EAGLE LAKE — It wasn’t the rumble of thunder, but the screech of a radial arm saw that provided the aural backdrop for an event celebrating the expansion of Polk County Public Schools’ construction programs Thursday morning.
It was a good sound, program advocates said at a belated ribbon-cutting ceremony at Lake Region High School — home of the Thunder.
An even better sound, Polk County Builders Association President David Adams said, was that of 600 students signing up for the new programs this year. Lake Region, Tenoroc and Ridge Community high schools started the program this year. Bartow and Fort Meade high schools already had it in place.
The local trade group had been in discussion with the district for more than two years, Adams said, with the goal of creating in students an interest in the industry and finding out ways the industry could contribute tools, expertise and funding to the classroom.
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