By Dennis Brown

Students returning to Tollesboro Elementary School will notice some changes when classes get underway August 6. Parents and community members will have an opportunity to preview those changes when the school has an open house on August 4.

The third phase of the five year project is set for completion in September although students will be realizing the advantages from the first day from looking out through new replacement windows to standing in the lunch line in the new cafeteria.

Superintendent Maurice Reeder Jr., who has overseen the project since it was begun in 2005, said the facility is something the entire community can be proud of and something the students will appreciate.

While much of the focus has been on the addition, Nick Adams, Director of District Services, said what is not new has seen major improvements.

Adams said new additions include a new library, preschool rooms, new cafeteria, new kitchen, science room, administrative offices, new nurses stations, new Family Resource Center and a new gym layout. 

Adams added that some of the renovations include a new computer lab, new hallway leading to the gym and cafeteria, and greatly improved restroom facilities.  

“The outside renovations are obvious when you see the new parking area and concrete around to the kitchen,” Adams

 said, adding that lighting throughout the building has also been greatly improved. 

He explained that Phase I, which included some of the previously mentioned renovations, also allowed for the creation of a media center, plus a new art room and new special needs room (FMD) room. The project was bid at $1.7 million.  

Phase II, Adams said, also included renovations of offices and classrooms, plus new floor tile in the 1988 corridor and door replacements. That phase of the project was bid at $1.2 million. 

Phase III has included the renovation of kitchen and cafeteria into new classrooms and the construction of new cafeteria and kitchen, Adams said.

Adams said the new windows and new restroom fixtures added a final special touch. Phase III bids came in at $2.3 million.  

The renovations brought a 31,338 sq. ft. original building to a newly remodeled Tollesboro Elementary that has 46,300 square feet of floor space.

Tim Douglas, Principal at Tollesboro Elementary, has led the frontline of organizing school activities around construction activities, Adams said.  

Douglas said community members who have toured the building so far have been very impressed and pleased.

Douglas extends an open invitation to the community to come and see the “new and improved” Tollesboro Elementary on August 4th between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. during their open house.

The Vanceburg Electric Plant Board met in regular session and learned from Superintendent Eric Bloomfield of some challenges the utility company will be facing over the next couple of years.

Bloomfield listed some projects the utility company will be getting underway and the costs associated with those projects.

Bloomfield said the utility company has been mandated by a consent judgment to make updates to Vanceburg’s sewer system which includes separating the storm sewer system from the sanitary sewer system and updating the overflows.

He said the total projected cost will be about $5 million and with only around 800 sewer customers, the cost to self-finance the project would create a significant rate increase for those customers.

Bloomfield said the utility company needs the city’s assistance in applying for funding for the project. He urged plant board members to contact members of the city council and ask for help by the city applying for a Community Development Block Grant or Federal Stimulus Funding.

He said the utility company is continuing to apply for all grant monies available and said that some money had earlier been awarded to Vanceburg Utilities but was placed, by the state, in the wrong project. He said that while trying to get the funding properly routed, he has learned that the state had over-allocated funds and was no longer willing to correct the clerical error.

Bloomfield also mentioned the utility company is paying about $51,000 per month on a “true-up” for purchased electricity from 2008 along with other cost hikes in all departments that had not been seen beforehand.

Bloomfield also mentioned routine audits the utility company will be undergoing by the Public Service Commission, insurance and Kentucky Department of Revenue.

In other business, board members approved a request by the Black Oak Volunteer Fire Department to extend a six inch water line by about 600 feet to allow for two fire hydrants to be installed at Indian Hills Subdivision in Black Oak.

Bloomfield said the work can be done in-house and part of the cost will be paid by the fire department. Estimated cost for the project is about $10,000 and will allow for a better insurance rating and, in turn, lower premiums for residents in that area.

Members also agreed to reimburse a resident of Little Sulfur $1,196 for the cost of 2,600 feet of two inch water line the resident had installed. Bloomfield said two nearby residents want to tap-on to the line and the cost of purchasing the line will be recouped in a short time. The approval is pending the procurement of necessary easements from property owners.

Bloomfield told board members he had talked with Mayor Angie Patton concerning the use of gas and diesel fuel. He said city employees and the Vanceburg Fire Department are able to get fuel for city owned vehicles from the pump located at the utility office. He said tickets, which should be filled out each time someone gets fuel, don’t always get submitted causing some discrepancies.

He said nearly 1,400 gallons of fuel are unaccounted for over the past five months. He was given approval to ask the city for half the cost of that fuel and said he had recommended the city look into fuel cards or getting their own fuel pump for use with city vehicles and fire trucks.