Seawall replacement underway
Workers have begun replacing the SMCC seawall, a process that involves removing scores of heavy granite blocks and stacking them back into place.
Replacing the seawall, which stretches from the SMCC pier to the breakwater leading to Spring Point Ledge Light, requires removing the blocks and then fitting them back into place – from bottom to top.
It’s not an easy process. Most of the blocks weigh more than a ton each, with some weighing double that weight.
When the bottom row of blocks is assembled, each block will have a steel dowel running through it that will anchor to the underground ledge below it. Steel rods will also be used to connect each layer of blocks to one another.
The seawall work is scheduled to be completed by the end of December. The final, grading, seeding and landscaping won’t be completed until May 1 when spring weather arrives.
A storm last year breached the wall, necessitating its replacement.
SMCC hosts regional Phi Theta Kappa conference
More than 100 Phi Theta Kappa members and advisers from across New England came to SMCC for PTK’s New England Region fall conference.
The conference, held Oct. 9-10, focused on helping student leaders from the region’s Phi Theta Kappa chapters build leadership skills and plan and implement their Honors in Action Projects and College Projects. Phi
Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year colleges, has 58 chapters in New England.
SMCC’s PTK chapter, Alpha Chi Nu, has more than 160 members. Each semester, students who have completed at least 12 credits and have a 3.5 or higher GPA are invited to join.
Members take part in projects that exemplify the Phi Theta Kappa hallmarks of scholarship, leadership, service and fellowship.