I hope everyone is having a wonderful week! With the start of school, we’ve been busy in USD 105. This is our 4th week of school and it is exciting to see students and staff in our classrooms. Fall activities are in full swing, with Girl’s Golf, Volleyball, and Football.
Two weeks ago, the district gained approval from the Kansas State Fire Marshal to allow use of the gym on the junior-senior high school campus. After cleaning the gym, practices were able to take place starting last week and we used the concession stand in the Commons for the football games on Thursday and Friday. Naturally, we have received questions regarding using the gym to hold competitions. While the gym is in good condition, we are limited in other available space, mainly the locker rooms. The goal of the summer electrical work was to get the gym back in use for practice. No work has taken place to reconnect the locker rooms to plumbing. The sewer lines are still in place, but that will be for a short period of time until construction for the new building is started as the current sewer line runs through the middle of what will be the new school. At this time, there is a barrier to the both High School Locker Rooms. We also had to close the Boys Junior High Locker Room to meet a fire code requirement. There is a possibility of using classrooms for locker rooms, but one of the classrooms cannot be used as it is the location of the temporary electrical panel. Restroom space is also an issue as the only available toilets are those in the Commons Restrooms.
While there are challenges to hosting competitions in our gym, we are working to address those issues while keeping in mind the construction that will be starting late this fall and continue for at least another school year. As I stated in a previous message to the newspaper, we will have limited egress once construction begins on both sides of the gym. At this point, the plan is to demo the Commons after the winter sports season, more than likely in March or April. Fortunately, our neighboring communities have stepped up to help our district navigate through our situation. The Colby Events Center and other facilities in surrounding communities have provided excellent facilities for our students to participate in their activities.
Go Buffalos!!