BREMEN, Ala. – The Cullman County Commission on Education approved the construction of a new gymnasium on the campus of Cold Springs High School and Board members, elected officials, school administrators, coaches and students gathered to break ground on the new facility Thursday morning. County Schools Superintendent Dr. Shane Barnette was on-hand for the ceremony, and he’s excited to see this project officially get underway. The current gym at Cold Springs High, Jesse George Gymnasium, will not be torn down and will continue to be used by the school but Barnette is also excited to see a new state of the art facility being built for a community that deserves it.
“I know all of our board members couldn’t be here today, but I want to let all of you know how much I appreciate your support of this project. The gym they’re using here right now, which they take really good care of, is right at 54 years old from what I understand, and Coach (Claborn) Campbell was telling me a little about the history of it. And I’ve heard about the history of that gym a lot over the last six years, I promise,” Barnette joked. “We talked about remodeling the existing gym and it was going to cost us so much by the time we brought it up to code, so we’ve been waiting and planning and trying to do this for a while and we’re really excited about the quality of the gym we’re about to build.”
There have been many great Eagles and Lady Eagles teams that have collected a lot of wins and hardware over the years and Barnette is looking forward to the first night on the hardwood when the gym is complete.
“It’s going to be the nicest gym around here and we’re really excited about that. The community deserves it, the coaches, the players and the kids deserve it,” Barnette said. “I wish we could’ve gotten it finished earlier because I know we had some great teams this year and the last several years come through here but its coming. This is just day one and we’re really excited for the community, and we can’t wait to come back here for the first ball game.”
Cold Springs Board Member Wayne Myrex played in the current gym back in the 1970s and is extremely excited to see this new facility.
“I would like to say on behalf of the Cold Springs Eagle nation, thank you to Dr. Barnette, CSFO Ed Roberson, and all the board members who made this happen,” said Myrex. “A new gym is something that we have needed for a long time. Our community and students deserve it. Go Eagles!”
The project is estimated to take approximately one year to complete and will cost just under $5.9 million. McKee & Associates of Montgomery is the architect, and Cullman-based Nearen Construction is the contractor.
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