On Friday, April 20, the Polk County Middle School Model Bridge Building Team placed second at the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) finals in Raleigh, N.C. Team members include eighth graders Grayson Greene and William Price, seventh graders Samuel Rhinehart and Samuel Kornmayer and Dr. Robert Pettis, coach. The team qualified for the finals by winning the N.C. Western Regional in Morganton, N.C. in March. For the competition, the PCMS Model Bridge team constructed a balsa wood bridge using the specifications provided by the NCDOT, wrote a report on the history of bridge building, drew a full scale blueprint of their bridge and gave an oral presentation explaining the merits of the bridge the team entered in the competition. The PCMS bridge team won $400, which will be used to purchase materials for next year’s bridge team. (photo submitted by coach Robert Pettis)