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Dawson-Bryant school officials cut the ribbon on Friday for the new athletic fieldhouse for the middle and high schools. (The Ironton Tribune | Heath Harrison)

Children run on the turf in the new student activity building at Dawson-Bryant High School on Friday. (The Ironton Tribune | Heath Harrison)

Football players hang out by the lockers as the public tours the new athletic fieldhouse at Dawson-Bryant schools on Friday. (The Ironton Tribune | Heath Harrison)

Maddie McDaniel was crowned queen and Nick Adams was king at the homecoming celebration at Dawson-Bryant High School on Friday. (The Ironton Tribune | Heath Harrison)

The public tours the new student activity building at Dawson-Bryant High School on Friday. (The Ironton Tribune | Heath Harrison)

Ellen Adkins, the new superintendent for Dawson-Bryant Local Schools, speaks at the ribbon cutting for the new athletic fieldhouse on Friday. (The Ironton Tribune | Heath Harrison)

Dawson-Bryant schools cut ribbon on two new buildings

COAL GROVE — “Thousands of students will go through these in decades to come,” Dawson-Bryant Local Schools treasurer Brad Miller said of the two new buildings at the high school campus.

A ribbon cutting took place for the new Athletic Field House and Student Multi-Purpose Center, which were unveiled to the public for tours on Friday.

“It’s a great day to be a Hornet,” superintendent Ellen Adkins said.

Adkins, new on the job, paid tribute to her predecessor, Steve Easterling, as well as other officials for their work on the project.

“Without you, we wouldn’t be able to look at this building and say ‘thank you,’” she said. “And I’m really honored to be standing here as the new superintendent of Dawson-Bryant local schools for this.”

She also singled out Miller for praise, stating he was key to securing the funds for the buildings, a sentiment shared by Becky Gannon, the school board president.

“We can’t thank you enough for what you put into it,” Gannon said.

Miller said he shopped around for the loan, securing the best deal he could for the school district, at 2 percent interest.

“I want to thank the board for having faith and trust in me to go out and find financing,” he said.

After the ribbon was cut, those in attendance got to see the two new facilities, each positioned at an opposite end of the high/middle school campus.

The smell of new paint was still lingering in both, and the Student Multi-Purpose Center, with its green astroturf provided a spacious environment in which several children were running and playing.

The Athletic Field House hosts locker rooms for athletic teams, as well as a weight room, while its upstairs will soon sport a golf simulator.

“It has something for everyone,” one board member said on the tour.

Miller stated the facility is “99 percent done” and is “already being used by student athletes.”

“It rivals most small colleges,” he said. “Our kids deserve it.”

He praised Mullins Construction for their work in building the facility.

“It’s hard to believe it’s done and we’re standing in front of it,” Miller said. “It’s been impressive to watch.”

Gannon said she “had tears in my eyes” upon getting her first look at the buildings.

“I’m so proud we get to give this to our kids,” she said.

Friday’s ribbon cutting took place before the school’s homecoming football game, where, at the pregame ceremonies,

Ellen Adkins, the new superintendent for Dawson-Bryant Local Schools, speaks at the ribbon cutting for the new athletic fieldhouse on Friday. (The Ironton Tribune | Heath Harrison)

Maddie McDaniel was crowned homecoming queen and Nick Adams was king.

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