The final beam of West Clermont High School is raised into place after being signed by school staff, the board of education and more during a “topping out” ceremony on Dec. 2, 2016.

The final beam of West Clermont High School is raised into place after being signed by school staff, the board of education and more during a “topping out” ceremony on Dec. 2, 2016.
By Kelly Cantwell
Editor

The West Clermont Local School District celebrated a milestone in the West Clermont High School project on Dec. 2 with a “topping out” ceremony.

During the ceremony, school staff and more signed the final beam, which was then lifted into place. The topping out ceremony is one of three times during the building process that people get together, said Jim DeLage, project executive with Turner Construction.

“We’re excited to be at this point, milestone, in the project,” DeLage said.

From left, West Clermont Board of Education members Tina Sanborn, Denise Smith, James Lewis, Steve Waldmann and Tammy Brinkman sign the final beam of West Clermont High School during a “topping out” ceremony on Dec. 2, 2016.
A small tree sat on top of the beam, which was placed there to thank all the workers on the project, he added, before introducing Tom Welch, project manager with Turner Construction.

“I feel good today, I feel really good,” Welch said.

He recalled eight months ago when he could see the entire site.

“We’ve come a long way in a short amount of time,” Welch said, then turning the microphone over to Dr. Keith Kline, superintendent of West Clermont.

Kline thanked Turner Construction for keeping the project on time and SFA Architects for designing a building that will be used for a long time.

“This is a really great day. It’s not just a great day for the construction of this site but it’s also a great day for our community and our kids. That’s why we’re doing this, is putting together a great place for them to go to school and a community center that we can draw everyone from our community into and share. We want this to be the hub of our communities,” Kline said.

He introduced the board of education to attendees.

“If it wasn’t for the courage that these folks exhibited in taking the leap into making this project a reality we wouldn’t be here today,” Kline said.

Tammy Brinkman, president of the board, has been a member of the West Clermont community for about 30 years. Five years ago, she felt that the district had hit an all-time low.

“Today I believe we’ve hit an all time high,” Brinkman said, crediting much of the shift to Kline.

She added, “We have so much to be thankful for and the board of education is looking forward to the completion of this building and the merging of our two high schools into this community landmark.”