Students show their skills in regional competition

CANFIELD — It’s not often the Mahoning County Career & Technical Center is the site of a staged crime scene mixed with a little cosmetology, graphic design and carpentry.

Then again, it’s a rarity to see the facility’s classrooms converted to a makeshift beauty shop or a simulated crime scene complete with fake blood and a chalk outline of a body.

“I instructed my team on the sketch, collection of evidence, photos and fingerprinting,” said Mark Shook, a sophomore at Portage Lakes Career Center in Portage County.

Mark and his team, juniors Josh McArthur and Richard Kirby, took part

in the crime-scene-investigation contest, one of 28 categories that made up today’s 2013 SkillsUSA Ohio Northeast Regional competition at the career center, 7300 N. Palmyra Road.

Students from 15 Northeast Ohio high schools were nominated for and competed in the three-hour event, designed to showcase participants’ leadership, professional and technical skills.

For the complete story, read Sunday's Vindicator and Vindy.com