Schools to construct two new buildings

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

— The groundbreaking ceremony for two new construction projects at Pea Ridge High School was forced inside due to rain Wednesday night.

Members of the Regional Chamber of Commerce gathered in the media center at the high school with school board members, Pea Ridge schools superintendent Mike Van Dyke, Pea Ridge Mayor Jackie Crabtree, Pea Ridge school principals, representatives from both Baldwin and Shell Construction Company and Nabholz Construction Corporation and others.

In an improvisational ceremony, Van Dyke introduced Patrick Tenney, vice-president of Baldwin and Shell, to speak on behalf of the company about beginning construction of the tornado safe room at the high school. Tenney said the target completion date for the project will be spring 2011. The room is set to occupy up to 800 students in the event of an emergency.

“It’s exciting to see theschool district working with the community,” John Lasater, president of the Regional Chamber, said.

The building is being constructed thanks to a hazard mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Emergency Management. The district is paying for only 12.5 percent of the entire project.

Van Dyke then switched topics to construction of the multi-purpose facility.

“This has been a dream in Pea Ridge for many, many years,” School Board president Jenny Wood said.

Board member Rick Webb agreed, saying the facility can be used by all students, not only athletes, and cheerleaders will have a place to practice.

Van Dyke introduced representatives of Nabholz Construction Corporation, construction managers for the project.

Roger McDaniel, president of the Ozark Division of Nabholz, said: “As far as completion, I’m gonna challenge our guys to race Baldwin and Shell to see who can get done first.”

News, Pages 12 on 09/15/2010