About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2018)
Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com She (Times gainesvilletimes.com Friday, November 9, 2018 High school students from around the region participate in the Northeast Georgia Workforce Development Alliance Lanier College Career Academy’s Daniel Llamas cleans up the Skills Challenge Thursday, Nov. 8, at the Chicopee Woods Agricultural Center. joints in a small wall Thursday, Nov. 8, in the masonry challenge. ‘It’s fun to use the power tools’ Students weld, lay bricks, read blueprints and more in contractors’ skills challenge BY LAYNE SALIBA lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com The sound of saws buzzing, hammers banging and seri ous competition were in the air. Nearly 200 high school students from North Geor gia gathered to compete in a skills challenge Thursday morning, all hoping to win prizes for their efforts in dif ferent trades. The Associated General Contractors of Georgia hosted the event that has grown over the years while Carroll Dan iel Construction and Bowen & Watson Inc. provided judges for each event. “One of the things we’re suffering from is a declin ing workforce,” said Mike Dunham, CEO of Associated General Contractors of Geor gia. “So our challenge as an industry is to show young men and women a career path of how they make a great career out of construction... the best way to do that is through skill competitions like this where they can practice their trade and experience what it takes to build something.” Students competed in everything from welding to masonry, plumbing to car pentry, electrical and even blueprint reading. For the most part, the judges said stu dents did well. The students competing in blueprint reading were look ing at a blueprint of a church. They were given a 100-ques- tion test, asking about the layout and design of differ ent parts of the church. The plumbing competitors were roughing in a sink while the masonry competitors were laying brick to build a small wall. The carpentry competitors were framing a four-foot wall while the welding competi tors had to cut a triangle with a torch and also weld two pieces of metal together. Nate Halsey, 16, a 10th- grader at North Hall High School, said he’s been weld ing for as long as he can remember. “I race for a living, and I want to build my own chas sis when I get older, like roll cages,” Halsey said. On the other side of the agricultural center, Brandon Velazquez, 17, and Marlon Sanchez, 17, both 12th-grad- ers at Flowery Branch High School were preparing to compete in the carpentry competition. They both said they weren’t nervous to com pete because they have expe rience after working with family. Even though they said their school cut its construc tion class recently, they still wanted to compete. “It’s kind of fun,” Sanchez said. “And it’s fun to use the power tools.” Not everyone at the compe tition was taking part, though. There were observers, there to see how their friends were doing. That’s what Chris Mojica, a lOth-grader at Ches- tatee High School was doing. He said he wasn’t inter ested in any of the things going on at the skills competi tion at the moment, but may be in the future. He’d like to try his hand at electrical work as opposed to masonry like his friend, Eli Domingo, was competing in. “It seems more fun and more hands-on,” Mojica said. “And my grandpa, he does pretty much everything like this basically.” Brian Daniel, president and CEO of Carroll Daniel Construction, said there was nothing like the skills chal lenge when he was growing up, so he’s happy to see some thing like it now. He said it’s all about getting students interested in the construction industry and showing them it’s a job worth having, even if getting that across to them is difficult. “It’s a particular challenge to get young people inter ested,” Daniel said. “But for kids that have the aptitude and interest in this type of thing, this is a great opportu nity for us to expose them to what we do and hopefully get them interested in doing this for a living.” Although he enjoys watch ing students compete in all the different activities, he said there’s one thing he likes above all else. “The draw is watching these kids enjoy it,” Daniel said. “Watching the smile on their face, watching them compete and watching them put their hands on this stuff and really have fun with it, that’s why we’re here. ” Above: North Hall High’s Nate Halsey cuts a piece of metal with a torch in the welding competition. Left: Johnson High freshman Amy Loera cuts a board in the cabinet making portion of the competition. For beautiful, healthy plants, don’t neglect their root systems When we look at a plant, we think of what we see above ground: leaves, vegetables, fruit, berries, flowers, etc. Not many people want to see what is happening below ground level, but that is such an important part of all life that it needs to be discussed. Root systems are probably the biggest component of what makes plants work. The root system of a plant has a big job: to feed the stems and leaves with water and dissolved minerals as well as anchor the plant to the earth. In order to accomplish this task, the roots must develop and move into new areas of the soil. Above the ground the growth and metabolism of the plant root system is supported by sunlight which aids in the process of photosynthesis in the leaves. Food (sugar) from the leaves is transported via the plants vascular system, the phloem, to feed the roots. The roots are fed by the leaves and the leaves are fed by the roots. Botanists will no doubt roll their eyes at my major generaliza tion, but it is pretty close to true. A plant’s root system is made of three types of roots: taproots, fibrous roots and adventitious roots. Taproots are charac terized by having one main root (the taproot) from which smaller roots emerge. After seed germination, the first root to emerge is referred to as the radicle and is considered the primary root. This radicle can develop into the taproot. Taproots can be used for storage, usually car bohydrates, such as those found in sugar beets or carrots. Taproots are also important adapta tions for searching for water like those long tap roots found in pines and poison ivy. Fibrous roots are characterized by having a mass of similarly sized roots. After the seed has germinated, the radicle is replaced by adventi tious roots. These roots are the ones that reach out and really anchor the plant as well as move to find water and nutrients. Plants with these roots sys tems are great for erosion con trol, because they cling to soil particles. As the root system grows, more water and nutrients are available to the entire plant which helps it increase in size. The larger the plant also means more leaves and more photosyn thesis which helps with root growth. Root systems on trees and shrubs can sometimes reach twice the dis tance from the dripline (very outer edge of the plant) to the trunk. Adventitious roots grow from an area of the plant other than the root. They usually grow off a stem, or sometimes a leaf. Since fall is a good time for plant ing trees and shrubs, there are a few things you need to do to make sure these roots start moving the right way once they are in the ground. Dig your holes wide, not deep. The majority of most plants’ roots are in the top 8-12 inches of the soil so a wide hole breaks the compact soil up allowing for roots to travel out easier. If you only dig a hole the size of the plant’s container, the roots may hit the compacted soil on the edge of the hole and stop there. A lot of container plants have compacted roots for the size of the pot. When planting a container plant, massage the roots where they are loosened up. Then install the plant where the base is 1 inch above the ground level. Then mound the dirt from the base and blend it away from the plant. And lastly, water the newly installed plant but don’t drown it. More plants are harmed by overwa tering than under watering. Moist is good, wet is bad. Remember how important roots are, so make sure you understand what is happening beneath all those pretty leaves so you can have some healthy plants. Campbell Vaughn is UGA Extension- Agriculture and Natural Resource Agent in Richmond County. He can be reached at ecvaughn@uga.edu. CAMPBELL VAUGHN ecvaughn@uga.edu
