Ground to be broken on new activity center

A groundbreaking for the new Donley County Activity Center will be held today at 2 p.m. one mile north of Clarendon on Hwy. 70.

Larry Gray with the Friends of Donley County said some dirt work has already been done on the project and that construction will begin right away and should be completed in 60 days.

“We’ll be pouring concrete next week, and the prefabricated building will be here August 20,” Gray said.
Volunteers will be enlisted to do much of the interior work, Gray said, and some interior items will come from the old Lakeview school.

The building was originally planned as a 17,400 square foot facility, but that plan has been enlarged to 18,000 square feet to accommodate shower facilities in the bathrooms.

“We added showers so that the building could be used for people to go for emergency shelter in case of a disaster,” Gray said.

The building will feature a 9,000 square foot open area and will also include a smaller meeting room, restrooms, a concession area, and office space for the County Extension service.

The facility will be built by Claudell Wright Construction Co. of Amarillo at a cost of $408,000.

“That gets us about 90 percent done,” Gray said. “We’re still taking donations to do the interior work.”

To contribute to this project or to get more information, call Gray at 874-2095 or by mail to the Friends of Donley County, PO Box 661, Clarendon, TX 79226.