Welding students complete metal project for Copperas Cove City Park

By LYNETTE SOWELL 

Cove Leader-Press 

The area around the duck pond at Copperas Cove City Park has been undergoing a dramatic renovation, and soon, the work of Copperas Cove High School welding students will be a prominent feature. 

Welding students Rylie Sansom, Landon Hall, Slade Aonen, and Khalil Hall began the project when classes resumed in January after Christmas break, said welding instructor James Carver.

“This project was student led, from start to finish,” Carver said. 

in August, the City’s Parks & Recreation Department approached them with the idea of designing and fabricating the metal work project for the park. 

Carver said the students worked nearly every day on the project, save for weekends and school breaks.  

The three juniors and one senior are looking forward to careers in the welding industry after they complete their high school studies. They each expressed their interest in pursuing careers in structural building, fabrication, offshore welding, and pipeline construction.

For all except Slade, this was the largest project they’ve worked on so far through the district’s CTE program. The students also enterprise and sell some of their work through Bulldawg Metalworks. For the district, the department students have built benches, entrance signs to the high school campus, and more. 

The #COVE sign is about eight feet tall, eight feet wide, and one foot deep, and is constructed of sheet metal and rolled steel. Soon, it will be transported by Copperas Cove Parks & Recreation to a facility in Temple, where it will be powder-coated red. Then, it will be installed near the duck pond at City Park. 

As far as the work goes at City Park, the old bridge directly behind Fester’s House is gone, and the retaining wall around the pond has been demolished. New bridges have been installed that connect the parking lot between the Civic Center and the park space. 

At last week’s city council retreat, Jeff Stoddard, Director of Parks & Recreation, shared an update on the project that included a photo of the students’ work. 

“I just gave them a picture of what I wanted,” Stoddard said of the project, designed by the students. 

He said that this week at the park, work on a walking trail has begun. This walking trail, once complete, will connect all three bridges and will include benches, lighting, and upgrades for the electrical in the area.

Also part of that discussion referred to Christmas lights and the need to upgrade another electrical panel into that area to prepare for light installation in the future. 

The project is part of the City’s Capital Improvement Plan.