ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / May 3, 2000

NORCO – Thursday morning at Sacred Heart School in Norco was a long- awaited affair. After more than 30 years of talking and a year of fund-raising, Scared Heart School finally broke ground on a brand-new gymnasium.

Colleen Remont, principal at Sacred Heart, told the crowd of students, parents, alumni and community leaders gathered in the school cafeteria: “Today is a day that many people have been awaiting for a long time.”According to Remont, the need for a gym has been a topic of concern at the school for over 30 years.

At the present time all physical education programs are limited by weather.

There is no basketball or volleyball on rainy days.

“There is also a great need for a gym in the Norco area for the active St.

Charles Recreation Department,” Remont told the audience. “Sacred Hearthas established a partnership with the recreation department to share this facility. . .this will provide much-needed gym space for the many Norcobasketballs games.”The gym finally began to become a reality about a year ago when Sacred Heart alumnus Trey Boucvalt donated $50,000 to start construction on a gym.

After putting together a committee made up of school teachers, parents, alumni and local businesses, there was an active and aggressive drive to raise the funds to construct the gym.

With the help of the community, generous monetary donations from Motiva, McGhee/Shell Oil, Orion Refining, Foster-Wheeler and Shaw Group and the Norco Civic Association, plus major construction-related donations from Payne Construction and James, Luther and Michael Chester, the gymnasium committee was able to raise $230,000 to start construction of the gym.

Hoping to complete the gym in September or October, Remont reminded everybody the fund-raising is not over. She said the $230,000 is just thebeginning, and more donations are needed.

When construction is finished the gym will be a pre-engineered metal building measuring 100 feet by 100 feet and will contain a basketball court, restrooms, concessions stands, locker rooms and storage rooms.

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