Coosa County Schools holds ground breaking ceremony for band room, community storm shelter

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Special to the News

 

It has been decades of waiting and years in the making, but The Pride of Coosa County Band will soon have a dedicated band room.

The Coosa County community high schools were consolidated in 1988 with the first graduating class of Central High School in 1989, but it was not until 2003 that the Central High School band program was created.

Central Coosa’s current band director, Daryl Ingram, created the current The Pride of Coosa County Band in 2005 when he joined the staff at Central High School. The original Hanover School building located adjacent to the original Central High School served as the band room for almost two decades until Central High School moved to its current location adjacent to Central Elementary School in 2018.

With that move, the band began practicing and preparing in the “band trailer” for the last eight years.

With completion of construction of the new band room projected for spring of 2027, for the first time since the inception of the Central High School band in 2003, the band will have a dedicated band room that is specifically built to the specifications for a band to practice and prepare for their numerous performances and competitions.

In addition, the band room will serve as a community storm shelter operated by the Coosa County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) in coordination with the Hanover Fire Department. This will be the first county-wide storm shelter available for our residents.

The project also includes a restroom and enclosing hallways to and from the main school building to the cafeteria and gym building for added student security.

The ceremony started with a welcome by Superintendent of Education David W. Stover Jr. The project is a continuation of his purpose throughout his tenure as superintendent to always strive to expand opportunities and facilities available for our students.

The Pride of Coosa County Band performed the national anthem, followed by Walter McKee, managing partner for Lathan McKee architects, who provided an overview of the project.

Band director Daryl Ingram then spoke, but he said he was really speechless.

“The band room is going to mean so much to the students. Yet, they can’t really comprehend what it’s going to be like because they have never experienced it,” Ingram said. “We have struggled to move, hear, rehearse, even to use the bathroom in our current facilities. ‘Thank you’ does not begin to say how we all feel. This will change our lives and many, many lives in the years to come.”

Honored guests then broke ground on the project, including Board of Education members Joe Belyeu, Sharon Coffman, Sharon Massie, and Jenny Kimbrell, and Board Chairperson Tiffany McCain, who were joined by Central High School Principal Brandi Lee, Rep. Ben Robbins, Central Elementary Principal Kara Forubs, Coosa County Sheriff Michael Howell, and Coosa County EMA Director Sheldon Hutcherson.

After closing remarks guests made their way to a reception for refreshments in the library.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this celebration of a project that will further enrich the educational experience of our students, as well as enhance the safety not only for our students, but for our community, as well.