Posted 2:07 am Friday, November 25, 2011
Cuney Community Center Opening
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
CUNEY — A rural Cherokee County town soon will have a new facility for residents to enjoy.
The Cuney Community Center, located at U.S. Highway 175 and County Road 3326, has been in the works for years but will officially become a reality when it opens on Saturday. It features a kitchen, stove, refrigerator, two bathrooms, open banquet area and an area for a library.
Mayor Oscar Birdow said the facility will be used for community functions, such as Christmas parties and family reunions. He hopes several businesses also will use it for banquets and meetings.
But perhaps the most anticipated user is the Cuney alumni association, which reunites students of the school that closed in 1960.
The community center will give the alumni a place to have their annual banquet and meetings without having to pay to use a place in Tyler or Jacksonville, Birdow said.
Staff Writer
CUNEY — A rural Cherokee County town soon will have a new facility for residents to enjoy.
The Cuney Community Center, located at U.S. Highway 175 and County Road 3326, has been in the works for years but will officially become a reality when it opens on Saturday. It features a kitchen, stove, refrigerator, two bathrooms, open banquet area and an area for a library.
Mayor Oscar Birdow said the facility will be used for community functions, such as Christmas parties and family reunions. He hopes several businesses also will use it for banquets and meetings.
But perhaps the most anticipated user is the Cuney alumni association, which reunites students of the school that closed in 1960.
The community center will give the alumni a place to have their annual banquet and meetings without having to pay to use a place in Tyler or Jacksonville, Birdow said.
It will also be a source of revenue for the city, because people will rent the building, and a safe place for summer activities, he said.
While the community center will be a spot for entertaining, it also will serve practical purposes.
As the city puts together an emergency management plan, Birdow said it's where it will store food supplies, water, emergency supplies and sleeping bags in case they are needed during a disaster.
“In case of an emergency, you have to have a place to operate out of …” he said. “It's big with the government as far as having an emergency management plan.”
Birdow said an after-school program also is in the works, and he wants to get a Veterans Affairs representative to have an office there one or two days a week. That way, veterans can get help with things such as filing claims and finding treatment.
While the community center will be a spot for entertaining, it also will serve practical purposes.
As the city puts together an emergency management plan, Birdow said it's where it will store food supplies, water, emergency supplies and sleeping bags in case they are needed during a disaster.
“In case of an emergency, you have to have a place to operate out of …” he said. “It's big with the government as far as having an emergency management plan.”
Birdow said an after-school program also is in the works, and he wants to get a Veterans Affairs representative to have an office there one or two days a week. That way, veterans can get help with things such as filing claims and finding treatment.
As far as the library, the city will try to make it available on a daily basis and hopefully Saturdays. Not just for Cuney children but also for those in the surrounding communities.
After the grand opening, the city plans to solicit book, CD, and DVD donations.
The idea for a community center was pitched back and forth over the years, Birdow said, but it wasn't until the alumni association spoke with a former mayor and others that the city started to talk to grant writers.
Paperwork for the grant was started in 2009, and construction on the facility began last year. The project cost exceeded $200,000.
Now, it's ready for its grand opening.
After the grand opening, the city plans to solicit book, CD, and DVD donations.
The idea for a community center was pitched back and forth over the years, Birdow said, but it wasn't until the alumni association spoke with a former mayor and others that the city started to talk to grant writers.
Paperwork for the grant was started in 2009, and construction on the facility began last year. The project cost exceeded $200,000.
Now, it's ready for its grand opening.
The event, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, will include introductions, tours, music, and awards, among other things.
The last graduating class, some of the other alumni of Cuney, and former Mayor Jessie Johnson will also be on-hand.
Nedra Sneed Ballard, organizer of the grand opening, said she wants the event to be overwhelming.
“Everyone's welcome … We have families that live in all (different) places. We have people sending greetings from all of these places,” she said.
Birdow said the event is particularly special for alumni because the community center is on the site of their old school, and they will begin to have an annual Cuney alumni awards banquet there.
One of the oldest Cuney alumni, 91-year-old Flossie Dixon McMillan, put it this way in a prepared statement: “I grew up with Cuney. So much of the history of Cuney I know and remember from my childhood. I give thanks to God our Heavenly Father who has made this proof of a promise come true in my lifetime. Cuney means everything to me.”
The last graduating class, some of the other alumni of Cuney, and former Mayor Jessie Johnson will also be on-hand.
Nedra Sneed Ballard, organizer of the grand opening, said she wants the event to be overwhelming.
“Everyone's welcome … We have families that live in all (different) places. We have people sending greetings from all of these places,” she said.
Birdow said the event is particularly special for alumni because the community center is on the site of their old school, and they will begin to have an annual Cuney alumni awards banquet there.
One of the oldest Cuney alumni, 91-year-old Flossie Dixon McMillan, put it this way in a prepared statement: “I grew up with Cuney. So much of the history of Cuney I know and remember from my childhood. I give thanks to God our Heavenly Father who has made this proof of a promise come true in my lifetime. Cuney means everything to me.”
