Students help bridge project get off the ground
By Carla Gwaltney Owens

Student-volunteers stand for a portrait near the job site recently. Senior Michael Glatthar, second from right, has made the bridge his senior project.

Members of the Hayesville High School drafting class looked on as faculty and staff from Hayesville High School worked to place steel beams at the pedestrian bridge under construction near Spike Buck Indian Mound. The steel beams have been donated by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The pedestrian bridge is a portion of a project undertaken by Communities in Schools at the Cherokee Indian Settlement known as Quanassee Town located behind Clay County Veterans Park. Through a grant received from the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Communities in Schools has been able to undertake several projects at Quanassee Town, which was once home to a thriving Cherokee Indian community. As part of the on-going project CIS has constructed a pavilion and planted a Native American herb garden near Spike Buck. The grant has also purchased Cherokee Indian curriculum for all three local schools and is funding the purchase of security cameras, benches, tables and signage for the area.

According to CIS Director Theresa Waldroup, the next phase of the project is the construction of the pedestrian bridge which will connect the pavilion and walking path at the Veteran’s Park to an observation deck which will overlook Spike Buck Indian Mound, which was once home to a Cherokee Indian Temple. Paving of the walking trail around the Veteran’s Park is a project undertaken by the Clay County Health Department in partnership with CIS, Clay County and many other local, state and federal agency partners, Waldroup explained.

Work on the pedestrian bridge, which will be connected to the walking path, has been done by volunteers from Hayesville High School, including Senior Michael Glatthar, who has so far spent 18 volunteer hours overseeing the construction of the bridge with help from HHS teacher and mentor Joe Buckner.

According to Waldroup, Glatthar took on the bridge construction as his senior project and has done an outstanding job.

Glatthar, who has applied to both Georgia Tech and to the Air Force Academy, said he plans to major in civil engineering and design construction. Glatthar is a member of the student council, President of the Monogram Club, Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society and FCA.

Before taking on this project, Glatthar said most of his experience in construction had been only with the design phase through his drafting classes. An outstanding math student, Glatthar said his bent is definitely toward the engineering and planning of construction projects, but said that he has really enjoyed the hands-on experience he has received while working on the construction of the walking bridge.

For the first time ever, Glatthar said he built forms for concrete and helped pour the approximately 10 yards of concrete for the abutments which the steel beams will rest on. “This has been a great hands-on learning experience ... I learned how to do the actual construction for the first time,” he said, which is much different than sitting in drafting class and simply drawing a design.

Work on clearing the site and building the foundation began the first week of November, he commented. Once the steel beams are in place, the next step will be for him and other HHS students to finish the actual decking for the bridge.

Glatthar added that a completion date of late February is hoped for by Mr. Buckner.

Waldroup said she is so grateful for Glatthar’s willingness to take the bridge construction on as his senior project and also thanked all the student’s from Buckner’s class for their hard work. Waldroup said she received a conservative estimate of $80,000 for the price tag on the walking bridge.But because of all the donations of time, materials and talent, when the bridge is complete CIS will have only spent about $12,000 on materials. Everything else necessary to have the bridge constructed — from man power to equipment — has been donated, Waldroup stated.

Waldroup quickly pointed out all the help on hand at the site Thursday, which included many members of the HHS faculty. Clay County Schools Technology Director and CIS Board Chair Andy Gibson, Greg Charles, Joe Buckner, Adrian Jefferies, Rick Harris, and Hayesville High School construction technology teacher Danny Jones were among those working to set the steel beams on Thursday. She added that Mr. Gibson was instrumental in the project, offering his expertise and equipment.

Waldroup also thanked all the members of the local DOT that helped obtain the steel beams which were donated from the NC DOT bridge maintenance yard in Murphy. The total cost of the beams, according to DOT estimates, is around $12,000.

Among the DOT officials helping with the bridge project were Brian Burch, Terry Woody, Wesley Grinstaff and Jeff Roberston. A North Carolina DOT engineer provided the design plans for the bridge, Waldroup added.

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