(11/14) A trio of Fairfield Area High School students presented their plan at the November 13 meeting of the Carroll Valley Borough Council to provide free picnic tables to the borough parks

Samuel Ruppert, Cameron Howe, and Patrick Little, all seniors at the high school, are working on the project as part of their graduation requirements.

Ruppert told the council, "We are planning and fundraising for picnic tables for the parks," noting that there would be no cost incurred by the borough.

Presently, the students’ goal is to raise sufficient funds to buy the materials and provide the labor for the construction of 15 picnic tables.

"We’re appealing to local residents and businesses," he said. "We should (when all is said and done) come out breaking a little over even."

As of the November 13 borough meeting, the students had raised enough money and supplies to build 12 tables.

Howe said the tables cost approximately $68, materials included. The students got a discounted rate from a lumber company in Hanover on the materials needed to construct the tables, he said, which includes #1 grade treated lumber.

Little stated that plaques will also be available to engrave at a donor or donors’ requests, and which will be placed at the center of each of the completed tables. A plaque could be used to dedicate the table to the memory of an individual, or for advertising in the event the donor for that table was a business. The plaques are costing the students about $5 each.

Accumulated money which exceeds the project’s needs will be donated to the borough, the students said.

Individuals, groups, or businesses interested in making a donation to the students to help produce the picnic tables may contact Samuel Ruppert at 642-6635 or by email at srruppert@gmail.com.

In a solicitation letter prepared for potential donors, the students stated, "As students of the Fairfield Area High School, we are proud to be giving back to our community by working alongside the Carroll Valley Borough to enhance these wonderful parks."