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903.295.5000 www.ptisd.org |
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Pete
The Pirate Sails Again By MAGGIE
SOUZA, Friday, October 26, 2007 A lot has changed at After 40 lonely years up on a pole, the only new thing to happen to Pete was getting shot in the chest (he's doing fine). Other than that, the pirate just aged. He chipped, faded and rusted, and gradually accumulated more and more bird nests. Then, a month ago, a group of Pine Tree alumni concerned about their former mascot decided to give ol' Pete a facelift. "It's real nice," said Kyran Ransom, 17, one of the 54 auto shop students who worked on Pete. "We made him look a lot younger." By Thursday afternoon, all that was left was touch-up work on Pete's face and hands, and a final clear coating. The makeover took an unexpected turn at the beginning, said Joel Laws, the auto tech and collision repair instructor who oversaw the project. Laws had planned on sanding down the original metal pirate and going from there, but he and his students soon realized the old metal was much too damaged. After a few weeks trying to secure good pieces of metal, his class finally got underway with the sanding and shaping process. Once the metalwork was complete, Pete was painted to resemble the old pirate. "I'm reasonably satisfied that we were able to preserve the original work," said Laws as he looked at the new Pete. A storyboard of pictures documenting Pete's makeover show that the only real difference in new Pete is the quality of the paint job. Laws estimated that the work put into the mascot would have cost about $10,000 had it been done in a professional shop. "I think we've been pretty successful," Laws said. Tonight at about 6:30 the handsome new pirate will be unveiled for all to see at the Homecoming game. "It's turned out better than my expectation," said Chris Bethard, the high school's resource officer. Bethard was instrumental in getting the renovation under way. "We're very fortunate to have someone of Mr. Laws' caliber working on this project," Bethard said. "I think everybody will be pleased with this." MORE about Pete the Pirate at the Webpage
for Auto Tech – Joe Laws, Instructor HOMECOMING 2007 §
What: §
When: 6:30
p.m. Friday §
Where: Pine
Tree Stadium, corner of Arland and Birch drives §
Cost: $7
for reserved seating; $6 general admission |