New school facilities dedicated in Caruthersville

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. - More than four years after a tornado ripped through the community and destroyed its high school, an important milestone toward recovery was celebrated.

A cornerstone dedication ceremony for the new school facilty was held in conjunction with an open house for the new middle school cafeteria. Speakers included Caruthersville Mayer Diane Sayre, State Rep. Terry Swinger, school board president Lee Bethune, superintendent J. J. Bullington, and assistant superintendent Ron Stutzman.

Also participating in the program was Logan Meeks, vice president of A3H (Askew, Hargraves, Harcourt), architect of the new school. Meeks is a 1993 graduate of Caruthersville High School.

The new high school will be a 90,000 square foot campus, and will include a two-story education building, auditorium, an art and family consumer science building The music building will also be renovated.

The facility will accommodate 500 students in grades 9-12. The construction will include terra cotta elements that were preserved from the original school. The west entrance will be reconstructed to the original 1924 building.

The new school will include two cornerstones - one from the original 1924-era building and a new one, which will include a time capsule.

The new cornerstone will include all of the items found in the 1924 cornerstone as well as contemporary items. A list of all graduates from 1924 to the present will be added to the cornerstone, as well as a cell phone and an I-Pod.

"They say patience is a virtue," Swinger said. "I commend the school board for their patience while waiting for government agencies to make the right decisions. When it was obvious that the insurance company was not going to adequately meet their obligation, which had an effect on FEMA and State Emergency Management Agency funds, the General Assembly also stepped up to help our school."

Swinger noted that in 2008 the Missouri General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1170 that created the Rebuild Missouri Schools Program. The legislation gives school districts that have suffered destruction from tornado, fire or flood a no-interest loan to rebuild through the State Board of Education

"Supt. J.J. Bullington, School Board President Baughn Merideth and City Attorney Lawrence Dorroh were instrumental in helping draft the language of the bill," Swinger said.

Swinger noted that a good atmosphere is an important component in education.

"These past few years, it has been a challenge for our teachers to maintain a good atmosphere while teaching in FEMA trailers but they did it. It can only get better," he said.

The new school is scheduled to be completed in the fall/winter of 2010. A copy of the design of the new school facility can be viewed at the school district's website at 222.caruthersville.k12.mo.us