YOUNGSTOWN Demolition of school set to begin

Last year, Vindicator readers named Washington school among the area's biggest eyesores.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Kathy Woodall lives near the decrepit old Washington school and regularly drives past to use the nearby Interstate 680 ramp.
She was a substitute teacher there in the 1970s and has some nice memories. Daily trips past the West Side eyesore the past two decades since the school closed, however, have been sad ones.
"For any teacher, it's not a good thing to see," Woodall said. "It really would be better to see it come down."
Finally, it will.
The city recently awarded a $347,900 contract to Broadway Contracting of Cleveland to remove asbestos and level the eyesore. City council set aside $375,000 in federal money over the past three years for the work. The last of the funding was just appropriated.
Demolition time line
Asbestos removal should start in mid-July, said Carmen Conglose Jr., deputy director of public works. The contract calls for 45 days of asbestos removal and 45 days of demolition. The building, bounded by Portland, Lakeview and Oakwood avenues, should be gone and grass planted over the top by mid-October, he said.
Some of the debris will need to go to a special landfill for hazardous material. Some of the asbestos inside has come loose, Conglose said.
The city must approve routes that trucks use to haul away the debris and will try to minimize disruption to the neighborhood, he said.
Last year, Vindicator readers named Washington school among the city's top eyesores in the newspaper's "Beyond the Blight" series.
At the time, West Side resident Laura Damko said she detoured out-of town visitors to avoid I-680 and the old school. She even volunteered to help tear down the building.
A year later, Damko feels just as strong.
"I am overwhelmed with joy to hear that nasty building will be demolished," she said. "I would love to watch the destruction."
Damko hopes the project spurs West Side residents to clean up their properties. "If they see the city government is trying, hopefully they will, too."
Last year, Mark Knafels wrote a long and detailed letter about blight in the area. Washington school was at the top of his list.
"I'm passionate about this place and don't want to see it slip any further into decay than it already has. I trust you will understand," he said.
Today, Knafels certainly is glad the building is coming down. But he can't get over how long it took.
It's a tragic reminder of the city's problems, he said.
"It's hard to believe it's taken as long as it has," Knafels said. "They built the Pentagon in less time."
Dangerous place for kids
Santos and Sylvia Torres have lived on Lakeview Avenue, just down the street from the school, for the past 11 years.
Sylvia pumped her arm in the air a couple of times when she heard the news last week.
They have four children and two grandchildren living with them. They said it's a chore to keep the small kids away from the dangerous old school.
The last few years have been bad, they said. Vandals have thrown bricks off the roof and set fires. They're glad to know the site will be covered over with grass.
"At least it will be a little cleaner," Santos said.
Jen and Becky Williams live on Lakeview right across from the school. They have lots of reasons to be happy.
They're thrilled that their nephew, Jordan Barber, age 2 1/2, will be able to play in the new grass.
Once the building is gone, Jen can finally be comfortable sleeping with her bedroom window open. Vandals who get into the school's second and third floors can see right into her room.
Finally, it will be nice not having a mist blowing from the school into their house after it rains. Wind blows the water dripping from the school's roof through the broken windows and across the street for three days after a rain, they said.
"I couldn't be happier," Jen said.
Seeing is believing
Their next-door neighbor, Al Swegan, has experienced all of Washington school's shuttered 22 years. He moved in a year before the school closed.
The first 10 years or so weren't a problem, since the school was used for storage. Vandals started taking their toll after that. The building really became dangerous the past five years, he said.
Glass falls out of the windows onto the sidewalk. Swegan and other neighbors have resorted to cutting the grass and picking up the glass and garbage that builds up.
He has heard about plans for reusing or knocking down the school before. Swegan, however, will believe it when he sees it.
"There's nobody around here holding their breath," Swegan said. "I'll just be glad that the mess is gone."
Councilman Ron Sefcik, D-4th, was a skeptic, too.
There was no real effort to deal with the school until recent years, he said. Council has focused much more on neighborhoods the past few years, he said.
Nonetheless, Sefcik wasn't real confident council would muster the will and save enough money to do the project.
But it has.
The West Side doesn't get as much city help as the North, South and East sides, so residents deserve this demolition project, Sefcik said.
"I'm happy as hell," he said.
rgsmith@vindy.com