Greene CTC students get a lesson by painting donated police cruiser
Tavis Lund, a senior at the Greene County Career and Technology Center, paints a police car for Greene County Regional police Nov. 20.
Tavis Lund, a senior at the Greene County Career and Technology Center, paints a police car for Greene County Regional police Nov. 20.
WAYNESBURG – Greene County Regional police were thrilled to receive a donated DARE car to add to their fleet. But while the bright orange flames may have worked in its past life, they didn’t really fit on a patrol car.
The Greene County Regional police department received a free DARE car from Patton Township, a department near State College. Students at the Greene County Career and Technology Center are repainting the cruiser.
Greene County Regional police Chief Michael Natale said they inherited the car from Patton Township, a department near State College. It’s a 1999 Crown Victoria in relatively good shape for its age. Since it was free, Natale said, it was worth it, despite needing a paint job.
But he didn’t want to invest a lot of money into a car that’s already has quite a few years and miles on it.
For a standard black and white police cruiser look, Natale sought out the Greene County Career and Technology Center.
Todd Kieffer, who leads the auto body program at the technical school, said senior Tavis Lund performed most of the work on the project Nov. 20. PPG also donated the paint.
“It seemed like a perfect match,” Natale said of how students were able to learn on their car and Natale was able to put a new cruiser in his fleet for next to nothing.
Trista Thurston/Observer-Reporter
Tavis Lund, a senior at the Greene County Career and Technology Center, paints a police car for Greene County Regional police Nov. 20.
Kieffer hopes participating in the project will make the community more aware of his program’s efforts. Not only did they want to give back to the department, but the department also allowed GCCTC to put its logo on the car. Kieffer hopes to make local body shops aware that he’s graduating quality students and future technicians.
Lund is participating in a co-op program with Wade’s Body and Frame Shop. He gets both graded and paid for his work outside the classroom. But an overall paint job like the cruiser is a big ask, so Kieffer pulled him back into the classroom to work on it.
Lund said he’s happy to give back. Growing up, he always enjoyed working on cars but had more experience with the mechanical side of it.
He didn’t know much about painting and auto body. Kieffer gets a grade for Lund’s work at Wade’s and said in his years teaching at a school in Pittsburgh never had a student receive a grade of 100 percent like Lund has.
Since he’s been back in Greene County, Kieffer said he’s trying to get the local industry more involved in what his students are doing.
“This is your future,” he said, adding he’s proud of the students coming out of the program. “We’re all in it together. It’s a win-win for both sides.”
Having students work in area body shops helps them recruit qualified people, and the students gain valuable, hands-on experience.
He’s from the area and has been teaching at GCCTC for about two years.
“I wanted to come home,” he said.
Trista Thurston/Observer-Reporter
Tavis Lund, a senior at the Greene County Career and Technology Center, wipes the dust off a police car he’s painting for Greene County Regional police Nov. 20.
He added projects that give back to the community like this would be impossible without companies like PPG Paints donating materials. Kieffer also said director Mark Krupa has been instrumental in making changes in the school, ensuring materials and equipment are both up to date.
He added there’s been a push to get grants to make sure students have the items they need.