© 2002
The Nugget Newspaper
Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

School construction is "beating winter"
By Jim Cornelius

The classroom wing of Sisters High School is being framed with steel.

A school is taking shape at the west end of Sisters.

After months of political and financial wrangling and site preparation work like logging and grading, the $21 million project is taking visible shape.

The structural steel frame of a classroom wing has sprouted out of the ground and the walls of the gymnasium tower into the air as crews lay up to 1,200 12-inch blocks a day.

The project is on schedule and going smoothly -- staying ahead of the one element that could throw a monkey wrench into the proceedings: cold weather.

Concrete work is the most likely to be affected by cold weather, and protection with concrete blankets can get expensive, so the construction crew is working hard to get that work done before the hard cold of winter sets in.

Some 20,000 square feet of concrete slab was poured in the art and vocational technology wing of the school on Friday, September 27.

Another 15,000 square feet of slab was to be poured this week.

Project foreman Rob Ring decided to get the masonry walls up in the auditorium before pouring that slab, because it is easier to protect the slab from cold than it is to protect the walls.

"Our goal is to get the theater up and completed by November," Ring said.

The gym walls are nearly complete.

The seats are currently being selected for the 700-plus seat facility.

Seats bolt directly into the concrete flooring.

Crews will work through the winter, with tenting and heating systems in place to work through the cold.

The heating and cooling system in the classroom wing is in place.

The school district's construction project manager Bob Martin noted that the building is designed to be energy efficient.

Although the new high school is larger than the existing school, it is expected to use less heating oil.

Ring attributes the smooth sailing on the project so far to regular meetings involving architects and all the major players in the construction.

"That's why we haven't had any surprises -- because our communication has been so good," he said.

The Sisters School Board agreed Monday night, October 7, to authorize architect Scott Steele and Associates to change the roof design from vented to non-vented -- provided the district receives full product warranties with the different system.

If the change is made, it could save the district $50,000.

The district approved a 30-year roof with shingles upgraded for wind resistance and appearance.

According to Martin, classrooms could be open by October 2003.

Voters approved a $22 million bond issue for the project in March of 2001.

The school is designed for a 700-student capacity over a 20-year planning period.

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