NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Local veterans are being honored through a cross-high school collaboration, with McCann Technical School CAD students manufacturing custom hardware for veteran banners and Drury High School civics students building a digital archive to preserve the veterans' legacies.

 

"It is super exciting for me," Veterans Agent Kurtis Durocher said. "It saves us money, and more importantly, it gets students involved. You really can't put a value on that."

 

The Veterans Services Department plans to install the banners downtown to honor local service members. The project was well underway last year; however, the old brackets used to hang banners on city light posts were in poor condition.

 

Durocher reached out to McCann Superintendent James Brosnan last fall, hoping the school could assist.

 

"I asked if it was something they would be interested in. We needed these brackets, and I thought it would be a great project for the students," Durocher said. "Jim, being a veteran himself, jumped on it. So within two weeks, we had a meeting."

 

Durocher needed 100 brackets to support banners for 50 veterans. He noted that the students saved his department nearly $6,500, with McCann supplying all the necessary materials.

 

While the new brackets are similar to the ones currently on Main Street, the design has been significantly improved. Computer assisted design (CAD) instructor Joshua Meczywor said students reverse-engineered the existing hardware to create a sturdier version.