JONATHAN CANADAY
Southwest Arkansas Radio
Nashville School officials presented information to the school board at Tuesday’s meeting about the possibility of having artificial turf at Scrapper Stadium. Football coach Mike Volarvich said many schools in this part of the state have turf football fields and these can be utilized for a variety of activities.
“It brings a lot of things to all of the athletic programs, the physical education classes, and the community. The new field could be utilized by the band program, peewee football games, and cheerleaders. It allows us to use the field year round, instead of five to ten times per year with limited use. It’s a great thing I think to bring to the community.”
Volarvich said the field would drain very well with a turf surface, he also mentioned that the band competitions all take place on turf fields. They are very low maintenance and will last for around 15 years. School officials said the technology into turf is continuing to change and some surfaces now will even reflect heat away from the football field. Volarvich estimated the cost to be around $650,000 and suggested asking for sponsors to help financially, with each receiving some type of logo on the new field.
“We are going to visit people in the community and talk to businesses about raising money. We have a proposal with different strategies to raise funds and I hope people get behind it and see what a big addition it would be to the Nashville community.”
Superintendent Doug Graham also announced that work on the new high school track would begin next week and will be ready for track season. The board discussed making improvements to the football stadium visitor bleachers, however no action was taken.
Resignations at Tuesday’s meeting included Wendy Kinkade, custodian Jennifer Cox, bus driver Jerry Harris, bus driver Hal Scoggins (driving since 1989), and teacher Allyson Tollett. The board voted to extend the contracts for Assistant Superintendent Joe Kell, Maintenance/Transportation/Athletic Director Bunch Nichols, and building principals Tate Gordon (high school), Deb Tackett (junior high), Latito Williams (elementary), and Shirley Wright (primary).
