Hello Hoopeston Area Families,
As August approaches, we are progressing through our construction projects to be prepared for the beginning of school. The cafeteria expansion is starting to resemble a building with the block walls going up. The contractor anticipates the block walls should be completed by July 25. Trusses will be the next to go up once the walls are completed with the brick veneer to follow. The storm sewer drain work is scheduled to begin this week. Access to the HAMS/HAHS parking lot exit will be limited due to the replacing of the drain line. Safety cones and markers will mark the area and steel plates will cover any open trench.
The work inside is progressing to prepare for the air handlers to be installed on the roof. Ceiling grid is up in most every classroom. Once the ductwork is installed above the ceiling, ceiling tile and lights will be installed. The contractor has informed us that the air handling units have been delayed from the factory and are not scheduled to arrive until the second week of September. We are working on a method that will enable us to use the existing air handling units to temporarily provide air conditioning for classrooms in the middle school until the new units arrive and are installed.
With the construction project taking place we had to move the bricks that lined the entrance to the gymnasium. We are planning on relocating those bricks along the new sidewalk in front of the band room. This would make the bricks viewable while entering or leaving the gymnasium. We would like to relocate the letters identifying Hoopeston Area and the surrounding communities to the north wall of the Auditorium. This would require the large tree in front of the school to be removed to be able to view the letters once on the wall. We are planning to replace the tree with a more manageable size tree near the same location or in the front yard of the HAHS.
The athletic complex improvements are nearing completion for the summer. A sidewalk has been installed from the driveway to the bleachers with more improvements to come in the future. The baseball and softball dugouts have been scraped and cleaned and a fresh coat of paint applied. I will share further information with you as it is received.
