A crowd of about 200 interested citizens was on hand Sept. 23 for ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the new Lamar County High School facility which featured remarks by various officials and student-led tours. School superintendent Dr. Jute Wilson told the assemblage the school, which is over 161,000 square feet, was the largest single construction project ever undertaken in Lamar County. ’The total project will be paid off in 13 years. The system has no other debt for existing building projects,’ Wilson reported. The state kicked in $7 million for the school through its capital outlay program. The remainder came from bond financing and ESPLOST funds. ‘We thank the citizens for voting for ESPLOST. It has covered the construction of many projects – the fine arts center, football stadium and this school. For every dollar spent in Lamar County, a penny goes to the school system. This school was really built with pennies,’ Wilson continued. The school project came in on time despite over nine feet of rain measured at the site during build out. The contractor used 4100 cubic yards (165 million pounds) of concrete. Some 45,000 cubic yards of dirt were moved. That is the equivalent of 9000 dump trucks of dirt. Demolition of the old campus is complete and grading is underway for a new soccer/practice field there which will be ready by year’s end.
Be First to Comment