletic Department, the Crookston High School Hockey Team, and Hot Stove Hockey.
When the students aren’t working on individual projects, the class is offered several community projects to complete that they receive from the community or the school for them to choose to complete. Due to two of the seniors being members of the Crookston Boys Hockey Team, they chose this project as a way to help the Sports Center and those who help with admissions to their games. “Jaren and I are both captains of the hockey team, so of course, we wanted to help do this out here. Our best friends are always out here with us when they can come to the games. And Linda Morgan really appreciated this project,” Hunter Knutson explained. “When the door opens, a big gust of wind always comes through, so this wood will protect her, and she’ll even be able to slide a little space heater underneath it,” Senior Jaren Bailey explained. “She’d been complaining about she gets pretty cold with that little cardboard table, so this’ll be nice for her.”
The students said the class has a few more projects left to complete, such as a series of cutting boards to be given away as prizes at the Ice Buster Daze and a display case for the Leo Club. Senior Jaren Bailey revealed he plans to create wooden flags with eagles carved into them as a part of an individual project.
We will continue to check back with the Community Projects class and its students when they’ve completed their latest projects.
Pictures of the students and the desk can be seen below-
