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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us March 9, 2005 A barn's new life A birdhouse for the owl By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Dollar by dollar and board by board, they're raising the barn at Willow Wind Community Learning Center. The families who use the community learning center, which acts as the home-school support system for the Ashland School District, want to renovated the historic barn adjacent to the school's buildings. They hope to create a gathering place for the school, as well as facility that could be utilized by the Ashland community and the Klamath Bird Observatory, which shares a portion of the property with Willow Wind at 1497 E. Main St. School officials are hoping to renovate the historic barn at Willow Wind Community Learning Center. The barn, now home to an owl and storage for the school, is envisioned becoming a small auditorium that can also be used for indoor get-togethers and community events. Orville Hector | Ashland Daily Tidings Last June, the end-of-year celebration for students at Willow Wind was held at Lithia Park. Theater classes happen in half of a mobile classroom that was added to the school's main building to accommodate the growing student population. Any chance to let kids play or exercise happens on the playground or the asphalt pad in the center of the Willow Wind facilities. "We don't have a place to gather," said Judith Anne McBride, a teacher and administrator at the school. "Every time we have an event that brings the community together, we hope it doesn't rain." The barn at Willow Wind, McBride guessed, is about 100 years old. Right now, the school uses the fir structure for storage because the barn isn't sound enough for children to enter. It's not up to code and, for at least the last five years, an owl has made its home in the eves of the building, leaving white droppings everywhere inside the barn. Preliminary design plans show the old structure being upgraded and expanded to include a stage and back-stage area, floor seating and a mezzanine level. They hope to reuse a substantial portion of the old fir siding on the building and add a birdhouse to the front of the barn for the owl. Once completed, the barn would be able to seat about 200 people and available to rent for community meetings and musical performances. The school will also use the facility for Willow Wind classes, camps and maybe a summer art program. "We feel like this project is a resource for the city of Ashland because it would be an affordable rentable venue," McBride said. The design of the restored barn will be finalized by the end of March. Willow Wind will officially announce the capital campaign on May Day and launch the $300,000 effort in September. "We're just getting organized," McBride said, adding that the school has started fundraising for the project. A costume sale, bike-a-thon and small-change drive are on the docket, though the school will also collect community contributions and apply for grants. By June 2006, school officials hope to have the funds together and be able to raise the barn over the summer. "We see it as having a lot of potential," McBride said. "It'll be a benefit to everybody to be able to add that to what's available in the community." Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or [email protected] . DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams