EHS receives $10,000 Lowe’s grant

By Archive

Published: May 13, 2008

Enterprise High School students and faculty on Friday celebrated receiving a $10,000 grant from home improvement retailer Lowe’s, which has a store in Enterprise.

The money has already been put to use by auto mechanics and welding classes to replace equipment lost when the school was struck by last year’s tornado.

After the March 2007 tornado destroyed much of the school, students were relocated to the Enterprise-Ozark Community College campus, where they share college classrooms and also use numerous portable classrooms. However, many students enrolled in Career Technical classes are transported to the Enterprise City Schools Service Center on Hwy. 84 East, where temporary agriscience, auto mechanics and welding classrooms and facilities have been established.

Auto mechanics instructor Steve Icenogle said he used part of the grant money to replace a scan tool that reads automobile computer systems to interpret service codes and perform diagnostic procedures. Welding instructor Dale Stewart said he used a portion of the grant to purchase a state-of-the-art welding machine.

Representing Lowe’s for Friday’s check presentation was local store Manager Shane Showalter, who said Enterprise High School was a natural to receive an education grant from Lowe’s, because the school has worked so hard to recover after the tornado. He also acknowledged the school’s committment to the Skills USA program, which is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives who work toward providing skilled workers in the American marketplace.

“As years go by, there are less and less skilled workers,” Showalter said. “We’re just proud to be a part of this.”

Principal Rick Rainer said the school is grateful to Lowe’s for the grant, which has been an encouragement to students and faculty alike.

“The credit really goes to Steve Icenogle and Dale Stewart,” Rainer said, explaining the teaching pair discovered and applied for the grant through the school’s association with Skills USA.

Rainer said the Career Tech classes at Enterprise High make it one of the few truly comprehensive high schools around and that makes the classes all the more valuable to the school and community. “They provide a service to the community by providing skilled workers,” he said.

Enterprise High students will continue to use the temporary facilities until the new school opens, which is scheduled for the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. Icenogle said , based on the grant guidelines, the school would be eligible to apply for another Lowe’s grant in 2010.