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PARKERSBURG – Plans to name the Erickson bleachers in memory of the late Parkersburg South High School Principal Thomas Eschbacher were discussed during Tuesday’s meeting of the Wood County Board of Education.
In other news, the board voted unanimously to approve the installation of new windows for Waverly Elementary School this summer, with the Waverly Window Fund providing the cost of the windows. Wood County Schools maintenance department would provide the asbestos abatement for the windows and the asbestos-containing putty holding them in place.
Despite rumors on social media, no decisions have been made by the school board’s calendar committee as to whether the school year should be extended, school officials said. Any such decisions would have to be approved after a series of public hearings, officials said.
On the bleacher issue, he Erickson Committee requested some months ago that it be given permission under Wood County Policy 1340 to rename the bleachers after Eschbacher, who passed away last summer, said Richard Bush, president of the Erickson Committee.
The board of education ordered that the matter be placed on the agenda for the March 24 board meeting. The decision on whether to name the bleachers after Eschbacher is the responsibility of the Wood County Board of Education, according to standard policy, said Board President John Marlow Tuesday night.
Public comments taken throughout the month brought in 19 comments, all of which were in favor of renaming the bleachers in Eschbacher’s memory. Sixteen of those comments urged the waiving of the policy clause, which requires the naming of any sports facility in Wood County to wait until two years after the person no longer worked for the county school system, Bush said.
The plans for Tri-C Football to take place at Blennerhassett Middle School this year were presented to the board by Clint Spencer of Blennerhassett Middle School and Shannon Watson with the Tri-C organization
The partnership would permit use of the Blennerhassett Middle School facilities by the Tri-C organization, which was displaced when its land was purchased by a company late in 2014, Spencer said.
Tri-C has been speaking about providing lights, bleachers, parking spaces, a press box and other options which would improve the Blennerhassett field, Spencer said.
Many of the elementary and middle schools in Wood County have teams which play at the Tri-C fields, said Watson. The items the group is offering to be installed at Blennerhassett came with Tri-C when the group relocated, and are in storage.
Concerns were voiced by the board of education about whether the items brought by Tri-C would belong to the Tri-C group or the board of education.
Watson stated that Tri-C would be willing to leave the items it installs behind when it leaves, or willing to take them and restore the grounds to their original state, whichever the board of education would prefer. The board voted unanimously, pending agreement of attorneys and contracts for all involved, to permit Tri-C Football to hold its games at Blennerhassett Middle School for the fall of 2015. The installation of Tri-C equipment at the field was not included in this vote.