Neligh-Oakdale, Clearwater-Orchard Enter Building Contest

3/14/2016

Two Antelope County schools will compete in the first High School Building Contest in Norfolk this weekend.

Neligh-Oakdale and Clearwater-Orchard are two of the 12 industrial arts programs participating in the inaugural contest held during the 2016 Northeast Nebraska Home and Garden Show, March 18-20. The Norfolk Area Home Builders sponsor and organize the event at the Northeast Community College Ag Building.

Clearwater-Orchard Industrial Arts Instructor Mike Odell said these projects will be voted on by the public attending the home show. Home show committee members will also judge entries based on craftsmanship.

Three Neligh-Oakdale seniors custom-designed a metal gliding bench for the contest. They utilized steel provided to them by Nucor Steel of Norfolk.

Clearwater-Orchard's industrial technology class made a folding picnic table made from locally cut and milled cedar.

"Ours is all local cedars. We went out and brought in the logs. We milled all this. That's what makes it unique," Odell said.
The contest is designed to help students showcase their work and earn money for their Industrial Arts programs by building and bringing an outdoor play project to be auctioned off at the Home and Garden Show.

Items will be auctioned off on Saturday, March 19 at 4 p.m. and the proceeds from the sale will be returned to each school.

Odell said that the money goes back into the school program.

"We put a percentage of it into a scholarship fund and give $100 to a student going into a trade school," Odell said. "We also put some if it into our shop fund to buy tools."

Additional monetary awards can be earned as well:

People’s Choice Award
The projects will be on display at the Home and Garden show for visitors to vote on. The winning People’s Choice project will receive a prize of $500 for the winning school’s Industrial Arts program. Each school can rally the community and school to visit the home show and vote on their school’s project. Voting will end at the conclusion of the show.

Craftsmanship Award
A $250 award will be sponsored by Agri-City Insurance and the winner will be selected by members of the home show committee based on the construction and finish details of the pieces.

Video Contest
Each student has a chance to submit a video for a chance to win $250. The videos can be on an individual, team, or school basis and can be about the project, the school, or even a commercial for the home show. All videos will be uploaded to the Home Show YouTube channel and each participant will need to sign a release. The winner will be chosen by the home show committee based on creativity, views and likes, and encouraging people to attend the Home and Garden Show. A video can still be submitted even if no project is submitted by a school.

Schools entered in the contest are Clarkson, Clearwater-Orchard, Columbus Lakeview, Humphrey Public, Neligh-Oakdale, O'Neill, Plainview, Ponca, Stanton, Twin River, West Point/Beemer and Winside.