Huston and Sturzl help map city utility assets
Staff Writer
Two high school students spent part of their summer collecting data on the city’s utilities district using geographic information system technology.
Aroostook Republican photo/Debra WalshCaribou High School students Adam Huston, front, and Joe Sturzl, back right, listen to Mark Matson, a geographic information systems specialist, left, discuss the mapping of the Caribou Utilities District conducted this summer as part of a pilot project. The students collected data on the locations of the utilities’ infrastructure parts, such as manhole covers and hydrants. Also pictured is Alan Hitchcock, back second from left, CUD director and Michael McCormack, of the Partnership for College Success program which initiated the project.
The three-week pilot project, supported by a partnership with the University of Maine at Presque Isle and the Central Aroostook Council on Education (CACE), had a two-pronged purpose: to allow the students to gain experience using the equipment and to assist the city in gathering the information for future planning.
GIS work had been done in Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield, according to Michael McCormack, director of Partnership for College Success, a Nellie Mae grant supported UMPI program that encourages cooperation between high school and college instructors.
“Let’s involve Caribou,” McCormack said. “What better way to begin this work than to start with our own kids.”
Although the city of Caribou doesn’t have the global positioning system equipment for the utilities district as yet, Alan Hitchcock, district director, said it’s a good first step to mapping the city’s infrastructure.
The three-week project was part of an overall effort to boost math and science achievement in the schools. A federal math-science grant, administered by CACE, funded the work of Mark Matson, a GIS specialist at the university who worked with the students in collecting the data.
For several days, the two students walked the city streets, locating the various items of the city’s utility district, such as manhole covers, hydrants, storm catch basins and culverts. The GPS coordinates of the locations were entered into a handheld unit, which later was downloaded onto a computer.
The students then were able to construct a map of the city’s utility infrastructure at the university, which has state-of-the-art GPS equipment.
Adam Huston, a CHS senior, said he was amazed at the work involved in building a city.
“I thought Caribou was small,” Huston said. “It takes a lot of work to make everything flow.”
Another student, Joe Sturzl, said he learned how to use the different types of GPS software to make an accurate map.
“It was an interesting experience,” Sturzl said.
The students heard about the program when Matson came to Caribou High School to recruit volunteers for the project. According to CACE director, David Ouellette, the math-science grant is intended to encourage cooperation between math and science teachers in the high schools, universities and technology center. The aim also is to involve professionals from the field, such as Matson.
Similar projects have been done at the student farm operated by Presque Isle High School.
“We like the idea that students can work in the community,” said Ouellette.
