Marker unveiled at construction site of dual high school in Amherstburg
In the background, an excavator clawed away at the infield of a baseball diamond as various officials with the public school board and Mayor Aldo Dicarlo marked the first stages of construction last Friday on a new dual high school for Amherstburg.
Several students from Western and General Amherst Secondary Schools unveiled a marker bearing the mascots of the two schools that will merge into one at the site of the former Centennial Park on Simcoe Street.
“Having the community here to see this is very touching,” said Abbie Drouillard, Amherst's student council president.
As a graduating Grade 12 student, Drouillard will be immersed in her post-secondary education studying health science by the time the Greater Essex County District School Board anticipates opening the doors to the new high school in September 2022.
“I think it will be nice to compare the old and the new,” the 17-yearold said. “To see the similarities and the differences and what the new school offers.”
Sisters Gabby and Cierra Dorey represented Western's student body Friday.
“It will be great to see the new school with my friends,” said Cierra, 14 and in Grade 10. “I'm looking
forward to showing Amherst how we cook at Western. I like cooking at Western.”
Gabby, like Drouillard, will miss out on walking the new hallways as a student.
“With a new school they're letting students have more opportunities by merging,” the 17-year-old Grade 12 student said.
The marker they unveiled featured the head of a Warrior and a Bulldog and November 2020. An accompanying banner read “Coming together is just the beginning.”
As construction progresses, the marker will be placed permanently on site to signify the merger of the two school communities.
The marker was the brainchild of the technical directors at Western and Amherst in Jamie Legault and Glen Holden respectively. The materials and its construction were donated by Centre line Industries.
“It has been a long and winding road to arrive here today,” said board trustee Ron Leclair, noting it's been over four years since the province announced funding for the new school.
Designed by J.P. Thomson Ltd and developed by Fortis Construction, the budget for the project is $24.3 million.
The new school will accommodate 819 students and have a robust technical wing offering programming in automotive, construction and cosmetology.
Director of education Erin Kelly lamented the fact that more students from both school communities were unable to attend due to current COVID-19 restrictions on crowd size.
“It would have been great to have more students here to observe this milestone event,” she said.
Western principal Angela Safranyos and Amherst principal Melissa Debruyne were on hand.
Kelly said the Amherstburg project is one of six major school renewal projects on the go for the board, representing an investment of $110 million.
Each completion will help “reduce one of the oldest inventories of schools in the province,” she said.
Dicarlo described the event as an exciting one for the town, noting the addition of a new school fits in well with Amherstburg's strategic plan for a strong, vibrant community.
As for Amherstburg residents, many of the familiar amenities of Centennial Park are already gone, including the skateboard ramps, ball diamonds, playground equipment and trees. Soon, construction workers will fill in the Lions Club swimming pool.