(Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP) Alvirne High School junior Tyler Reynolds answers quesestions about the automotive shop that is part of Alvirne's CTE program posed by U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, during Hassan's tour of the CTE center Monday.

HUDSON — Alvirne High junior Tyler Reynolds was in the midst of helping several other students in the Heavy Duty Mechanics CTE program loosen bolts on a beat-up Chevy Silverado pickup truck when a visitor approached and asked him a couple of questions.

The visitor, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, one of the two Democrats who represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate, told Reynolds she was interested in learning more about the course, one of a dozen or so career-oriented courses that take place in Alvirne’s sprawling, two-story Palmer Career and Technical Education Center.

The purpose of Hassan’s visit was to hear from students like Reynolds, along with instructors and Alvirne administrators, about the CTE program and its specialized courses, which directly benefit from federal funds that Hassan has helped shepherd through the Senate and eventually become law.

Such is the case with some $75 million in funding for so-called Perkins programs that Hassan, as a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, helped pass into law as part of the year-end government funding bill.

The Perkins programs directly support career and technical education programs across New Hampshire, including the Palmer CTE programs.

Currently, Hassan is working to pass into law bipartisan legislation that, if passed, would bring much-needed funding to the state’s career pathways programs at community and technical colleges.

A full story, and additional photos, will appear in this coming weekend’s Sunday Telegraph.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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