Project on the move

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Bids for a new weight room/wrestling facility and concession/restroom building should be opened in about a month, the Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education was told at its Wednesday evening meeting.

After the board unanimously voted to put the project out for bids, Mike Parkinson, an architect with SHP, the design firm working on the project, said even though the project has not been put out to bid yet, he’s talked to six contractors that are interested in it. He said he hopes to have at least 10 bids submitted.

The project was expected to go out for bids Thursday morning and a bid opening meeting was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 24.

One problem Parkinson said SHP found during its site studies was that the soil where the concession stand/restroom will be located near the front of the new track/soccer complex is of poor quality. As a result, he said, the building will be constructed on 24 concrete piers drove five feet deep in bedrock beneath the soil. He said that once that piers are in place there should be no problems with the structure.

“We’re king of locked into that site because that’s where the restrooms need to be,” board president Terry Britton said.

Superintendent Jim Smith pointed out that moving the building’s site is not an option because all the soil around the stadium is poor in quality.

The weight room/wrestling facility will be located behind the middle school/high school. In the future, phase two of the project calls for a fieldhouse to be built behind the concession/restroom building.

“It’s going to be a great project, it really is,” Parkinson said.

“It’s going to be great for our kids,” Britton added.

Three people spoke during the public participation part of the meeting about what they said was the mistreatment of certain members of boys basketball team that was first brought to the board’s attention in November.

At the November meeting, Rodney and Jaymara Captain said they were upset because their son was cut from the freshman basketball team after he thought he had made the team.

The school administration looked into the matter and decided along with the boys basketball staff to allow the Captains’ son, and a couple other kids, back on the team.

Wednesday, the Captains, along with a relative, Marva Captain, said the young man in question, along with other kids, are not getting enough playing time, that some kids are being belittled, and they called for a coaching change. They asked the board members and administration to look into the matter.

“That’s the first time I heard there were issues since the last time we addressed this,” Smith said after the meeting. “We will look into it.”

Jaymara Captain said the issues go deeper than athletics and asked Smith about a diversity program she talked to him about.

During his report to the board, Smith said he’s been talking to a diversity group called Dream Builders University and that he’d like to set something up either this school year or next. He said it would likely be an assembly in both buildings that would address race, gay and transgender issues.

“You always want to try to make it better,” Smith said.

At the urging on the board, student representative Emily Burwinkel, the Highland County Fair Queen, reported that she recently finished in the top 16 out of 74 at the Ohio Fair Queens Contest.

Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522 or on Twitter @13gillilandj.

Hillsboro City Schools Board of Education members, from left, Tom Milbery, Terry Britton, Sam Barnhouse and Bill Myers listen during the public participation part of Wednesday’s board meeting. Not pictured are board member Beverly Rhoads and student representative to the board Emily Burwinkel.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2016/01/web1_School-board-pic.jpgHillsboro City Schools Board of Education members, from left, Tom Milbery, Terry Britton, Sam Barnhouse and Bill Myers listen during the public participation part of Wednesday’s board meeting. Not pictured are board member Beverly Rhoads and student representative to the board Emily Burwinkel.
Hillsboro board approves bid process for additions

By Jeff Gilliland

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