MAR LIN - Thanks to student volunteers, the Schuylkill Haven Police Department will be able to return a retired vehicle to its fleet.
Chief Jeffrey Walcott said students from the Schuylkill Technology Center are painting the department's 2006 Ford Crown Victoria, which the borough manager and other employees have been using since it was retired a few years ago. However, with the recent purchase of a pickup truck for the borough, the former cruiser was no longer needed at all.
Walcott said the borough teamed up with Nicole Keating, an instructor at the technology center, and she is having the vehicle painted with virtually no cost to the borough.
The chief said students at the technology center are using the cruiser as a "student project" and when completed, the car will be placed back in service within the department.
Walcott said his department currently has a 2008 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, 2010 and 2013 Ford Crown Victoria cruisers and a 2008 Ford Explorer.
The 2006 cruiser was taken out of the department's fleet simply because of rotation with the oldest vehicle made idle.
When it was taken out of service, and now, Walcott said the vehicle is running great but did not look good.
"It ran fine, but it wasn't pretty," he said.
The chief said when the car is done and returned to the borough, it will again become a member of the fleet but this time be used as an extra vehicle.
"This will give me an extra vehicle that I can put into service for extra assignments such as DUI enforcement and more," Walcott said. "With the increasing details we provide, and the use of more part-time officers, having an extra vehicle will be a benefit."
Another benefit is the fact the project is costing the borough very little or nothing, the chief said.
"They're (the students) saving us a ton of money," Walcott said.
At the Schuylkill Technology Center-South Campus on Thursday, students in the collision repair and refinishing class continued work on the police cruiser under the direction of their instructor, Keating.
Keating said Schuylkill Haven reached out to the school for assistance and she felt it was a worthwhile project for the students.
"We like to reach out to a community and help if we can," she said.
She said the vehicle was in poor cosmetic condition when it arrived several weeks ago and that the project is about a quarter of the way done.
"This is good experience for the students and they know they are doing something worthwhile," Keating said.
The car is being stripped down to the bare metal, getting a coat of primer and then sealer before getting painted.
"This in a garage would cost them between $3,000 and $5,000 for the labor alone," Keating said.
With the students doing the work, Keating said the borough will only purchase the needed materials and not pay a dime in labor.
"They're saving a lot," she said.
Keating's class is comprised of 13 students who are putting time in on the police cruiser as well as other projects such as painting a fiberglass dune buggy-type vehicle.
Helping out communities and community organizations is nothing new at the shop.
Keating said students recently finished refurbishing a brush truck for the Mar Lin Fire Company and, before that, they did the same for a brush truck owned by Pottsville's Goodwill Fire Company.
"They (students) see their accomplishments which makes them feel good about both their work and themselves," Keating said.
