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Eagle Point junior high gets fixup By VICKI GUARINO EAGLE POINT -- Crews have been ripping and hammering all around the junior high school this summer, but some shortcomings in the aging building won't be fixed despite those efforts. Ultimately, says Principal Dennis Quiring, the age 50-something school -- a portion of it a hand-me-down from Camp White -- will need to be replaced. "It has served the district well, but it is worn out," Quiring says. Until the community can come up with a building plan, and financing to go with it, the district this summer is giving the 610-student school its biggest overhaul in years. Projects are totaling more than $100,000. In authorizing the expenses last spring, school board members agreed that the efforts would be a Band-aid to keep the building serviceable for three to five years. Funds are part of a one-time $1.1 million state bond fund grant, backed by lottery proceeds and approved by voters. All school districts are receiving a share of the bond, allotted by enrollment. Major projects at the junior high include new flooring, a new boiler to replace a diesel heater that caught on fire last winter, a renovated cafeteria kitchen and exterior paint. Contractors have also been tracking down and patching leaking areas of the roof. Aging asbestos floor tile has been pulled up, and carpeting is going down throughout the building. Removal of all the old tile has been a painstaking process. Workers had to seal off work areas for dust hazard. When asbestos breaks apart, small pieces readily become airborne and cause lung damage. Asbestos remains in the walls and ceilings of the building, but is sealed and is not a health risk, inspectors have said. The district also is remodeling the junior high kitchen so the school can prepare its own meals this fall. Meals had been brought over from the high school; less efficient than a nearby kitchen, says Quiring. All of the work sidesteps the junior high's greatest deficiency: the gym. The building, with an arched ceiling of honeycombed wood rafters, came from what is now the Veterans Affairs Domiciliary in White City. It was part of the Camp White training center, shut down after World War II. Engineers have said the old rafters couldn't support heavy weight or high wind. The district must evacuate the gym building when snowfall exceeds 4 inches or winds exceed 40 miles per hour. Wind gusts have never reached that point, but snow depths have caused problems. "I had to evacuate the gym two times this year," Quiring says. Fixing the gym would be too expensive, especially in light of other building problems. The junior high has limited electrical capacity, so installation of new computers requires costly new wiring. A community group is expected to consider new school buildings meetings in September. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA