The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Big Sandy High School's Covered Wagon got a facelift recently as the first foray into a larger renovation and beautification of the courtyard just north of the school. The upgrades will include direct facility upgrades like replacing damaged sidewalks, leveling a drop between the sidewalk and the north side of the building, as well as a some other landscaping efforts.

I visited with Dan Schrock, the school superintendent, while he painted a fresh layer of linseed oil to the exposed wood surfaces on the pioneer wagon. With Otto, his Labrador sidekick napping on the lawn nearby, he explained that the wagon wood requires regular applications of oil to preserve it. The oiling of the wood was a noticeable upgrade, leaving the Pioneer mascot looking beautiful. He explained his perspective on the value of the renovation efforts. "Well, it's a special thing, because we're getting ready to renovate this area for the benefit of all of us: staff, students, community members, parents on down the line. In light of that, this work needs to be done, and I can do it. I've always been a facility guy and a believer in putting pride and effort into what you do. And especially for the benefit of others. So I can do it. My hand fits a paintbrush same as anybody else's. So here I am." In the coming days, the area around the wagon will be raised up, so the wagon itself is sitting on a hill, rather than on pillars that raise it above the ground.

Regarding the work he was doing that evening, Dan explained that the wood slowly is "bled out from the sun and faded. So we're just trying to protect it and extend the life of it. This is going to be the centerpiece to this side of the school. Most folks come and go from this side. We're just trying to to instill pride in this area. Do what we can because we can." Encouraging students to take pride and ownership in their school and community is a topic that I have heard Dan speak on often over the times I have interacted with him.

Dan went on to describe the larger renovation project beyond the wagon's facelift. "We're going to put in a new fence. Then we're going to use some Esser funds to redo the concrete." The Esser funds are COVID relief funds designated for facility upgrades for schools. Big Sandy Schools has some of those funds left over that must be used for facility upgrades. "We have COVID funds that we're going to bring to bear to take care of this. The beauty of that is that we're not going to have to use taxes to make some improvements just in respect to the safety and well-being at the school. This is the main thoroughfare for people to come in. It's awfully unsafe. We're going to prove that and this is going to be an area where everybody can come and enjoy. It gets awfully hot in school at times. So it's nice to be able to come here and enjoy lunch." The space will also provide an outdoor area for students to spend time or for classes to move outdoors on nice days.

In addition to the improvements that will be taken care of with Esser Funds, the Chauvet family will be financially supporting some of the beautification and upgrade efforts. "They're financially supporting it. We're probably going to have to do it in two stages. The first stage is going to be the wagon, the irrigation, the concrete. The second stage is going to be leveling out the area directly on the north side of the school so it's not such a steep drop off. It's much safer for everyone. We're going to compact that soil, put a little weed barrier down, and put down three quarter wash rock. Then the Chauvet family is going to place some picnic tables along the north side of the school so that our kids can come out or take their lunch outside and enjoy it. We appreciate what the Chauvet family has done." The addition of picnic tables and upgrading of the area is particularly important in light of the changes to school lunch brought about by COVID concerns. When students returned to in-person schooling, the policy of serving lunch to all grades at the Elementary school was ended. Instead, kitchen staff began transporting the meal and everything needed to serve it to the High School every day. The change has proven advantageous in many ways and will likely remain for the long term. This raises the need to enlarge the eating area. Though some of that has happened with the conversion of part of the gym space into an eating area, the addition of picnic tables in the courtyard will further expands students' options for where to eat and spend their time.

As the improvement projects launch, the Mountaineer will continue to bring you updates.