The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

October 13, 2010

Marsh Fork school land purchase is finalized

By Sarah Plummer Register-Herald Reporter

The Raleigh County Board of Education said Tuesday it had finalized a land purchase that will become the site of the new Marsh Fork Elementary school in two years.

Board resident Richard Snuffer called it a “big step in getting the design and construction under way. We are glad that we were able to find suitable land that met our criteria; we wanted to find a location near the highway, above the floodplain and away from mining locations and coal processing plants.”

According to Snuffer, the land at Rock Creek was purchased for $80,000 from a member of the Cantley family. “The Cantleys have a long history in the community and have expressed how happy they are to be able to preserve the family’s legacy and home place with the new school.”

The new school site will be about 3 east of the current location on W.Va. 3. “Finding a new spot near the current school will keep the school in the community,” he noted.

The school board will continue meeting with the contracted architectural firm, Williamson Shriver Gandee Architects of Charleston.

“Right now the architects are working around what logistics we need, like square feet and the number of classrooms. Once they have a tentative design, they will meet with the board members for further input,” Snuffer explained.

The school is funded in part by a grant from the Annenberg Foundation. The board looks forward to making the new school as energy efficient as possible and the grant will allow the “green” architecture. Snuffer indicated the board desires to and plans on “investing in green choices that may cost a little extra now, but will pay for themselves over time and be sustainable.”

Board member Larry Ford said “the board is very proud that we are able to make this happen for the community and for the students.”

- - -

Raleigh County schools and schools across the state ranked high among schools in the nation for promoting healthy eating and physical education.

Three Raleigh County schools received national recognition by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Amy File, relationship manager for the alliance, said only 179 schools were recognized in the country. Of those, seven were in West Virginia. Schools were awarded gold, silver and bronze awards, she said, and two of 30 schools in the nation to receive silver were in Raleigh County.

Bradley Elementary was honored with a bronze Healthy School Award and Sophia-Soak Creek Elementary was one of the 30 schools nationwide to receive the silver Healthy School Award.

In addition to being recognized with the second silver Healthy School Award, Crescent Elementary was additionally honored as one of only 10 Healthy School Champions in the nation.

Ford mentioned attending a wellness committee meeting earlier in the day and the many resources that are available to locals schools to help them take wellness to the next level, including the YMCA and the WVU Extension Service. “Ann Sammon, the school nurse coordinator, and I plan on doing our very best to give the information we have collected on these resources to each school. We can always do more to keep students healthy.”

— E-mail: splummer@register-herald.com

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