The Churchville-Chili School District held a groundbreaking ceremony as work begins on the new transportation facility. The transportation facility will be built on the former Pengelly sheep farm on the corner of Westside Drive and Fairbanks Road. The new facility will provide a larger space to service and store the district's nearly 90 buses. The district has six mechanics, approximately 100 drivers, plus administrative support staff. The new facility will also have a fence around the buses to help prevent vandalism. In addition to transportation, the bus garage will become the new home of shipping and receiving for the district. The current transportation facility will eventually be used by the high school, converted to improved vocal music space. The owners of the farm, Willard and Evelyn Pengelly, and the caretakers, Harold and June Harrington, were at the ceremony. The farm has belonged to the Pengelly family for the past 100 years. Two of the barns on the land are at least 100 years old and the farmhouse was built in the early 1800s. The Pengellys and Harringtons, who are business partners, most recently raised sheep on the farm. But in the past, the land has been used to raise fruit and flowers. It has also supported hogs and beef cattle. The Pengellys and Harringtons will continue to raise sheep together, with the Pengellys keeping the sheep at their Dewey Street farm in the winters and the Harringtons keeping the sheep for the summer at their Byron farm. The district began purchasing the land in the early 1990s. Before construction could begin, the history of the farm had to be recorded and will be on record with the Town of Riga. After the groundbreaking ceremony on June 1, work began on Monday, June 4 with the demolition of the barns and farmhouse. The facility is expected to be complete by March 2002. |
