Doherty High School has suffered a handful of setbacks and tragedies. For some, the biggest setback was flooded pipes that made the gym floor buckle, making the large gym unusable. On October 22nd, 2018, Doherty had a pipe burst in the east hallway, and as a result, Doherty High School was shut down for the week. The damages lead to pipe and carpet replacement, as well as hours of cleanup and mold prevention. It also exposed a bigger problem: mercury vapors in the old floor under the wooden floor were deemed to be unsafe, so these levels had to be taken care of before work could begin.

“The flood impacted everyone in this building,” said Assistant Principal Lana Flenniken. From gym classes in the hallways to games at the Wasson campus, it has been an exercise in flexibility for everyone. When we lost our gym temporarily, the student body was not able to experience many events, such as assemblies like the Senior Farewell, the other classes shifting over a grade, and much more. Sports games such as basketball and volleyball were transported to Wasson High School, and many gym classes had to scramble to find a place to keep their classes running. Even the Freshman of 2023 were not able to have their first pep assembly in the gym.

After tearing out the old flooring for the gym, the construction workers realized there was more than just fixing the floor; our bleachers had to be torn down too due to old age and structural standards. New bleachers will comply with new ADA requirements.

Junior Juliana Bomark responded, “I’m really looking forward to all the new additions to the gym this year.”

There were meetings about the bleachers and what they are going to look like. The bleachers will have railings and steps. With these bleachers, we would be losing seats for much of the student body, forcing them to sit on the floors. As a result, there will be more bleachers placed on the original sides and a new set of bleachers on the far north side of the gym. Doherty has a large student body, so it’s important that the large gym would be the only place you can fit a school of roughly 2000 kids into one spot for many gatherings. A lot of work is being put into this gym project, making it way better than the way we left it. There are going to be many exciting improvements and additions to the gym, leaving the disaster behind us and something to look forward too. We’re hoping to have the gym done by early next year.

“I’ll miss the [old] gym very much” Principal Mr. Gardner stated. “It’s the gym that signifies our high school, standing by We before Me” But he is excited about the new additions.

For the Climbing Wall, there was a type of tartan under the floors. The Climbing wall was basically a wooden structure under the climbing wall. The floor needed to be replaced with the problems of old age and just needing to be replaced. Most of the money would be going into making the bleachers and having the reach ADA standards making sure they’re accepted for Americans with Disabilities Acts. With this new gym, students were hoping to have some contribution to the art and the murals but due to the tight timeline that was never an offer to be brought up. With these new bleachers, they will about Doherty students are going to love this new gym and many fun experiences are going to come.

“I’ve only seen the gym in the once, but I’m really excited to see the finished product,” said sophomore Ava Neuharth.