OPEN HOUSE TO BE HELD FOR VO-TECH STUDENTS' NEW HOME

Cape Girardeau public school officials hope to attract potential home buyers to an open house showcasing the newest home built by vocational students.

The Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School will hold open house events from 1-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 2745 Caulfield. The single-story brick residence, built by building trades students, features three bedrooms, an unfinished basement and two-car garage.

The house also offers several special features, including a security system on every window and door and heat detectors in the kitchen and garage.

Interested buyers may submit sealed bids of at least $126,000. Bids will be opened May 3.

For the past 17 years, students in the school's building trades classes have designed and built homes in Cape Girardeau. Each year residential sites are chosen by instructors, who oversee students as they work to match their house to others in the neighborhood.

The houses are owned and later sold by the Cape Girardeau School District. Money raised from the sale of the home will be used for the next housing project.

This is the 10th home completed by students. Building trades students performed nearly all of the work, including plumbing and electrical work. Additional work like installation of air-conditioning units and yard landscaping was performed by other vo-tech classes.

Students spend about two weeks at the beginning of the school year learning safety information. Then they receive classroom instruction before each new phase of the project. Working in phases helps to ensure the students are prepared to work independently when they arrive at the site.