WATERTOWN, S.D.(KWAT)–The Lake Area Technical College Foundation recently facilitated the creation of a new wooden gavel and sound block for the South Dakota House of Representatives. District 5 Representative and Speaker of the House, Hugh Bartels of Watertown, had conveyed last summer to Lake Area Tech President Tiffany Sanderson that the House gavel was in poor condition.

With the old, cracked gavel in hand, the LATC Foundation reached out to Riley Mohr, a 2014 LATC Building Trades Technology program graduate. When asked if he’d be interested in creating a new gavel and sound block for the House, Riley accepted the challenge.

Riley, owner of the Woods Edge Shop in Watertown, built a new gavel head using the original as the pattern. He spared the handle, which only needed a little refurbishing. Once the head and handle were fashioned together, the finishing touch was affixing to the head the gavel’s original gold band, engraved with “South Dakota House of Representatives.” After completing the gavel, Riley crafted a new sound block to complete the set.

The Lake Area Technical College Foundation recently presented the gavel and sound block to Speaker Bartels, who presides over the House of Representatives, at the Woods Edge Shop. The state will hear its ring when the gavel calls the 99th South Dakota Legislative Session to order on January 9th.