Colcord gymnasium fouls out on bond issue
Posted on Wednesday, November 21, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/decatur/Education/1942/
COLCORD, Okla. ó For more than a half-century the Colcord gymnasium has intimidated foes with its unusual design.
Although the school doesnít want to lose its edge on the basketball court, progress demands the school build a new gym.
But the quest for a new facility temporarily fouled out when the public went to the polls to vote on a $ 2. 46 million, 12-year bond issue to build a multipurpose gymnasium, which would replace the 51-year-old gym.
Total votes cast were 343 yes to 262 no, or 56. 7 percent to 43. 3 percent; however, the measure was defeated because the vote was short of the 60 percent needed to pass.
School officials said they will have to wait about six months before putting the bond issue back on the ballot.
The talk before the Thursdayís nightís school board meeting was the support for another election, said Suzy Harrington, superintendent secretary.
ì There was nothing on the agenda about another election, so we couldnít vote on it or really talk about it, î Harrington said. ì But another school board meeting will be held to approve another election. î
When the old gym was built, in 1955, it ìwas the best in Delaware County, î said Kelly Hampton, Colcord superintendent.
Colcord has no place large enough for graduations and large community and school events, he said.
ì Everyone dreaded coming to our gymî said Bill Earp, former basketball coach who retired in August. ì It was loud and we had dugouts for the players. î
Teams donít sit at court level at Colcord. Instead, their benches are in baseball-style dugouts at mid-court on opposite sides of the floor.
ì I have tons of stories I could tell about that gym, î Earp said. ì It is still the only gym in the state where dugouts are used. î
Schools hated coming to play at Colcord because of those dugouts, he said.
ì We didnít lose many games in that gym, î said Earp, 70, who has coached at Colcord for 47 years.
The proposed gymnasium would have increased seating for 838, almost doubling the size of the current gym, and made it handicap accessible.
The current gym was built by volunteer labor from the community and opened for play in 1956, he said.
ì I even helped build it, î Earp said. ì Most of the seniors helped build the gym. î
Earp, who graduated in 1955, spent his high school days playing basketball in an old rock building that was built in 1937. The original rock gymnasium still stands; it was recently remodeled and made into an art room, he said.
ì At the time we thought it held a lot of people, î Earp said. ì It probably didnít hold over 100. î
The Colcord High School basketball team of 1955 finished with a 37-2 record, he said.
ì I never kept track of how many wins I had, î Earp said. ì We went to the state tournament three times in the early 1990 s and made it as far as the semifinals. î
Although he retired from coaching, Earp is still involved in the school, driving a school bus, and his grandchildren play basketball.