Zainab Al-Mehdar

Shawville Nov 24, 2021

With anticipation for the Shawville Fair Demolition Derby, the community is in for a smashing surprise in the upcoming fair because the students of the Pontiac High school will be building a car to enter the race.

On Nov. 16 PHS made the announcement on . . .

their Facebook page about their upcoming project of the year that was made possible by the principal, Debra Stephens.

“She thought it’d be fun to do because we always have a project to do every year and we’ve always tried to think outside the box,” said Megan Tubman, welding teacher.

Stephens donated the car to the welding class since it was not “roadworthy” anymore, Tubman said, they decided it would be best suited for the derby. Because it is one of their bigger projects they have worked on, Tubman said she is involving all 70 of her welding students from grades seven to 11.

“Each student will have their own little aspect and their involvement in it,” said Tubman.

With a host of things to do to get the derby car ready and safe for driving such as building the interior skeleton for the roll cage, the kids have already started dismantling the interior.

“You’re making sure that the person in the car is going to be okay. Regardless of what kind of hit they take in the derby,” said Jeremy Williams, a mechanic who runs Jer’s Auto Service in Ladysmith.

Williams, who has offered to help the kids on all the mechanical aspects, will jump on board and will eventually drive the car in the derby at the 2022 fair. Tubman highlighted that aspects like relocating the battery, the fuel and wiring and bringing the car up to derby code will include Williams’s expertise.

“I’m really excited to see what these kids think that they can do. How creative they can get,” he said.

When asked if he was excited about racing the car he said, “It’s an adrenaline rush. Pile of fun.”

The principal made a special announcement and called all four groups of students into the welding shop, “we presented the car, we drove through the garage door and presented it to them. So they were really really excited,” said Tubman.

Tubman said it has been neat seeing the students learning and seeing who is mechanically inclined and how they use both the welding and mechanical trades together to work on this project. Not only that there’s also the added excitement of having a finished project that they will get to see presented at the fair and getting to see Williams drive it. “I think it’s just nice to see the excitement on the kid’s faces,” said Tubman.