Science-media center ready to use

After a year of construction, teachers are moving into CK Price Middle School's Science-Media Center.

Classes are ready to go in the new two-story, 20,000-square-foot building in time for the 2012-13 school year which starts Aug. 22.

However, a preview tour of the new facility is set for Monday morning.

Orland Unified School District Superintendent Chris von Kleist invites people in the community to join him and Principal Steve Hiscock for a ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

District Board members also will be there to look at the accomplishment.

The event likely will include representatives of the Orland Area Chamber of Commerce along with the builders, R&R Horn of Chico and architects Nichols-Melburg-Rossetto.

Project Manager Jim Osterday and DSA Inspector James Brown are credited with working with Orland Unified staff in successfully completing the building, von Kleist said.

He added it was completed on time and under budget despite rain delays and an investigation surrounding the electrocution of a construction worker last fall.

The man survived the accident and recovered, officials said.

This science-media center is similar to the one built at Orland High and includes a library, science lab, science classroom and other classrooms for non-science classes.

It was built for around $5 million and included money from Measure K School Construction bonds approved by voters in 2008 and with state construction funding, district officials said.

Von Kleist said last week that R&R Horn employees worked seven days a week to get the building finished in time for school after initially thinking the center might not be done before the end of September or early October.

The superintendent noted, the company's vice-president, Quinn Hogan, is an Orland High School graduate and many of its employees live in Orland as well — so they have great pride in OUSD's construction projects.

This firm has done the work on all of the district's new buildings including the CK Price cafeteria and gymnasium, the science-media center at Orland High School and a number of other projects throughout the district.

It is building a new cafeteria and classroom at Mill Street School that should be completed by next spring, von Kleist said. Demolition of the old building was done last week.

For more information, call 865-1200.