Blanco County’s team of wheelchair ramp builders made another recipient happy Saturday, even though it may have been the shortest ramp in the Texas Ramp Project’s history.

The important thing to Shirley Lawson of Johnson City, however, is that she now can get in and out of her house without risking a fall from the concrete slab.

It was good practice, with more volunteers learning the Ramp Project’s standard structural design system and preparing for the next project, this time in Blanco, scheduled for next week.

The local team recruits volunteers of all skill levels (the youngest is six) and raises money locally. Those funds are matched by the Texas Ramp Project, which screens ramp requests and helps pay for the materials so the builders can provide the ramps at no cost to the recipients.

Requests for ramps begin on line at http://www.texasramps.org/Topic.aspx?wiki_id=333. A recipient can’t ask for his or her own ramp; the application has to come from a medical professional (doctor, nurse, home health worker) or a social worker. The request is checked by the TRP and put in line for construction.

For more information about volunteering to join the team, donating or putting in an application for a free ramp, call the Johnson City First United Methodist Church office at 868-7414.