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Alternative-school students Latee Mize (left) and Dylan Newton feed horses that will be kept in the barn the students helped renovate as part of a community-service project. View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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A learning alternative

Alternative school students and local contractor help Spotsylvania family finish their barn

Date published: 12/30/2008

By KELLY HANNON

A chance encounter at the Massaponax Wal-Mart helped a Spotsylvania County family finish their barn, and gave area teenagers a new way to connect with animals.

The coincidence sprang from financial trouble.

A building contractor working on Greg and Angela Atkinson's home on Gardner Farm Road in Spotsylvania went out of business before the job was finished.

The Atkinsons, who have a 2-year-old son, had to shift money they intended to spend on their barn to finish work on their home.

Then, another contractor hired to help with the barn did a poor job, leaving drainage problems.

A family member was recounting their ordeal at Wal-Mart, which was overheard by contractor Scott McKennon, an Army veteran who owns American Bulldog Construction.

On the spot, McKennon offered to help. He didn't want the Atkinsons to have a negative impression of the contracting industry, he explained.

So on Saturday, McKennon donated his time to convert the barn into stalls for the family's four horses.

"It's just what neighbors should do for each other," McKennon said.

He was assisted by two students from Jonah's Run Alternative School in Spotsylvania.

McKennon's wife, Sarah McKennon, is executive director of the school. A former juvenile probation officer at Massaponax High School, she started Jonah's Run this fall in Partlow.

The non-profit organization helps students who are thinking about dropping out of high school, but cannot afford private education. McKennon develops individual education plans for each student, mixed with weekly community service.

The idea for a one-day service project at the Atkinson property has grown into a more permanent relationship between Jonah's Run and the family. Students volunteer weekly to feed and groom the horses.

The work reinforces the guiding principles of Jonah's Run, which include respect and kindness, Sarah McKennon said.

"You have to have mutual respect between the person and the horse," she said.

Latee Mize, 17, left Mountain View High School in Stafford County to attend Jonah's Run. Mize is studying to obtain his GED, and wants to apprentice in the construction industry.

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Date published: 12/30/2008