The Allegany Highway Barn recently visited the 2nd grade class at the Allegany-Limestone Elementary School to participate in a Job Expo.  The Expo was held to accompany a story the class has been reading about a young girl looking for a summer job.  The teachers hoped the Expo would be a great way of bringing real life experiences to their students and exposing them to a wide variety of professions. Tom Henderson (Assistant Road Section Supervisor), Jeremy Crowley (Commercial Driver Class A), and Tyler Barber (Laborer II) had a great time talking with the class about the duties and responsibilities of their jobs, showing the students the ins and outs of a plow truck, and answering all kinds of great questions from the students.

Mrs. Miller, 2nd grade teacher, had this to say: "Our students loved getting to hear from the guys on their daily routines at work, what the pros and cons are, what 'gear' they use daily, the training they have had, and their favorite parts of the job.  The students responded very well to the guys and LOVED that they were able to bring a plow.  The smiles, laughs, and screams of excitement as they saw the blades go up and down make all the hard work worth it.  One of my students jumped for joy as he got to climb into the truck with Jeremy.  When he was told he could blow the horn, he told me, 'this is the best day of my life!'  Exposing students, even at such a young age, allows them to have a connection to an experience that we hope they can hold onto.  Maybe we opened the door to a few possible future Catt. Co. DPW workers!  Look for them in 10 years as your next summer workers!"

If your school or organization is interested in having the staff from the Cattaraugus County Department of Public Works put on a similar presentation, please call us at (716) 938-9121.

_{**Photos made available to the Cattaraugus County DPW via Allegany-Limestone Elementary School.  Permission to feature these student photos was granted by the school district.**}