Parkersburg South looks at closed campus this fall
Officials: Work progressing wellBy MICHAEL ERB, merb@newsandsentinel.com
PARKERSBURG - Work is on-track at Parkersburg South High School's new cafeteria, which means students will be dining-in this fall.
Parkersburg South's cafeteria is in the middle of a huge remodeling project, updating the kitchen and serving areas and creating more space for students.
Principal Tom Eschbacher said when finished, the cafeteria will seat 750-800 students and will allow the school to serve all of the students in two lunch periods.
"The plan is to have it done by the first of August," Eschbacher said about the dining area.
"The kitchen might be done about two weeks after that," Eschbacher said.
Lawrence Hasbargen, assistant superintendent of facilities, said the basic design of South's cafeteria is the same as the ones at Parkersburg High and Williamstown High schools, with multiple serving areas and choices of food. There also is an adjacent courtyard that will be available for students as well.
"It will be a really nice area where the kids can go outside and eat," Hasbargen said.
South will be the last of Wood County's public high schools to close its campus. Parkersburg High School went to a closed campus last year and Williamstown High has maintained a closed campus for all grades since 2006.
"They'll be dining-in," said Superintendent Bill Niday. "That's a good way to put it."
The South cafeteria is part of the final phase of Wood County Schools' district wide construction project, which began in 2004 with the passage of a $35 million local bond issue. The state School Building Authority provided another $15 million in funding to begin the project.
Since then construction has swelled to more than $63 million, mostly, officials say, due to increases in the cost of materials and fuel. Work at Williamstown High is for the most part completed, while work is expected to be finished at both Parkersburg High and Parkersburg South this fall.
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LibertyorDeath
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07-01-08 10:48 PM
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Yes, I also have mixed feelings about the closed campus. What a restiction of freedom. If I were still in school I would feel as if I were stepping back into junior high. I know that it is easier to manage kids this way but also look at the businesses that will loose all of those customers. Not to mention how much more money it will cost to feed everyone. But maybe I'm wrong.
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TheMega
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07-01-08 10:12 PM
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When I was in Jr High at Washington.. like all the other Jr High schools, it was closed campus for lunch. But, I still enjoyed the hot dogs, chips and root beer over off of 7th street on a very regular basis. Never returned late, and never got caught. Good luck to them keeping ALL the students on campus.
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KenJudy
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07-01-08 2:39 PM
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From what I have heard Pizza Place on Northend has done more business at lunch with the campus being closed. I do on the other hand think it is a shame that we have closed the lunch for the students. They have been attending school for at least 10 years before getting to South and with that they had the ability to leave for lunch and now we have taken that away from them. They should at least have the time to leave and eat. But all good things must come to an end.
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wildbill
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07-01-08 2:26 PM
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Well, Rax might as well plan on closing. Can't imagine they survive a closed lunch at PSHS.
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