Ground broken for new JHS athletic facility
By Barry H. Hendrix

A special groundbreaking ceremony was conducted at Jackson High School Tuesday, May 6, for the school's new athletic facility. The event was attended by representatives from the Clarke County Board of Education, Jackson City Council, JHS faculty and athletes, and Hub Construction Company of Jackson. (SA photo by Evan Carden)

A groundbreaking ceremony was conducted Tuesday morning for the new athletic fieldhouse on the Jackson High School campus.

Officials with the Clarke County Board of Education, the City of Jackson, HUB Construction and architects McKee and Associates were on site for the event.

The structure will be designed for the football, baseball and softball programs. All JHS athletes will have access to the planned weight room.

It is hoped that construction of the complex will be completed in 180 days.

"We are very excited to improve our facilities," said Ken Harbuck, JHS principal. "We want to give the kids the best opportunities and the best facilities to work in. This is something we are going to be proud of.

"Jackson has always had a proud tradition in athletics. We know we have a good athletic program. We just want to improve on it."

The construction will cost $1,175,023.00. The City of Jackson will contribute at total of $200,000 to the project with the remainder coming from the county school system's state bond issue. It has been a three-year process to gain funding for the project.

"We've searched everywhere to piece together the money," said Clarke County School Superintendent Gerald Stephens. "We had some plans and ideas, and we didn't have all the money to do those things.

"People wanted to say, well, we'll just cut this off, and we'll do this, and then we'll finish this later. (The school system) didn't think that was the way to go. We wanted the total building, and we got the money in our hands when our bond issue was released.

Jackson Mayor Pro Tem Paul South sees JHS athletics as an economic engine for the city. "It brings people into the area," he said. He applauded the current success of the JHS baseball team in the state playoffs.

"…It's all about coaching and motivation and keeping these young people interested in sports, interested in school, keeping them off the streets.

"…With coaches we have now and administrator in place, you've got to make the grades to play," South said. "It's not all about athletics. It's about education, too."

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