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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

BREAKING NEWS AMC THEATERS WILL CLOSE

From Allegany County News:

The Breaking news is that AMC Theaters will close at current location in LaVale will close on the July 17th 2011 and reopen after remodeling under new ownership. It is a true story and not a false rumor. This story was confirmed by a AMC employee.

Md. Rep. Bartlett Files For Re-Election

This does relate to Allegany County

From CBS BALTIMORE:

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett says he is filing for re-election in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District.
The 85-year-old Republican said Tuesday he hopes to win an 11th term representing western and north-central Maryland. He says he aims to create conditions for economic growth by cutting spending, reducing taxes and eliminating red tape.
Republican Joseph Krysztoforski of Baltimore County has also filed for the seat.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/07/05/md-rep-bartlett-files-for-re-election/

Study says to build new High School

From the Cumberland Times-News

Study: Build new Allegany High

Architectural firm recommends renovations for Washington, Braddock middle schools

CRESAPTOWN — The local cost to build a new Allegany High School could be anywhere from $9 million to $16 million, according to a feasibility study made public Tuesday before the Allegany County Board of Education.

In a much-anticipated recommendation, Grimm & Parker Architects say that the current Allegany High School, built in 1925, is not salvageable as a modern school. Officials here should build a new high school — at a new location, the firm recommends.

“We do recommend that a new high school gets built off site,” a representative of the Calverton firm told board members at their Tuesday night work session. “I think that’s the only way to really create for you a modern educational facility that this county and the students do deserve.”

A team of engineers and architects from Grimm & Parker have been working for months to come up with recommendations for how Allegany County should proceed with plans to renovate or rebuild three city schools — Allegany High, Washington Middle School and Braddock Middle School.

The firm recommends that Braddock and Washington be renovated, with modernizations and additions, with estimated local costs ranging from $5 million to about $10 million. Per a current state funding formula, the state would pay 93 percent of costs of construction, while the county would pay 7 percent.

Board members listened to a 45-minute report on the feasibility study Tuesday, but no vote is expected until August or September, President Mike Llewellyn said.

In the meantime, the board hopes to gain the support of Allegany County commissioners, who previously balked at placing the school construction projects on their Capital Improvements Project list, saying the county couldn’t afford them. An earlier estimate of $43 million for all three projects was premature and inflated, school board members have said.

Commissioners have indicated they would reconsider placing the projects on the list after cost estimates from the feasibility study became available.

In the report presented Tuesday night, Grimm and Parker indicated that although Allegany High School is structurally sound, its exterior needs major repairs, and all of its systems — electrical, plumbing and mechanical — need to be replaced.

But the main obstacle to renovating the school is its discombobulated configuration — a result of several additions and renovations over the years — which makes 21st-century teaching and learning difficult.

If the BOE isn’t able to find a site for a new school, the firm recommends that a new school be built at the current site, with several configurations possible. A number of design schemes and renovation options were provided for the middle schools, as well.

If the board is able to secure a site for a new high school, Grimm and Parker recommended that middle school students use the current high school while the middle schools are being renovated. The high school project is expected to take place first.

“We do understand the historical significance of this building to the school system and to the state, and recognize its value to the community and its value as an architectural monument,” the Grimm & Parker representative said Tuesday. “Renovation of the building creates so many costs that even if it were desireable, it does make the project almost impossible to accomplish.”

Contact Kristin Harty Barkley at kbarkley@times-news.com.

Source: http://times-news.com/local/x1005782717/Study-Build-new-Allegany-High