Contributed ALMOST FINISHED — Utica Shale Academy is nearing completion of its 5,000-square-foot interior welding lab located next to the current exterior lab at 83 E. Main St. in Salineville.

SALINEVILLE — Utica Shale Academy’s interior welding lab is nearing completion as officials finalize details inside the facility.

The lab, which is located next to the community school’s exterior welding lab at 83 E. Main St. in Salineville, features a 5,000-square-foot structure which will be utilized by the welding and heavy equipment programs. It will include 20 additional welding bays, a five-foot-by-10-foot plasma cutter, a pipe beveler and a work area for the heavy equipment program. Ground was broken in March during a ceremony including local and state leaders and construction officials after PDDM Solutions of Canonsburg, Pa., was awarded the initial $907,000 bid while FMD Architects Inc. of Fairlawn was chosen to perform the work. However, the addition of extra welding labs pushed the cost closer to $1.5 million, and funding was derived from an Appalachian Community Grant and Ohio House Bill 2.

“The building is finished with the lab being installed in about 1½ weeks,” said Superintendent Bill Watson. “All the coursework will be done there as well, and three teachers will share a classroom at the building.”

The new building revamps previous plans for a three-story structure after a funding request by U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, which was made while he was still a state senator, yielded a smaller amount and caused officials to take an alternative course of action.

USA was the first recipient of Gov. Mike DeWine’s $500 million Appalachian Community Grant to construct a new building and expand the welding, heavy equipment and robotics programs, while funds have been used to update the Williams Collaboration Center that houses the administrative offices and new junior high program. Among that work was adding kitchen and dining facilities in the cafeteria, improving the offices, windows and boiler and adding an ERV air circulation system.

Watson was appreciative of efforts by Rulli, Ohio Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, R-Columbiana, and Ohio Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, in acquiring grants to help the lab site expand and will invite them back for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the newest addition to the USA campus on Oct. 3.

He said enrollment was steadily climbing with 15 new students enrolled during a two-week period.

“We had 52 more students than last year as of Aug. 1,” he said. “That’s a promising thing. We’re growing, and we’re offering things and meeting kids where they are.”

He added that word has been spreading throughout the community and USA has also boosted its presence with representatives attending area events, such as the Jefferson, Columbiana and Carroll county fairs.

Since its inception roughly a decade ago, USA has established a campus in the village comprised of the Hutson Building, the Energy Training Center, the Williams Collaboration Center and the outdoor welding site along East Main Street, as well as the Utica Shale Academy Community Center that is housed on Church Street. About 170 students in grades 7-12 currently attend the school, which is a dropout recovery and retention facility that focuses on career-tech education for at-risk pupils and provides certifications to enter the workforce.

For information, call (330) 679-2000 or go online to uticashaleschool.com.