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McCook Gazette
Letter to the Editor

Save West Ward

Friday, November 6, 2009

Dear Editor,

"In hard times (which eventually come to every community no matter what its size or wealth) what makes survival possible and desirable is not its archeological identity but its ability to continue, and it continues because some structures, some institutions and facilities provide continuity. These are the landmarks, [and they] stand for continuity, community identity for links with the past and the future. In the contemporary American community these roles are what counteract our mobility and fragmentation and forgetfulness of history."

I've used this quote from J.B. Jackson written in 1984 and included in William Least Heat- Moon's PrairyEarth many times. It is relevant again to the West Ward dilemma. My opinion here is my own, not in any way because of or in spite of my employer, the Nebraska State Historical Society.

All over America, in little towns and big cities buildings are rehabbed for new uses. They use as much of the building as possible. Usually the electrical panels and the drywall as mentioned in the editorial are stripped out completely. The asbestos and mold will be removed and disposed of safely according to the law. This will leave you with a solid brick structure, windows that were replaced not many years ago, much of the original woodwork like you can't even buy anymore and lots of room to add on fire engine garages and whatever else you need. The furnace/air conditioning would be brand new, insulation would be as good as any new building anywhere.

To just junk a historic brick usable building in a great location and put up a new building doesn't make sense to me. Let's look at all the real figures and compare what we'd have in the end. Thanks for taking time to read this.

Linda Hein

Lincoln

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  • Sorry Linda// I dont agree with this one...I supported Keystone redo......we saved northward and made it a nice school but look at the eastward rehab and now no one wants it at any price. The West Ward school building served all well but only the land now needs to be used not a almost 100 year old broken down skelton of a building...Let owners/city them build it new and do it with new techology instead of handicapping the city and designers to work around the building ..Bottom line is West Ward location was for sale for years....so you had your chances to buy it/save it and no ideas worked out so dont be jumping in now and making any new demands or why didnt you buy it?

    -- Posted by Cornwhisperer on Fri, Nov 6, 2009, at 2:05 PM

  • Linda, come on down and take a look firsthand. When the school, the county, two private investors and now the city did feasibility studies, all found the rehab cost to out distance building new. These ARE REAL FIGURES from different sources. East Ward--built about the sametime as West Ward--sits empty after an attempt to rehab. IF the building had true historic value then maybe but as it is I strongly favor whatever plan saves the taxpayers the most money. If rehab costs more and an individual or group wants to pony-up the extra costs to do rehab, fine. There is a difference between wants and needs and what we like and what is realistic. Even then with a rehabed building all we would have is a building that was not desgined to meet the current needs. My bet is most people do not have ice boxes and wringer washing machines although both could be rehabed to meet current needs. At times it is necessary to fondly remember the past but march bravely into the future.

    -- Posted by dennis on Fri, Nov 6, 2009, at 2:13 PM

  • I really believe that we need to look into the future and realize that this building is no longer serving the needs of the community. I live 2 blocks north of East Ward and it is sad how much was sunk into that building to only be vacant and for sale and no one wants it. I keep wondering if that area could have been turned into something different that would have benefited our community better.

    We have many preserved buildings in our community. I think that this area needs to be better utilized and I believe would make a great area for new city facilities that are needed. Take a trip around just the outside of the public safety center and you'll realize those facilities need to be upgraded. I'm not saying the current facilites are horrible, just that a newer facility would be a great improvement for our fire department and police department.

    When you consider the important jobs the fire and police departments do in our city, don't you think they need to be provided the best that we can? I do. We rely on them to put out the fires, keep criminal activity in check, respond to auto accidents, and rush loved ones to the care that they need in times of illness.

    Just something to think about.

    -- Posted by susanne_1989 on Mon, Nov 9, 2009, at 9:05 PM

  • The old St. Pat's school was torn down and replaced with new one. Really didn't hear any complaints about it. All were for a good structure to educate kids. Now, the old school at West Ward needs to come down and make room for the future. We all have memories of the past. Not all things can be kept. If people want memories, save a brick when the building is torn down.

    -- Posted by edbru on Fri, Nov 13, 2009, at 7:03 AM
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