After years of debate and indecision, the Rainy River District School Board announced at their first board meeting of the 2003-04 school year that the building has been sold for the bargain basement price of one dollar.
“It is gratifying that the board has approved the offer to purchase by Charlie Morken, Steve Both, and Russell Pollard,” said Gord McBride, chairman of the board. “Area residents have been continually asking when something was going to be done with the old high school and now it appears the time has come.
“I congratulate Charlie, Steve and Russell on having the foresight, the initiative and the entrepreneurial spirit to embark on this venture,” he added.
The new owners take possession of the building after months of negotiations with both the school board and the Town of Fort Frances over the future of the building.
As was reported in July, Stratton Equipment was interested in the building and property and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Town of Fort Frances outlining their intentions. At the time it included demolishing some of the building and renovating others.
Legal and engineering advice was received by the board to assist in preparing details of the agreement to ensure environmental issues were addressed and the property would be developed, confirmed the release.
“I am pleased to see something being done with the property,” said Dan Belluz, vice-chair of the board.
“As the new owners of the ‘old Fort High School,’ we are pleased to work with the Rainy River District School Board and the executive staff for a successful completion of the purchase of this property,” said the trio in a written statement. “We anticipate moving forward on our new property in the near future.”
<*c>From the old to the new
Other items discussed during the Rainy River District School Board meeting last night included the progress of the expansion project at J.W. Walker school.
“The project is on schedule and on budget,” said Murray Quinn, Superintendent of Plant and Maintenance. “I’m more than happy with what’s going on.”
He explained that at present, the contractor, Finnway Construction, is on schedule to have the building enclosed before the weather turns cold. Quinn continued by saying that the demolition inside the old portion of the school is complete, the new roof over the old building is going up and the walls of the new gymnasium are progressing quickly. The contractor confirmed that the building should be enclosed well before the end of October.
“They’re like a bunch of ants at that building right now,” said Quinn, adding that the contractor has hired a number of local workers and purchased a lot of materials locally adding to the communal benefit of the project.
Quinn also reported to trustees that the summer facilities projects have all nearly wrapped up. The only ongoing renovation is a washroom overhaul in Rainy River. He is pleased with the success of the projects and the hard work put in by all to finish them.
“Maintenance crews and custodians did a fabulous job,” he said, adding that not many holidays were taken over the summer to help accommodate the schedule.
He also announced the interest in expanding the painting and grass cutting summer employment next year to get more done and employ more students.
Other things that were covered at last night’s meeting were:
•a report on criminal background checks of RRDSB employees. To be compliant with provincial laws the school board had to have the background checks completed by the end of July. Now any that came back positive must be reviewed. According to Warren Hoshizaki, director of education for the board there were “a handful” of hits that must be reviewed before the staff will be allowed in the classroom.
•two presentations to highlight two programs that began last year and will continue in the upcoming school year. The first, called the “Grassroots Project,” is a national program designed to integrate and use information and communication technologies in the classroom. Six schools in the district participated in the program, with $9,900 being spent in the schools to purchase computers and other high-tech equipment such as digital cameras, scanners, printers and other hardware and software.
The second program receiving recognition tonight is the “Learning Through the Arts” program. Robert Moore School and North Star Community School in Atikokan joined forces with the Royal Conservatory of Music in this project designed to provide enhanced arts-infused curricular programs.
The program gave teachers access to local artists in five disciplines (drama, dance, language arts, music and visual art) allowing them to integrate the artists into their curriculum.
•reports from Terry Ellwood, superintendent of education on the success of the Summer School and Summer Institute programs. He stated the Summer Institute was well received by all teachers that attended.
•a report from the Transportation Committee outlining responses to correspondence received from Mike Nielsen on May 28. It rejected Nielsen’s suggestion that the transportation route for Rainy River High School be extended into Barwick for three students. The projected cost of the additional route would have been $7,800. The committee also decided to leave the transportation boundaries for Fort High alone for now, including bus service for 13 students outside the boundary as it was determined they are attending classes they can’t get in Rainy River.
•reports from the Occupational Health and Safety Committees in Atikokan and Fort Frances/Emo/Rainy River outlining a need across the district for more First Aid training. Quinn stated that the Atikokan committee had held one training course at the end of May that had 21 participants and that other training course are being considered in the near future.
At present there is one rural school that has no staff with certified training. By law, there are supposed to be an adequate number of certified staff at all times. The Fort Frances/Emo/Rainy River committee also reported that an air quality inspection is booked for Fort High and Rainy River High School in early December. Concerns about air quality in the staff men’s change room were expressed prompting the test.
Fort Frances Times
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