December 7, 2016
Rolling to the rescue Around Town
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Youth in Government Day
Submitted photos Wentzville Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain along with Melanie Willis and her daughter Faith Willis were on hand to honor the engineering class of Liberty High School (from left) Jimmy Moore, Bryan Eplett, Wyatt Lake, Hamza Mansoor, Josh Parmentier and teacher Vince Redman (not pictured Nick Beseda and Sam Schuettenberg) for building a wheelchair for Faith.
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School
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Shopping and entertainment guide
High school engineering students build wheelchair for toddler with spina bifida By Brett Auten Colonel John “Hannibal” ahead. Smith would have certainly First the students put toapproved. gether an informal fundraisThe fictitious character er throughout the school. from the 1980s television Then it was a matter of time show “The A-Team” is known of waiting for the blueprints for his catchphrase, “I love it and parts to arrive. when a plan comes together.” “Everything went pretty A group of students at Libquick,” Josh Parmentier, a erty High School in Wentz17-year-old senior, said. ville came through on a proj“While we waited for evect that has bettered the life erything, we had it planned of an area girl. out what we needed to do Just shy of her second whether it as cutting or birthday, Faith Willis was drilling.” diagnosed with spina bifida. Obviously, the most fulFaith Willis tries out her new wheelchair constructed by the engineering students of Melanie Willis, Faith’s moth- Liberty High School. filling part of the project er and an employee of the was when Faith and Melaschool district, responded to nie came to the classroom to an email sent out by Vince Redman, an engineering teach- bring home the final product. er at Liberty High School. Each year Redman’s senior-level “(Faith) came into the class and it was toward the end of class – which is part of Project Lead The Way, a program the day and she was kind of shy,” Redman said. that provides real-world problem-solving in computer sciBut Faith soon warmed up and took immediately to it. ence, engineering, and biomedical sciences – is required to “She learned really quick, like within five minutes,” Bryan choose a project under the criteria of building something Eplett, an 18-year-old senior, said. “It was nice to see somefrom the ground up or innovating or improving an already- thing we built and raise money for make a difference in a established product. little girl’s life.” In the email, Melanie spoke of Faith’s dislike of her walker Eplett said the group would like to finish up plans for a and the family thought about getting her a wheelchair to motorized wheelchair that would have off-road capabilities, help her with longer distances so she would not tire so easy making it possible to traverse on grass and over small bumps. and keep up with her peers. The conundrum came in Faith’s For Redman, it was an opportunity to give his students a size. She was too small in stature for the kind of wheelchair lesson inside and outside of the classroom. the Willis’ were looking for. “I don’t think many of them have had a chance to experiIn stepped seven of Redmen’s students and the team was ence and help someone so young,” Redman said. “But they off and running. In order to speed things up, instead of hav- are smart, gifted kids and they rallied around each other and ing to invent a wheelchair from the ground up, blueprints got it done.” and specs were found online and the crew went full steam
Patron saint’s feast day celebrated
Learn & Play
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Movie:
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Sweet holiday treats
Oscar frontrunners
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