Old York Institute Building Stabilization to Begin Soon

the good news jst keeps a commin

Thank God and those that chose to jump in and save this school. It IS a piece of History and I would have hated to see it go. I love to ride by and just look at history standing there and hopefully it will be able to be used for the youth once again in one form or another for their education.

Blow it up.

I have heard mention of the Pegions and the Asbestos --- but what about the Lead Base Paint? Is it going to be cleaned up also? Lead Base Paint and Asbestos Abatement are very expensive.

The money could be spent in so many better ways to help the county!

MadBomber wrote:

The money could be spent in so many better ways to help the county!

I AGREE!

MadBomber wrote:

The money could be spent in so many better ways to help the county!

If people worked as hard to get things for the county as these people did to save the building you might see money spent here, but instead you bitch and complain on topix. What does that tell you.

sara wrote:

<quoted text>
If people worked as hard to get things for the county as these people did to save the building you might see money spent here, but instead you bitch and complain on topix. What does that tell you.

It tells me that they care more about an old building than they do about the people living here.

sara that just tells me you have a dirty mouth

sara wrote:

<quoted text>
If people worked as hard to get things for the county as these people did to save the building you might see money spent here, but instead you bitch and complain on topix. What does that tell you.

Then let's do something.... Or are we still going to sit around on our collective a**es? Some people are doing something constructive and my hats off to them whether I agree or not. Now what about the rest of us?

people in the great city of jamestown never gave a damn about that old building until they all threatened to tear the damn thang down and as far as I'm conserned they will never will care either

lol i agree with meg amen

Now that the building has been saved I believe everyone, even those opposed to saving it, should work toward a common goal. Let's get it back to a condition where our kids can safely use it (which can be done according to both the state and private building inspectors) and to a point where we are proud of it.

If the foundation fails to live up to their promises then we can give them hell again lol.

Mark, I agree. We have a goal now and let's all work toward that goal. Alvin York did not have to establish this school in our area, but he did so by putting up a large portion of the money himself and the state kicked in to finalize the deal. I think that was very wonderful of this man. I think it is also appropriate that we try to save this building, if it is possible now, and continue to show respect for the man who created better standards of education in our community.

I know the foundation found an expert who said it could be saved. I am unconvinced. You pay someone enough and they will tell you what you want to hear. It's going to be a money pit and, in the end, I do not think it will be usable for students. That is not a place to put Roane State (who have told the county they need about 25 acres for a campus), and with the asbestos, pigeon and bat droppings, lead based paint, etc. etc., I don't know how they think they can bring it up to code. It could have been taken down and rebuilt, with a new configuration inside to meet the needs of the high school. Instead, it will continue to be a hazard to the health and education of the students. They can't use at least five classrooms, traffic is a mess, and bricks are still falling. Sgt. York's children are, IMHO, wrong on this one. Sgt. York's legacy is the education he wanted to make available to the children of the area, it is not a building. To say that his legacy is nothing more than brick and mortar is belittleing everything that great man made possible.

curlygirl wrote:

I know the foundation found an expert who said it could be saved. I am unconvinced. You pay someone enough and they will tell you what you want to hear. It's going to be a money pit and, in the end, I do not think it will be usable for students. That is not a place to put Roane State (who have told the county they need about 25 acres for a campus), and with the asbestos, pigeon and bat droppings, lead based paint, etc. etc., I don't know how they think they can bring it up to code. It could have been taken down and rebuilt, with a new configuration inside to meet the needs of the high school. Instead, it will continue to be a hazard to the health and education of the students. They can't use at least five classrooms, traffic is a mess, and bricks are still falling. Sgt. York's children are, IMHO, wrong on this one. Sgt. York's legacy is the education he wanted to make available to the children of the area, it is not a building. To say that his legacy is nothing more than brick and mortar is belittleing everything that great man made possible.

Many share your sentiments but lack your ability to express the view so well. Thanks.

curlygirl wrote:

I know the foundation found an expert who said it could be saved. I am unconvinced. You pay someone enough and they will tell you what you want to hear. It's going to be a money pit and, in the end, I do not think it will be usable for students. That is not a place to put Roane State (who have told the county they need about 25 acres for a campus), and with the asbestos, pigeon and bat droppings, lead based paint, etc. etc., I don't know how they think they can bring it up to code. It could have been taken down and rebuilt, with a new configuration inside to meet the needs of the high school. Instead, it will continue to be a hazard to the health and education of the students. They can't use at least five classrooms, traffic is a mess, and bricks are still falling. Sgt. York's children are, IMHO, wrong on this one. Sgt. York's legacy is the education he wanted to make available to the children of the area, it is not a building. To say that his legacy is nothing more than brick and mortar is belittleing everything that great man made possible.

I appreciate you putting together a very constructive reply, most people seem unwilling to state an opinion without resorting to derogatory remarks of some sort.

In regards to the stabilization, it was stated by the states own architects that it was salavagable, as well as a completely independent firm with no ties to either the foundation or the state.

As far as the pigeon feces, asbestos, and lead paint is concerned:

Those are issues that will be completely negated by the mothballing of the current structure. The team hired to stabalize the building will completely seal it off, begin removing all the interior, and dispose of ALL waste. Essentially you will have only the superstructure, a blank slate so to say, to begin work from.

These efforts, according to the experts i've spoken to, will actually take an almost equal amount of time as it would have to demolish the building and keep the environment and kids safe.

I believe the local County Executive has the report released by the state as well as any other pertinent information.

I will say that I was in favor of demolition, but now that the decision is made I think everyone should support the foundations effort, they seem to want to make a difference.