Renovation

One of the oldest buildings in the school district is scheduled for a face-lift. Nicholasville Elementary School will undergo a comprehensive renovation to update and modernize the building that was first constructed in 1943. The Jessamine County Board of Education approved the project Monday night and has retained architectural firm Tate Hill Jacobs to oversee the work, which is estimated to cost about $8.5 million. The building saw additions in 1950 and 1987, according to district records, with the secure vestibule at the front of the building added in 2009.

The Jessamine County Board of Education approved the schematic design for a comprehensive renovation of Nicholasville Elementary School on Monday while stressing the importance of communication with the residents that surround the school. Work on the building initially constructed in 1943 is planned to begin in the summer of 2012 and be completed a year later in time for the start of school in fall 2013. Fourth- and fifth-graders will stay in the building next year, moving around to accommodate the renovation.

When David Weistroffer parked a big red RV in front of the home of David and Amy Scalf on Sunday afternoon, a crowd of friends and neighbors was anxiously waiting. After four days of work, the group was ready to welcome them  home. “We’ve had no sleep since Thursday,” laughed volunteer Kristy Rainey. Thanks to the efforts of approximately 25 volunteers, the Scalf family came home to a completely renovated house in the Westmeade neighborhood. New paint, new furniture, new bedding, and even two brand new bedrooms for the two oldest children, Sophie and Aiden, awaited the family when they stepped off the RV. The project was conceived only two weeks ago when Darren Diguette, director of Clark County Association for Citizens with Handicaps, pitched an idea to friend and construction worker David Weistroffer.

Two potential agenda items to discuss the renovation of George Rogers Clark High School and Clark County Middle School were tabled by a 3-2 vote by the Clark County Board of Education Tuesday night. The items, which would have set the renovation amounts for turning GRC into a middle school and Clark Middle into an elementary school, were removed from the agenda for discussion early in the meeting. Judy Hicks moved to accept the agenda with the two items. Beth Griffith supplied a second to the motion, but Michael Kuduk, Michael McGowan and Ashley Ritchie voted against the measure.

By JENNIFER BRUMMETT jenb@amnews.com HARRODSBURG - For the first time since early in the 20th century, Fort Harrod here has gotten a much-needed facelift. The project was done in phases and took close to a year to complete. A crew from the Department of Parks did the work. "Our desire was to restore the fort as close to the original 1774 design as possible,"said park manager Joan Huffman. "The primary focus of this project was structural repairs of all cabins and the stockade walls.

Walk into the ornate, 1,500-person-capacity sanctuary at the Wilmore United Methodist Church and it becomes hard to remember that before the breathtaking structure was ever built, there was an equally admired building that paved the way. Clark Chapel went out of everyday use in 1964 when the new chapel was built, but its intimate setting is still sought after for weddings, funerals and other events. As old buildings tend to do ? it was dedicated May 11, 1913 ? Clark Chapel fell on rough times including extensive water damage and is in need of repair and renovation.

The Jessamine County Board of Education took some guesswork out of the estimate for Nicholasville Elementary's renovation, and the result was a price tag more than $1 million higher than originally thought. The board approved the schematic design, called the BG-1, for a comprehensive renovation of the school in December with an estimated cost of $8.5 million. Architect Margie Jacobs of Tate Hill Jacobs told board members Monday when she presented the design-development documents that the project would come in closer to $9.7 million.

Centre College’s recent National Science Foundation grant of more than $1 million is expected to make a large and visible impact on campus in the areas of science and research. The grant, which is worth a total of $1,080,892, will be used to renovate an older section of Young Hall, one of the College’s science facilities. Young recently underwent a $20 million expansion. The renovation will create a synthetic chemistry research lab shared between two faculty members and six to eight students; several psychology research spaces shared among three faculty members and eight to 12 students; and a divisional collaborative research area shared among 12 to 15 students, Associate Dean Keith Dunn said.

Dear Editor: Recently, two adjacent property owners to our National College campus have written to express concerns with the proposed renovation of our institution on Lexington Avenue. We value our relationships in the Danville and Boyle County community and are surprised at our good neighbors' unwarranted attacks on a fellow community member. National College of Business & Technology is an important component of central Kentucky's educational landscape. The training we have provided at our Danville campus since 1975 and to Kentuckians since 1886 has enabled thousands of men and women to attain the critical job skills necessary for productive lives as good citizens.

Roberts Chapel United Methodist Church, has been undergoing a facelift over the past year and a half and has regained some the luster it had when it was built in 1841. Like many other buildings, time had taken a toll on it, and it was in need of some improvements. The congregation decided in the fall 2007 to begin an extensive renovation project to restore the church to its previous state. Since that time, many things have been completed such as new cushions added to the sanctuary pews and the installation of stained glass windows, which only enhanced the beauty of the already beautiful old church, and the entire building was repainted.

Warner Elementary School will soon undergo a substantial face lift, the last major school-construction project for Jessamine County in a string that began with a new middle school four and a half years ago. Two architectural firms made presentations to the Jessamine County Board of Education at its monthly work session Monday night, both vying to be chosen for the renovation project at the board's regular meeting April 22. The string of recent...

The baseball and softball fields at Asbury University are getting a face lift thanks to an anonymous donation in honor of a man who played baseball for the institution 65 years ago before Asbury even knew it had a team. The $1.5 million gift was announced Monday night at an Asbury baseball game at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington. The four-phase project will add lighting to both fields along with new stadium features, an indoor batting facility and new concession stand, locker rooms and press box. The work will begin May 1 and is expected to be complete by Dec. 1, in time for next season.

Two potential agenda items to discuss the renovation of George Rogers Clark High School and Clark County Middle School were tabled by a 3-2 vote by the Clark County Board of Education Tuesday night. The items, which would have set the renovation amounts for turning GRC into a middle school and Clark Middle into an elementary school, were removed from the agenda for discussion early in the meeting. Judy Hicks moved to accept the agenda with the two items. Beth Griffith supplied a second to the motion, but Michael Kuduk, Michael McGowan and Ashley Ritchie voted against the measure.

Feb. 15, 1988 “Mexico” was the topic of a mini lesson given for members of the Fairfield Homemakers Club when they met at Bud's Beef'n More. George Rogers Clark Lady Cardinals whipped Maysville St. Patrick 60-31. The win moved the seventh-ranked Lady Cards' record to 19-3 on the season. Winchester-Clark County Parks and Recreation Board has decided it will concentrate initial renovation efforts at the College Park Gym on developing a teen center in the gym's basement.

LANCASTER - Garrard Fiscal Court faces more concerns in the process of renovating all the county offices. Based on preliminary facts, renovating just the building where County Attorney Mark Metcalf is expecting to relocate will cost more than $100,000.  “We need to work through that issue,” Garrard County Judge-Executive John Wilson said at Wednesday's Fiscal Court meeting.  Currently, Metcalf's offices are in a rented space, located on...

Nicholasville's Erik Seitz has the lofty goal of becoming an Eagle Scout, and like many candidates, he has to complete a service project. Seitz, a history aficionado, said he wanted to do his service project centered around the Camp Nelson Heritage Park but said nothing was immediately coming to mind. That all ended last September after a trip to last year's Civil War Days at Camp Nelson. “They had a service in front of the (Perry) House, and me and my grandfather were standing there, and when we turned around, we saw that the paint was starting to fall off,” Seitz said.

After a week of school, Nicholasville Elementary leaders say the split of sending primary students off-site and keeping intermediate students in-house during a renovation has gone well without any major problems. The main school building at 414 W. Maple St. in Nicholasville was first constructed in 1943. Students in first, second and third grades are attending school in the “primary center” off Wilmore Road while a comprehensive renovation is completed this year. Assistant principal Sara Crum is in charge at the primary center, which is in the easternmost portion of the Jessamine Early Learning Village building.

LANCASTER - Garrard Fiscal Court took major steps Monday toward renovating the courthouse in downtown Lancaster. Magistrates unanimously approved three renovation projects for the courthouse and the court annex. The first renovation would allow the property tax department to relocate to the former district court offices in the annex and should cost no more than $35,000. “They are completely out of space in that department and really do not have enough room for citizens and employees, let alone their records,” Garrard Judge-Executive John Wilson said after the meeting.

Major renovations are ongoing at Arnold Tower in Danville following a fatal fall last year by a resident whose estate is suing the Housing Authority of Danville. Much of the work has been visible from the outside of the six-story building, as workers have spent weeks removing and starting to rebuild outdoor balconies. The project, though, also includes installing new railings on the stairwell of the building where Lois Cox, 92, died in 2011.  Ephraim Helton, the attorney representing Cox's estate, said she was outside her apartment on Jan. 3, 2011, when she somehow went through an opening in the railing and fell to her death.

Workers are removing some asbestos from previously concealed areas in Nicholasville Elementary School - one minor hiccup in a major renovation project that is otherwise flowing smoothly. Architect Margie Jacobs with Tate Hill Jacobs told the Jessamine County Board of Education about the problem at its work session June 25. At that time, asbestos had been discovered on approximately 742 feet of pipe on the first and second floors of the school. A $10,000 allowance for asbestos removal was included in the renovation documents, but Jacobs suggested the board dip into the project's contingency funds for about $15,000 and leave the allowance for additional asbestos.