Photo courtesy of Scrap-Metal-Art-Thailand Scrap metal artist Namfon Suktawee stands beside the recycled-metal dragon she has created for the Warren Area High School student council.

A dragon is on its way to Warren Area High School from half-way around the world. The nine-foot tall, 1,300-pound statue won’t be flying — it’s traveling by ship — and is not expected to make it to graduation.

The creature, a work of Namfon Suktawee of Thailand — www.scrap-metal-art-thailand.com — was commissioned by student council as a gift to the newly-renovated school.

“The statue has been completed and Namfon has sent us photos of the finished product,” Council President Stephen Ashbaugh said. “We sent in the final deposit and the statue was picked up the other day with a 35- to 40-day estimated delivery time.”

The dragon is made of recycled steel car parts and coated with acrylic lacquer to protect it from the elements as it stands guard outside the school.

The student council was prepared to foot most of the $12,000 bill, but generous donations from the community left the group with only a quarter of that amount.

“We were shocked by the amount of donations we received from the community, which came to a total of $9,134.89,” Ashbaugh said. “Student council will cover the approximately $3,000 that remains.”

“Sadly, we do not expect the statue to be here in time for graduation, but it will be in place before students arrive for the next school year, “he said.