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Bainbridge Public Safety recently finished installing their new training academy at what was once John Johnson Elementary. However, the actual props that will be used in the academy, rather than being purchased from a supplier or warehouse, came from a much more local source.

The props, which consist of things such as a fake door and window, a chain-link fence hurdle and staircase, were built by Greg Harrell’s wood shop class and Mark Lashley’s ag mechanics class.

“We were contacted by Frank Green to build for the new training academy,” Harrell said.

According to Harrell, it took them roughly two weeks to build all eight props, with his shop classes handling the more wood-based items, while the ag mechanics students welded the necessary metalwork.

Different classes were given different assignments. “My seniors built the staircases, which were pretty detailed,” he said. “There’s a lot of math involved in that, a lot of carpentry skills involved in that. My freshman built the walls, the little hurdle walls that are just 30 inches tall.” The sophomore students built a chain-link fence wall, while the juniors built a window and door prop.

When asked what his students thought of the projects, he said, “That’s what we do everyday, so it’s just another day at work.” Harrell suggested BPS probably saved between $3,000 and $4,000 with the shop team’s work, only providing them the materials. This is not the first time the classes have built things for law enforcement, having built cubbies for K-9 Kenzo to practice finding drugs, as well as an air-conditioned dog kennel system for the BHS K-9. “We partner with just about anybody in the community that asks us. We do a lot of community-based projects.”

“We appreciate Bainbridge Public Safety trusting in our ability to do that and partner with them,” Harrell said.