Photo Provided Brady Marcino, Marek Speece and Austin Fetty, pictured from left, all juniors in the power mechanics program at Jefferson County Joint Vocational School, spent more than a week repairing a motor from a 2004 U.S. Army LMTV in the lab along with classmate Kayden Brooks, who was absent from the photo. All four students said it was a great experience and they all plan to have careers in diesel mechanics.

BLOOMINGDALE — Students in the power mechanics program at Jefferson County Joint Vocational School are used to getting their hands dirty for a project, but one particular assignment was outside the norm.

Juniors Marek Speece, Austin Fetty, Kayden Brooks and Brady Marcino spent more than a week repairing a Caterpillar 3126 engine from a 2004 U.S. Army Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV) belonging to Jim Merriwether of Richmond. The students worked during their lab time to remove the 1,300-pound apparatus and repair an oil leak. The students said they have been learning how to repair diesel engines, but the military truck was not a typical assignment.

“I like working with things you don’t see often,” said Speece, a student at Indian Creek High School.

“I’ve done stuff like that before,” added Fetty, a student at Buckeye Local High School. He said it gave him further experience.

“It’s great,” noted Brooks, who attends Jefferson County Christian School. “You don’t see this all the time.”

“It was definitely something different than what I’d normally do, but it was fun,” commented Marcino.

Instructor Fred Jones was pleased with their efforts, saying they worked hard to complete the project.

“They did a fantastic job and it was a big project,” Jones said. “It’s the largest vehicle they’ve worked on.”

Program students have repaired other vehicles from Merriwether’s collection, including a race truck and Army Hummer. Each of the four juniors also said they intended to work in the diesel mechanics field, with Fetty planning to further his studies through Ohio CAT. They also agreed that their training through the JVS has put them on the path to success.

“It’s fun because you work on projects and have Mr. Jones as an instructor,” Speece concluded. “He’s always helping and he pushes you to do what’s right.”