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As a native of Beaumont, and in particular,
South Park Neighborhood, I am grieved, troubled, and angered at the
prospects of tearing down the SPHS structure.
Beaumont has many old buildings
to be proud of, many of which my own great-grandfather helped to
build. Some have been well maintained; some have not, which is a
disgrace. But South Park High School is not just a building, but
it's a "spirit" of pride and belonging and unity of its graduates;
and even the mention of tearing it down rips at the heart
of those of us whose very character and molding as adults were helped
to be formed by that institution. For those of us who grew up here,
the ties to our past, to our heritage are embodied in that building
and that school.
Sadly, it is just about all
that is left to stand proudly in the midst of South Park
Neighborhood, which I might add has most regrettably suffered much neglect
and abandon by the City managers over the years. The mere fact
that "our" school has been neglected to this degree is truly maddening to
the core and rips at the heart! The building should
be repaired, not destroyed! Whatever the problems are
certainly have other less drastic and
tragic solutions.
Indeed, the slogan "The Greenie Fight
Never Dies" is far more than a catchy phrase but is truly a battle
cry and one that forever lives in the hearts of the alumni.
In addition, I would like
to add that I also strongly protest the closing of Bingman. Although it
does not have the historical value as SPHS it is an asset to the
Neighborhood. The shipping of all the South Park kids to schools
outside the neighborhood is just plain wrong. Do you realize you are
eliminating all schools in the whole south end of town, with the
exception of the Pietzsch-MacArthur complex that Peitzsch Elementary was
sacrificed for! This is such an outrage!
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