School buildings receiving maintenance during summer

Believe it or not, the first day of school for Hot Springs County School District #1 is just 42 days away, and crews have been working fast and furious to get the buildings all prepared for that first day.

Maintenance Director Jere Apland said there have been a lot of things going on this summer, all major maintenance items that are paid for through the state.

"None of the things we're doing are coming out of our budget," Apland said. "These are all major maintenance items that are funded through the state."

At Ralph Witters Elementary, they have replaced an emergency generator and have painted and carpeted eight of the classrooms.

Apland said eight of the rooms were cleared of everything in them and painting began. While going with white on three of the walls, one wall will now be an accent wall, painted to match the carpeting. Some rooms are also getting new linoleum in their entryways and bathrooms.

Moving up to the middle school, Apland said there are also replacing the carpeting in the commons area and down the hall to the back door, which goes out to the Agriculture Compound.

Outside, the "hoop house" has been installed, and his crews have fenced in the area around the chicken coop.

Earlier in the year they replaced an overflow pipe that goes into the ravine that runs next to the school. Runoff from the Mountain View and Cedar Ridge areas go through the pipe to the ravine and the pipe had finally given way from age.

A new culvert type system was installed to replace the pipe, which will allow the water to flow more freely should we get rain again like we have this spring.

Cleaning of carpets and furniture are going on at the high school along with the creation of a Maker's Space in the library.

Over at the vocational building there is plenty going on including a complete remodel of the bathrooms in the building.

Originally, the building housed high school students, but with the addition of pre-school in the building, toilets and sinks needed to be lowered a bit for the little ones. Apland said they are also replacing pipe inside the walls that has been there nearly 30 years.

They have also replaced a lot of the fluorescent lights in the AG area and the woodshop and auto shop with LED lights to save some money in the future. The single strip LED's should put out more light at a lower cost.

New carpeting is also going in throughout the auditorium and out into the reception area in the administration building.

Another cost saving measure the district has taken has required a powerline from the bus barn to the garage to create a tire shop. With the tire shop in place, they will be able to do their own repairs and tire replacements rather than contracting it out.

Interior doors and outside windows are being replaced at the bus barn, too.

After all this summer work, the schools should be ship-shape for students to return to classes on Aug. 23.