Jasper High School new scoreboard and gymnasium update
“Mr. Stenftenagel, 214 days until graduation. Are we gonna make it,” Bob Hacker, Assistant Superintendent of Jasper Consolidated School Corporation said to Clerk of the Works Scott Stenftenagel at Tuesday’s School Board meeting in regards to the gymnasium construction.
Stenftenagel assured the board the construction was on schedule and should be available for the 2013 graduation in May.
Stenftenagel’s daughter, Megan, is a senior member of the Wildcat Volleyball team and he jokingly stated she is pushing him to have the gym done in time for her graduation. (The Wildcats face Edgewood in a semistate semifinal matchup on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.)
The gym is scheduled to be under roof by the end of November allowing construction to continue even in inclement weather.
In addition to the update on the construction progress, the school board approved the purchase of an addition to the new scoreboard for the gym.
Mr. Hacker asked the board for approval to purchase the $34,000.00 message board for the bottom of the new scoreboard. The message center will display messages during games that include individual recognition for players and students.
Hacker stated JHS Athletic Director Andy Noblitt investigated the idea with other area schools that have similar message boards and determined the Athletic Department could pay the $34,000 back to the general fund through sponsorship for the space.
An aside: Mick Birge, member of D.C. Broadcasting, had a special request of the board at the end of the meeting Tuesday. He presented them with a copy of Bill Russell’s biography, “Go Up for Glory” that he checked out in April of 1976. He told the board his parents had held on to the book all of this time and he just happened to find it at their home recently.
The school board forgave Birge of any overdue fines that may have accrued and accepted the book to be returned to circulation.
$34,000 for a message board? That is way to much money. Who do you think you are Jasper? I’d use that money to make sure leaves don’t clog the drain on the new gym roof.
What else would they spend it on…education…pfffttttt. You can see what is important with local schools. I remember working on Apple IIE computers in high school, and 486Dx 2’s, quite a bit out of date, but, we had a brand new track made of ground up Nike shoes and new scoreboard!