Success Celebrated at White Lake

Success was celebrated Thursday noon at White Lake.

It was a day to mark what in the construction business is called the “topping out” when a structure is enclosed, at the White Lake High School. A project that got its start in the spring is ahead of schedule, under budget and according to just about everyone who has taken a peek, looking very good.

Earl “Doc” Smith, who has spearheaded the White Lake project for the general contractor, EDS, told the men and woman on the project they had done an exceptional job.

“We are about a month ahead,” Smith told a gathering in the school cafeteria, where they dined on pizza and bratwurst to mark the “topping out.”

He called the people on the project “true craftsmen,” who have kept on working through heat and at times, bad weather.

After the kind words to his fellow builders, Smith explained that the project had been on a “tight schedule,” adding “these guys have made it work.”

He said that as different phases of the project are completed, specialists leave, and that is why he and EDS wanted to recognize the people responsible for the structure as attention shifts to the interior of the buildings.

Smith added that the people who have been involved in the project have been a pleasure to be with.

“They have a passion for their work,” he added.

The project, which is valued at $3.58 million, was approved by 60 percent of the voters in the White Lake school district in a November, 2011 referendum vote.

Ground was broken for the addition, formally known as the Community Recreation Center, on April 19 and District Administrator Bill Fisher said the schedule calls for the winter basketball season to open in the new gym, which will be played on a wood floor constructed of hard maple donated by members of the community.

The project includes the central recreational center, similar to a commons, an exercise room that may be used as a community space, men’s and women’s locker rooms and restrooms, team locker rooms and the expansive new gymnasium.

There will also be a concession area and remodeling to the existing shop and locker rooms.