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FAIRFIELD — Nine students in the Heavy Equipment Operator Training Program at Kennebec Valley Community College worked on advanced training skills Tuesday at the construction pit in the Reservoir Hill subdivision.

They practiced excavating in confined spaces, operating safely on sloped terrain, performing finish grading, constructing elevated roadways and moving large materials and obstacles using heavy equipment, college officials said in a news release. The six-week program emerged from the Construction Industry Workforce Partnership, where employers worked directly with Maine’s community colleges to design and deliver training that meets the needs of the state’s construction sector.

A student drives an off-road haul truck as another student runs a bulldozer Tuesday during KVCC’S Heavy Equipment Operator Training Program at the construction pit in the Reservoir Hill subdivision in Fairfield. Purchase this image
Instructor Justin Johnson with Crooker Construction observes as Connor Grindle, a 22-year-old student operator from Fairfield Public Works, drives an off-road haul truck Tuesday during KVCC’s Heavy Equipment Operator Training Program at the construction pit in the Reservoir Hill subdivision in Fairfield. Purchase this image
Connor Grindle, a 22-year-old student operator from Fairfield Public Works, idles an off-road haul truck Tuesday during KVCC’s Heavy Equipment Operator Training Program at the construction pit in the Reservoir Hill subdivision in Fairfield. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Student operator Derek Alves operates a bulldozer Tuesday as instructors observe during KVCC’s Heavy Equipment Operator Training Program at the construction pit in the Reservoir Hill subdivision in Fairfield. Purchase this image
Connor Grindle, a 22-year-old student operator from Fairfield Public Works, drives an off-road haul truck, left, as student Derek Alves operates a bulldozer Tuesday during the KVCC’s Heavy Equipment Operator Training Program at the construction pit in the Reservoir Hill subdivision in Fairfield. Purchase this image
Student operators Silas Moody, center, operates a narrow track bulldozer, as Devon Holt operates an excavator Tuesday during KVCC’s Heavy Equipment Operator Training Program at the construction pit in the Reservoir Hill subdivision in Fairfield. Purchase this image
Connor Grindle, a 22-year-old student operator from Fairfield Public Works, operates an off-road haul truck, at the right, Tuesday as Silas Moody, also a student, operates an excavator during Kennebec Valley Community College’s Heavy Equipment Operator Training Program at the construction pit in Reservoir Hill Subdivision in Fairfield. Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image

Rich is a career photojournalist and writer who got his start in newspapers in 1987 at the Fort Morgan Times in Colorado. His appreciation for photography and stories began as a kid while watching slide...

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