By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
USD 428 Great Bend has many projects planned for the summer months. One of the smaller projects may be the replacement of a ramp at Great Bend High School. At Monday's board of education meeting, Director of Grounds and Transportation Cody Schmidt explained the deterioration of the south ramp on the east side of the high school.
"It's cracking completely from top to bottom, all the way down the ramp," he said. "This picture here indicates it's sinking really bad. There's probably a two-and-a-half-inch lip. It was brought to my attention, and I don't recall it being there last year, so I don't know what has happened that is causing it to sink so fast. That is the No. 1 concern."
Eakin Enterprises of Larned put in the winning bid for the project at $19,551. The renovation will include replacing the ramp with the existing curve, improving the handrails, and removing the curb at the top of the ramp.
"Overall, I think it will really be, knock on wood, a pretty easy process, just time-consuming," Schmidt said. "My fear was when I talked to (Superintendent Khris Thexton) and (Assistant Superintendent John Popp), was just the fact to allow the handicap ramp to stay open to one side."
Schmidt said the north ramp in front of the high school is deteriorating, but not to the level of the south ramp. The north ramp will remain open while the south ramp is repaired.