Report on Jackson County School Board Meetings regarding Kenna Elementary

July 7th-Supt. Hess reported it would take twelve months of planning for the proposed Kenna School, followed by 16-18 months allowed for the actual construction.
July 21st-Approved grant funds in the amount of $8,738,038 received from the WV School Building Authority for construction of a new Kenna Elementary. The balance is to come from local funds-part of the funds are to be diverted from the Dodge property-that project seems to be on hold.
August 4th-Supt. Hess reported he and others had toured some recently built and under construction schools in the state.
August 11th-Supt. Hess reported interviewing architectural firms was in progress. It had been narrowed down to four firms from ten expressing interest.
August 18th-Board approved contract with ZMM Architects and Engineering Services to provide design services for the construction of a new Kenna Elementary. ZMM designed the recent addition to Evans Elementary.
September 1st-Supt. Hess reported ZMM Architects met with staff from Kenna Elementary. They viewed slides of their work, discussed square footage requirements, technology and energy efficiency. Discussed orientation of the building on the site. Staff is to tour some other new schools.

Traffic Issues at Kenna Ridge site

In light of recent issues in Cabell County at Milton Middle School, http://www.herald-dispatch.com/life/schools/x982387433/Flashing-light-to-be-turned-on-at-Milton-Middle-School , we hope that someone will look at the traffic situation at the Kenna Ridge site.  It is a madhouse up there.  You have people turning into the Exxon, getting on and off the interstate, coming out of side roads, and accessing the park and ride.  When you take that into account, along with the traffic coming over the top of the hill,  a person has to wonder what kind of safety issues and problems will occur when the school is put into the Industrial Park.  Also, are the industrial businesses up there going to interrupt their flow of business and have their semis and heavy haulers make deliveries after hours?  Or are our kids  going to have that additional hazard while loading and unloading the school buses? We're also wondering how school buses are going to make the turn in and out of the road.  Will road widening occur?  If so, who will pay for it? 

School Board Meeting tonight - August 18, 2011

Tonight the school board will be approving the architect for the new school.  Come out and join us at 7 p.m. at the Board Office in Ripley.

Route 21 site has been a safe site for almost 70 years

The Kenna Ridge Industrial Park was purchased in late 2004.  At that time, it was an undeveloped mountain.   The deed for the proposed school site was not signed until 2007 after the property was leveled to an acceptable standard set by the School Board.  Reason tells us that anytime you move huge amounts of dirt and trees, the land has to have time to settle.  The proposed Kenna Ridge site will be sitting partially on rock but also a lot of fill.  If a person walks to the back of the site, they can see a huge slip from all of the excavation.  There is also a slip on the front side near Dudden but it is less noticeable due to the grass.  It makes one wonder what sort of problems the site is going to experience when even more dirt is moved around once construction begins.  How many MORE slips will occur?  How will the current slip (especially the one in the rear of the property) be stopped or repaired?

The current school has sat on Rt. 21 for 69 years. Although many changes have occurred over the year such as additions, there has been a school at this site since 1942. Opponents will tell you it is a flood zone and the school has been flooded before.  That is not totally true.  The school is NOT in the flood plain and the water issues were caused by lack of maintenance.  The creek was never kept cleaned out and the parking lot has an antiquated drainage system.  Actually, the whole school does.  Adding rooms without updating the drainage system is asking for trouble. 

According to the approved 2009 conceptual design, a new school would be 10 feet HIGHER than the current school.  So, the water issue would become a non-issue. The new school would be built beside the current school building on land that is stable and not prone to slips.  Greene's Farm is rolling hills and pastureland, not a sliced off mountain.  Which is the better option?

GPASS Philosophy

First and foremost, we KNOW we need a new school!  We WANT a new school!  Our kids and grandchildren deserve the very best and being on the outskirts of the county, a new school has the potential to become the PRIDE of Kenna.  We have one of the oldest schools in the county.  However, we want a SAFE school.  We want a school that fits in with our way of life.  What do we mean?  Well, if we lived in the city and real estate was limited and the only place to build a school would be in an industrial like setting, then we might have a different perspective. 

However, that's not the case.  Kenna is rural.  The current Kenna Elementary site has adjacent property available for about $250,000 LESS than what was paid for the Kenna Ridge Industrial Park site.  The adjacent land is farm land - rolling hills and green grass!!  (I know this is a small thing but green grass isn't even growing on the Kenna Ridge site - it is rough scrabbly weeds. Just sayin)  The playground will be on solid land instead of fill. 

Some may say the SBA only approved Kenna Ridge.  Not true - the current site was approved as well. 

So, while the money has been awarded from the SBA, we still believe that the same safety concerns mentioned in the other blog posts still exist and have not been addressed.  Until these concerns are addressed, we will be working as hard as we can to bring these issues to light and rectify them.  We hope to bring them to the forefront in our community and with our elected officials. 

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead

G = Grandparents of the current and future students and
P = Parents of the current and future students at Kenna Elementary
A = Advocating for a
S = Safe
S = School

Is an emergency exit road really needed??? Umm Yeah!

If you read the previous post and are saying "they are just exaggerating," then keep reading.  We don't think we are exaggerating.  In fact, we've seen the road blocked for about 7 hours because a semi spilled it's load.

On January 3, 2007, a load of wood trusses slid off a truck about 10:30 a.m. and blocked the road.

A huge crane had to be brought in to re-load the trusses.

No vehicles could get in or out of the Park.

The road was finally cleared about 5:00 that evening.

So, maybe not an explosion or a fire or a chemical incident, but certainly a long day for some little kids stuck at their school.  Don't our kids deserve better?  Even if a semi spilled it's load at the current school, there are 2 exits onto Route 21 and the kids could get out.

Dead End Woes and Walking Trail Issues

Probably the biggest safety concern of all about the Kenna Ridge Industrial Park is the fact that it is a dead end street.  The reason that this is such a BIG deal is that in the event of an emergency, the kids could be in an entrapment situation.  Because the school will be located between two industrial businesses (Metal/Wood Concepts and White Pine Milling) and the close proximity of M&M Drilling, we have been asking a lot of questions about where this road is going to be and how much it is going to cost.  Needless to say, none of those questions have been answered.  We've asked these questions in the press http://www.dailymail.com/News/201107100934 and thru e-mails to Superintendent Blaine Hess.  We've also addressed the School Board during school meetings.  No response except for Jackson County Development Authority Director Mark Whitley agreeing that there needs to be an emergency exit.  Thanks for agreeing!

However, folks need to drive up to the site.  A road out of Kenna Ridge Industrial Park is going to cost MAJOR bucks.  There is slip on the front side where Dudden Fork is located and a major slip on the backside of the mountain where it would come out to Fisher's Ridge.  Additional property would probably have to be purchased from adjacent landowners.  But we don't know because no one wants to talk about it!!

What we DO know is that there has been snippets of conversation at Board meetings that allude to a walking trail. SERIOUSLY???  Where would the little kids walk to?  Over the steep mountain on either side of the property?  Behind Metal/Wood Concepts up to the Church adjacent to the property?

Ding Ding Ding - sounds like that is what they might be discussing.  Well, that's a great idea as long as the emergency isn't at Metal/Wood Concepts!!!!  If there is an emergency situation like a fire or spill, guess our little tikes are out of luck!  And even if the emergency happens to be out on the road and not happening at Metal/Wood Concepts hope your child doesn't have a disability or even a broken leg or sprained ankle that day!  It's at least .3 miles from the school site to the church and probabl closer to .5 miles.  Long walk if your kid isn't fully mobile.

And then let's take a moment to consider if there is an emergency and a parent wants to reach their child. How are they going to get to their kid?  The church parking lot is pretty small and that parent better be pretty mobile too.  Maybe the neighbors on Dudden or Fisher Ridge can get up there with 4 wheelers....  Hmmm...  Sounds like it could get pretty chaotic pretty quick...