Summer completion expected at school

OTHELLO - From the outside the new Wahitis Elementary School in Othello looks almost ready for the bell to ring, but there's still a lot of work going on inside.

Site foreman Andy Fichtenberg estimated there is "probably two months (of construction) left. We're getting ready for all the finishing. In classrooms we have ceilings and doors and flooring going in."

The outside doors and windows have been installed, the sidewalks around the building have been poured and the lights are up and working. The sheetrock is up and the walls are painted in most of the classrooms, but sheetrock still is being installed around the gym and front entrance.

Lights are on and working in most of the classrooms - and have a motion detector that turns them on automatically - and the gym is ready for installation of the maple floor, which is scheduled for this week.

Many classrooms have cabinets installed, while bookcases are going up in the library and cabinets in the main office. Ceilings have been installed in some classrooms. Interior doors and windows are waiting for installation; with the exception of the gym, so are floor coverings.

Outside, the ground is being prepped for landscaping, with heavy equipment cutting a circular planting bed and preparing an entrance from the road.

Project manager Mike Currie said the building should be finished about the end of June. Construction began in August 2011.

Currie said the building will have 24 classrooms, housing about 600 students.