Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

McRae Gym Infested; Update Is Given

Termite damage was found at the McRae Middle School gym when it was recently inspected.

The gym was being inspected because of renovations planned for it. However, according to Ron Wright, superintendent of the Prescott School Board, it may be possible to treat the damage without having to completely replace the floor, but the entire renovation project may have to be rethought.

This, he told the Prescott School Board at its regular meeting Tuesday, Feb. 15.

The board allocated $200,000 for the renovation of the middle school gym from proceeds from a recent bond issue.

The gym is basically a metal building, Wright said, and could be turned into an activity center where students could still take their physical education classes if the damage is too great.

The termite problem has slowed the process of getting bids from contractors on the project. Until the extant of damage has been determined, nothing else can be done.

The press box project, Wright told the board, has been on hold for a while, but is now underway again.

McLelland Construction has the exterior metal on and is working on the inside of the facility.

Once this is done and the weather allows, Wright said, a sign proclaiming Cummins Field as "Home of the Curley Wolves" will be hanged.

The recent high winds have prevented the sign from being put in place yet.

Wright told the board International Paper Co. sold the district about $4,000 worth of plywood for about $850.

The contractor, he said, was also asked to fix two leaks on the gym roof at the high school.

Wright was informed this is most likely the original roof, made of asphalt with gravel.

This, he told the board, is an unexpected turn of events and an expense no one could anticipate. Wright will look into different type of roofs for the gym, and bids will be let on the project.

The existing roof, he said, could last another year. The leaks are not in places where they could pose problems to students and patrons.

Another roofing problem Wright told the board about, is where the district planned to put the science lab.

However, he said, it won't cost as much to repair this roof as it will be the one on the gym because it isn't as big.

The board was also presented raw data from students in the eighth grade concerning school uniforms.

Some of the pros were based on safety measures such as "less gang related activities" and "no sagging."

However, students also felt it would be expensive to replace their current clothes, they can't buy the uniforms locally and uniforms wouldn't allow them to show their personal sense of fashion as they hinder uniqueness.

But, other students felt uniforms would help them get dressed more easily each day, laundry would be simpler and everyone would look the same.

The uniform committee will be meeting and going through all the information the district has concerning school uniforms and make a recommendation to the board later.

In other business, Wright gave an update on snow damage being worse than first thought.

Originally, he said, it was thought two pipes had burst and a gas line gave because of weight. However, it was learned there is a problem with a metal building at Prescott Elementary.

The roof on this building sagged under the weight of the snow, with the damage, Wright said, resulting in the loss of 15-20 percent of its structural strength.

But, he added, the building is safe for children. Engineers were called in and have said the roof and a damaged beam can be braced with four support columns.

Some other repairs will have to be made on the roof to keep it from leaking as it is a screw-down metal structure.

Contractors interested in bidding on building a new agriculture structure have been invited to come to the school, look at the remains of the old one and make their bids.

The old agri building was destroyed during the snowstorm, as were some covered walkways at PHS and McRae.

On the positive side, Wright informed the board the enrollment is up another 18 from the January count, and 40 from the end of school last year.

The board approved a resolution to basically get rid of an old rule governing one particular benefit, a type of retirement program only one in the district uses.

This person is already looking for a different retirement plan.

Under the old law, the district would have been responsible for paying the benefits if the company in question defaulted. The resolution, created by the IRS, in effect, keeps the district from being liable.

Wright met with the Personnel Policy Committee concerning making up the days lost because of the snow.

The basic decision was to tack them onto the end of the year, thereby adding another three days to the school year.

As no decision was made by the board, this issue will be brought up again at the March meeting. Wright will look into how adding the three days will affect summer sessions for college.

Graduation will remain the same day it was scheduled.

Home plate and the outfield for the new baseball field has been staked out, according to board member George Odom.

He said instead of removing topsoil to make the ground level. Fill dirt will be brought in to save the topsoil.

However, the infield will have to be scraped, but the dirt will be saved and used for fill elsewhere.