County Commissioner receives gift of appreciation from MCH youth

Improvements to the road leading to the Boys Ranch were recently made thanks to the contributions of Mr. Lester Gibson, McLennan County Commissioner from Precinct 2. As an expression of thanks from the Boys Ranch, MCH presented a custom desk name plate and business card holder created by Cedric, a student in the Ag Science class at the charter school. Cedric has welded barbeque pits, hog traps and a deer blind and made several woodworking projects, so he was excited to get this opportunity.  

  

Cedric, a Waco campus resident, recently presented the gift to Mr. Gibson at the McLennan County Courthouse. Mr. Gibson gave Cedric a tour, shared historical information about the courthouse and introduced him to his coworkers.

“I really enjoyed it,” Cedric said about his experience. “The history of the courthouse was very interesting. I think Mr. Gibson really liked the gift.”

Ag Mech class goes to Fort Worth Stock Show

L to R: Cedric, Dakota and Maleak stand with their grill.

Three Methodist Children’s Home students and one proud MCH Agriculture Mechanics teacher entered two projects in the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo for the first time in MCH Charter School history.

Both projects, a grill and a deer stand, were created by the hands of Cedric, Dakota and Maleak who accompanied Steve Kruse, MCH Ag teacher, to the show. The three boys shared the work, but were separated by different class times.

“Mr. Kruse keeps us on the same page,” Dakota said, “so it wasn’t difficult to pick up where the others left off on the projects.”

According to the students, the deer stand was completed in two months and the grill was completed

Dakota in front of the deer stand.

in three months. Kruse works hard to teach the students that projects such as the grill can be created out of materials some might think are no longer usable. Many of the materials used for Ag projects are found around the Boys Ranch and salvaged.

 “We used a 20-inch steel pipe and flat iron for the grill,” Dakota said, “and the wheels were salvaged from a scrapyard. A lot of little things went in to make something big.”

The hours of work the boys put into the projects paid off. Out of 88 schools and 500 projects entered in the show, the MCH FFA deer stand placed third overall in the Wildlife category in the competition! The grill received a white ribbon.

“Each project was awarded either a blue, red, white or honorable mention for quality with points added or deducted for plans, pictures and student presentation,” Kruse said. “We received several small prizes and most of all, one proud Ag teacher. I now know what to work on for next year. I think this was a good showing for the first time to enter in Fort Worth.”

MCH Commissary staff

Robert Rodriquez, material manager on the Waco campus, has a great group of guys who help keep the pantries stocked, ice machine filled and the mail running to just name a few of their daily responsibilities.  Daniel Mendoza, Gilbert Delacruz and Gary Meador all work in the commissary.  They ensure all orders for food, school supplies, household products, and office supplies are bought and delivered daily.  You can find them loading and unloading their delivery van either on campus or at the Boys Ranch. They can also be found restocking shelves at the commissary, picking up empty milk and bread carts or sweeping and mopping the bay area.

When there is a birthday party for a youth, you can be assured they picked up the special order.  If a youth has a specific medication need, the commissary staff makes the run to the pharmacy.  When an important box or letter comes through for our youth, they get it delivered.

Gilbert had this to say about working at Methodist Children’s Home: “We are all child care workers.  We may not get to see the youth as much as others, but we feel we contribute to their experience while here.  It is satisfying to know we are able to help them get what they need.”