The clock is ticking down on the first of two milestones for the new North Murray High School as crews ready a football field for its first home opener on Aug. 27.
“It’s going exceptionally well, we think. It’s extremely busy and the deadline is fast approaching,” said Murray Schools Finance Director Steve Loughridge, who is overseeing the project.
The Mountaineers take on the Heritage High School Generals from Catoosa County to kick off the 2010-11 season.
Mr. Loughridge said concrete piers are in place and ready for the bleachers when they arrive.
“The minute they come, they’ll start putting them up,” he said.
Athletic director Josh Lowe said he’s watching the weather. “We have contingency plans in place to use some of the same fields that we used last year when we were having to share facilities,” Mr. Lowe said.
North Murray has been temporarily housed in an old building beside the existing Murray County High School on Green Road. The teams can play at that school’s field while the Indians are away.
“We don’t have any schedule conflicts (with Murray High) until we both have home games on Sept. 10,” he said.
CLASS NOTESName: North Murray High SchoolPrincipal: Dr. Maria BradleyNumber of students: 750 (fall 2010 estimate)Address: 2568 Mt. Carmel Church Road, Chatsworth, Ga.Project cost: $33.4 million (excluding athletic facilities)Funding sources: $23.6 million special purpose local option sales tax collections; $9.8 million Georgia Department of Education; all funds are earmarked under the state law for construction.Source: Murray County SchoolsSOMETHING DIFFERENTMurray Schools officials say that, unlike most schools that face the road, North Murray faces toward Fort Mountain and Grassy Mountain to take advantage of the panoramic view.’THE WOOD SHED’While the football field and stadium have not been named, the new school’s gymnasium has been dubbed “The Wood Shed.” Students, school officials and the community will get to weigh in on the stadium name.
Meanwhile, the academic part of the building is nearing a long-anticipated finish, officials said.
“I’m really looking forward to it (opening) and I know our whole community is looking forward to it as well,” principal Maria Bradley said. “This past year was such a special year. Everything we did was ‘for the first time.’
“Moving into a new building is going to feel like we’re opening a brand-new school all over again just because now we have a place we can call our home. Our home, not somebody else’s that’s borrowed,” she said. “We have felt like we’ve been in a borrowed building, using borrowed sports facilities and fine arts facilities.”
She said her favorite classroom areas go with two new vocational programs – culinary arts and cosmetology.
“The culinary arts classroom is particularly a very unique classroom,” she said. “It looks like a real industrial kitchen with deep fryers, industrial-size freezer and refrigerator, stainless steel tables.”
The cosmetology classroom “is a powder blue room that I picked out myself, so I hope everybody likes it,” she laughed. “It’s on the second level and the whole side of the classroom is just filled with windows.”
Mr. Loughridge said he expects the vocational wing to be completed and turned over to the school system in a couple of weeks.
“Sept. 7 will be the first day of school and we anticipate having everything ready,” he said.
Officials said one major early challenge for parents, students and school staff will be learning how traffic will flow at arrival and dismissal times.
Traffic patterns “will be one thing we’ll have to get everybody acclimated to,” Dr. Bradley said.
Online: Hear Steve Loughridge talk about how the school system and county joined forces on the new North Murray High School.