LINN  — At a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Thursday, State Tech unveiled Safety Village, a 20,000-square-foot outdoor laboratory simulating a residential neighborhood. The laboratory will provide hands-on training regarding underground utility location and safe excavation practices, as well as OSHA confined space training, leak detection, and troubleshooting of electrical, gas, and fiber systems. 

“This is one of my favorite projects to date,” President Dr. Shawn Strong said after a moment of silence for lineman and State Tech alumni Carson Birke, 23, who recently passed away as a result of a work-related accident. “It started pretty simple with the idea (of) some portable buildings and some dirt with some utilities under it; it’s evolved into being, as you’ve already heard, probably a one-in-the-nation kind of a project.”

Dr. Strong added that the Safety Village started as something for just utilities but evolved into something much more. “It is actually six homes that are all framed out,” he said. “So, we can go into those homes, and we can do electrical, we can do HVAC, we can do plumbing. So, everything that a student would see in maybe their first internship or out on the job, they’ll get their first exposure here at Safety Village. So that’s part of it.”

The other part, he said, is that the area under river rock has dead utilities, and everything with grass has live utilities. “So, this road is just like the utilities you see in a residential subdivision where the water, electric, and gas are all down the road and then go out to each house,” Dr. Strong continued. “Our students will be able to come out here, or industry (partners) can come out here and work to safely excavate around and find leaks, we can put faults, and all sorts of great stuff that we can do with safety buildings. So, it’s more than just excavation around utilities. There will be a lot of different programs touched by this project.”

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe praised State Tech’s vision and leadership at the ribbon cutting. “Every time I come on this campus, I have all those emotions that come back to me to say, this school is unbelievable,” said Kehoe, a former State Tech Regent. “It is the employer’s choice, as you all know; that’s why you’re going to school here. And it works because this school and the campus and the leadership of the campus continue to grow its mission and continue to provide opportunities for young men and women all across the state and, quite frankly, the Midwest for employment as they go on in life.

“Not only is important to learn the trade that you’d like to be in, but it’s important to also be able to go home at night without any injuries or, God forbid, fatalities,” Kehoe continued. “So, the leadership that has put this concept together, and I do believe it’s the first of its kind across the country, to show what a leading institution the State Technical College has become is inspiring every time I come to this campus.”

Missouri 811 Executive Director Randy Norton said the education provided at Safety Village will help minimize damage and save lives. “On behalf of the board of directors, the utilities, and the stakeholder excavators through the Missouri 811 mechanism, we’d like to say thank you for this opportunity,” Norton said. “This is a wonderful presentation today. I’m really fascinated to see the Safety Village, quite honestly, and in the damage-prevention industry, Missouri is a leader. So, it does not surprise me that the Safety Village is a one-of-a-kind entity.”

Safety Village was designed by Incite Design Studio, out of Kansas City, and built by Professional Contractors and Engineers. Subcontractors and suppliers included Harold G. Butzer, Inc., Natsch & Co., Mid-States Electrical Co, Inc., Comarco Industrial, AAA Masonry Inc., Horton Steel LLC, Aztech Painting Company Inc., Mid-America Truss, Mitch Bonnot Excavating LLC, Summit Mechanical, Rebarco Inc., Don Schneider Excavating Company, Inc., and Scruggs Lumber.

“If you look at over the last five years and what we have under construction now, there’s somewhere in the neighborhood nearly $100 million worth of construction that has either taken place or will take place in the next year or two,” Dr. Strong said.” So, we we thank the state of Missouri for their support in making these investments in the fastest-growing college in the country.”