You Can’t Un-Ring A Bell

    The Central Community School Board has given the Central community a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save the historic 1927 gymnasium on the original site of the first “Central School” from demolition.
    Travel through almost any town, stop long enough to look around, and you will invariably see some historic building that has been preserved.  Central began as a farming community and grew as a bedroom community.  Only recently has our identity as a city evolved.  As a result, very few buildings of any age have survived.  The 1927 gym stands as the oldest survivor.
    This is NOT a sure thing!  The only guarantee that we have is that our School Board will take a hard look at the plans we bring them in July.  If they are convinced that it is a good plan and that the community is behind it, there is a good chance that generations that follow us will thank us all for our commitment to historic preservation.
    The Central community can build a road tomorrow, we can build a school tomorrow, and we can pass an ordinance tomorrow.  However, if we fail to act now and we lose this historic building today, we can’t get it back tomorrow.  You can’t un-ring a bell.
    There are SO many possible uses already suggested by people in the community: museum, meeting space, performance venue, exhibition space, workshop space, visitor’s center, and more.  Regardless of what use you support, these are only possibilities if enough of us pitch in, put together a plan for saving the gym, and leave all of these possibilities alive. Generations will benefit from our actions.