Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Construction Coming Along

Construction, construction and more construction was what the Gurdon School Board discussed Tuesday, Jan. 18.

Bobby Smithson, Gurdon superintendent, informed the board the physical education building at Gurdon Primary School has been completed and PE classes are being held there.

The only problem is there aren't enough bleachers to hold all the classes at one time for assemblies.

GPS Principal Rita Roe will be looking to find money and purchase more bleachers, he said.

The PE building on the campus of the Cabe Middle School is coming along nicely, the board was told.

Most of the interior masonry work has been done, with construction crews getting the roof on at this time.

In addition, the interior walls are up. District employees, he said, will finish the inside work, with the exception of the maple floor.

Studs have been put in place for plywood for the classrooms, with paneling possibly being installed there.

Once this is done, a drop ceiling will be installed in the classrooms.

Overall, Smithson said, it will take four or five more weeks to finish this building, but it should be ready for use by March.

The anchor bolts for the field house and concession stand have come in, he said. It took four weeks for the district to get them. The lack of these bolts caused a delay in getting the slab poured and subsequently getting construction underway.

Now, though, the slabs have been poured and when the buildings comes in, crews will be ready to put them up.

According to information from Tyler Building, the frame and roof should be in by March 8.

Smithson said 1,000 yards of topsoil has been hauled in and put on the new football field, to get this part of the project underway.

At this point, he told the board, the district is looking at a price for lighting the new stadium. The poles, will be 80 feet tall with banks of eight lights each to light the field.

The sprinkler system still needs to be installed on the field as well, but all should be finished in a reasonable time, he said.

Once the other work has been completed, the district will still need to construct a parking lot, perimeter fence and build a track to complete the facility.

Plans for renovating GPS should be ready by the end of March, Smithson said. Once the plans are completed, the board can examine them and make any changes it feels necessary.

However, he said, it is imperative to get a contractor for this project as soon as possible. This way, if the plans are done early a special board meeting can be called to get the work started.

"I'd like to get started working on it (GPS) before school is out," Smithson said. "We need to get it all done before school starts."

But, if this doesn't happen, he continued, construction may be held up where it is at the time until a later date.

Three bids were received on bleachers for the football stadium. One from RJ Love of Little Rock, another from School and Office Products of Arkansas and the third from Rex Playground and Equipment of Oklahoma City.

Love's bid was the lowest by some $30,000 at 155,900 as a base bid with $3,000 added on for a coating on the risers only.

A representative from Love did not recommend the powder coating on the seats, saying it doesn't hold up and looks bad when the coating begins to come off.

He did tell the board, though, Love can coat the risers in the school's colors of purple and gold.

Construction of the bleachers, he said, would take between 120 and 150 days, depending on how fast the plans can get out of drafting.

The board agreed to go with RJ Love for the bleachers.

Bids were also opened for the old Gurdon High School building. Everything was being sold with the exception of the band room, agri classroom and home economics building.

There was only one bid, and it from Delores Hodges with the Clark County Youth Development Council (CCYDC) for $100,000.

The board agreed to accept the bid, but will require the CCYDC to keep the football field intact until the new stadium is completed. Otherwise, the Go-Devils could find themselves without a home field next season if the new complex isn't ready in time.

The property bought was sold "as-is" as well, with the district not to replace anything damaged or broken.

The board also discussed the academic hall of fame. Criteria for admittance into this hall has been drawn up, with the exception of the number of inductees.

The deadline to submit an applicant to the academic hall must be in by Feb. 15.

The first group to be inducted will be so honored this May during commencement ceremonies.

Recipients of the honor will be required to furnish an 8X10 photo for hanging.

After this year, though, all nominations must be in by Jan. 1 of each year.

Grandparents were honored at a Gurdon basketball game earlier. Some 38 showed up at the basketball booster club event, with prizes given out.

Smithson worked with the booster club on submitting bids for the regional and state tournaments this year. A total of 10 bids were submitted to the Arkansas Activities Association for these tourneys, with Gurdon getting the bid for regionals in class AA, while the state bid went to Centerpoint.

The board also decided to stay with the Arkansas School Board Association insurance program for property and vehicle insurance.

Another bid was submitted by Hoffman and Henry of Pine Bluff, but it was rejected by the board, though it was lower.

The Hoffman and Henry bid was

$18,800, while the ASBA bid was $23,708.

Smithson pointed out none of the Pine Bluff schools are protected under Hoffman and Henry, and said the district has been well served by the ASBA policy.

The board agreed the lowest bid is not always the best way to go and stayed with the ASBA.

There will be changes made in scoliosis screenings given to students. Scoliosis is a disease causing severe curvature to the spine.

While the district currently does screenings for this disease, the protocols were changed. Girls in grades five through 10 will be screened annually for this disease, while boys in grades six, eight and 10 will be screened every other year.

The board, after a short executive session, tabled discussion on Smithson's contract until the February meeting.