With a light rain about to fall in Philomath Friday morning, it seemed fitting that staff, schoolchildren and guests were celebrating Clemens Primary School’s new covered play area. Principal Abby Couture, who had envisioned such an addition to the K-1 school for years, provided a brief overview of the project, recognized funders and arranged for a ribbon-cutting.
Couture shared the background of the new shelter to the kindergarteners and first graders, who were kicking off their Friday morning with an all-school assembly that includes things like a singing of the school song and the awarding of various classroom prizes. Couture told them about the $50,000 contributed by the Clemens Foundation as well as a Philomath Parent Teacher Organization donation that helped pay for a $15,000 playground structure and the Benton County Foundation’s gift that covered the $13,000 cost of a climbing wall feature. She also mentioned the Siletz tribe’s grant that helped pay for other additions to the playground.
“I have to give a special, special shout-out to our superintendent and our School Board for working so hard to do the bulk of the work to say thank you so much for making this happen,” Couture said.
Luna Design and Construction won the bid to build the play structure at $475,361. In addition to the Clemens Foundation dollars, the main project was also paid for through general funds and federal grant money.
Superintendent of Schools Susan Halliday and School Board member Sandi Hering were in the audience for the event. City Councilor Christopher McMorran, who was on the School Board when the covered play area project was in the works, was also in attendance.
“Then there were the builders … they were out here working so hard making sure that this was ready at the beginning of the school year,” Couture told the kids. “Luna Construction are the people that built this wonderful facility for us and we have Scott and Phil here today.”
Couture was referring to the company’s Phil Luna and Scott Savage. Luna and Couture shared the scissors during the celebratory ribbon-cutting that followed.
After the children had returned to their classrooms and while folding chairs were being stacked to go back into storage, the rain started coming down. If it had been recess, the kids could have been outside — breathing in the crisp air during a break from their desks yet able to stay dry under the school’s new structure.
