PEA RIDGE — “Who would have ever thought Pea Ridge would have something like this?” both Tim and Sharon Wood said Saturday. The Woods, both 1961 graduates of Pea Ridge High School, were touring the new multi-purpose facility during the open house.
“This is a fabulous facility,” Tim said, recalling that there was only basketball, not football, when he was in high school.
As the Woods toured the facility, students tumbled on the large mats for the cheerleaders, played video games in a room designed as a classroom, played football on the turf and checked out the weigh room.
Athletic director Larry Walker said the building is for all extracurricular activities. He said band, football and cheerleading have all already used the building.
“Thursday (Sept. 22), it was so muddy and sloppy, that we were able to have an hour to an hour and a half of pre-game in here,” Walker said. “You could tell they (the student athletes) were excited about being in here.”
Walker, who has been employed at Pea Ridge for 27 years, said he never imagined Pea Ridge would have such a nice facility.
“It’s a super nice facility. We always figured the stadium would come first - some day. I dreamed ... but, something of this magnitude, never in my wildest dreams. But, it’s a reality,” Walker said.
Walker said he believes the facility will be an attractive drawing card to families seeking a smaller school district for their children and added that athletics is a valuable asset to education.
“Every study ever done - it’s a proven fact - that kids involved in extra curricular activities have less discipline problems, and are better students,” Walker said.
“This is going to be great for the community !”
Community, Pages 10 on 09/28/2011