Local News
New Cullman gym approved
By Trent MooreCULLMAN — The new Cullman High School gymnasium has officially been approved — and is expected to cost $1 million less than originally projected. The Cullman City School Board had budgeted up to $4.5 million for a new high school gym, but the lowest responsible bid returned this week came in at approximately $3.2 million. “We are just so excited about how far below this bid has come in,” school board member Brenda Howell said at a special board meeting Thursday to approve the project. “We’ve been very blessed.” Superintendent Dr. Jan Harris said the current state of the economy has likely contributed to lower construction costs. “Construction costs are down,” she said. “It’s perfect timing.” Woodward Construction will be the contractor for the project, which was designed by Davis Architects. The new structure will be located between the current gym and vocational building, on the high school campus. The construction process is expected to take approximately 12 months to complete, while work should begin within the next six weeks. “We hope to get started before the school year,” finance director Russell Raney said. Since the project came in so far below the expected cost, the school board also approved plans to add a football field house and a weight room to the basement of the design. “The football field house will have locker rooms, lockers and all of those things,” Harris said. “The weight room does not include weights ... so that is something we’ll have to look at down the line.” Cullman High School Principal Sheila Phillips said the new gym is needed due to overcrowding in the school’s current facilities. “We mainly need it for instructional space and training room,” she said. “We have a lot of overlap and scheduling issues currently with the athletic teams.” Phillips said the new gymnasium will allow the school’s physical education programs to continue to improve. “Not just for our coaches, but on behalf of our students we really want to see our PE programs move forward,” she said. “This will help us to continue to excel.” Harris said the project is a sign of the times, as more and more sports vie for gymnasium time. “If you look back 40-50 years ago, athletic programs were minimal to what we have now,” she said. “Now, we have girl’s sports, an expanded array of athletic offerings such as soccer, wrestling and so on. Now, we have so many needs for space, locker rooms and storage ... It will really be an asset for the school and community.” Looking toward the upcoming 2009-2010 school year, Phillips said she does not believe the construction will be much of a distraction for students. “We will have to re-route students, but there shouldn’t be a problem with it affecting instructional time,” she said.
- Local News
-
-
Baileyton receives grant for electrical problems at park
The town of Baileyton has received the Land and Water Conservation Grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA).
-
Smith Lake residents split on water plans
Residents on Smith Lake seem to be spilt which secondary water source would be best for Cullman County.
-
Signing on
Four local water authority representatives signed contracts Tuesday to join with the city of Cullman’s Duck River dam reservoir project.
-
Couple arrested for chemical endangerment of children
Cullman County Sheriff’s deputies arrested two Berlin residents Saturday for allegedly keeping meth and syringes near two children.
-
Accreditation answer coming by early 2010
The Cullman County Board of Education took a step closer to district accreditation this week, though it will be next year until they know if their request is approved.
-
Robots fight to win
Holly Pond High School freshman Jordan Dover was excited when she had the opportunity to get involved with the Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) robotics competition.
-
ServSafe Program becomes mandatory Jan. 1, 2010
The Cullman County Health Department is sponsoring a ServSafe food safety class Nov. 17-20 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Grumpy’s Pizza.
-
Holly Pond trying to save students from addiction
If Karen Rowell can reach just one student, she will be satisfied.
-
Water on the brain
The City of Cullman and the Cullman County Commission have their own proposals for a second water source for the area, and neither group has shown signs of relenting to the other’s plan.
But after Monday, that could change. -
City OKs junk rules
Cullman residents with very high grass and “junked up” property could soon be fined, as the city council has now adopted a revamped nuisance ordinance.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Baileyton receives grant for electrical problems at park
