Seven months ago, Pollard McCall Junior High School suffered a loss on their school’s campus when their library was destroyed by fire.
PMJH principal Hugh White said the rebuilding of the library has been a fairly smooth project, with a possible move-in date scheduled for February.
“The construction has come along in a very timely manner,” he said. “We had not anticipated being able to move in until this summer. However, it looks as if we will be able to move in before February provided that the building passes inspection.”
The earlier-than-expected move-in date could be because of the numerous donations the school has received after their loss.
“Many businesses, churches and individuals have been very generous and donated either books or money to be used to help purchase books and equipment for the new library,” White said. “I am hesitant to name particular groups or individuals for I may fail to mention all of those who have been so generous and kind to donate. However, the generosity has been overwhelming, and we are very grateful.”
One local business, Quantum Resources Management’s Jay, Fla., division, has donated $5,000 to the library to go towards the purchase of new books to help replace those lost in the fire.
Another local industry that teamed with the school to help raise funds aimed at re-filling the library with books lost in the summer blaze was Georgia-Pacific.
GP has been working to help raise funds for the Pollard-McCall Junior High School library after a fire during the summer completely destroyed the building and its contents. The interactive fundraiser gives area residents a chance to help with their efforts.
An online Titlewish fundraiser began Oct. 3 and ended Dec. 31.
Jason Daniel, manager of public affairs at GP in Brewton, said the project brought in a total of $2,700.
Beyond the physical structure of the library, the school lost all of its contents in the library — including equipment such as computers, projection material and the school’s only Smartboard.
“At this time, we are unsure of exactly when students will be able to fully use the new library due to the fact that the insurance company has not released the money for the contents lost in the fire,” White said. “Our library media specialist, Mrs. Sarah Anne Fountain, has her book order on hold to be placed as soon as the money is released.”
The library building, which was constructed in 1999, also housed two classrooms and restrooms.