FIELDALE (WSLS 10) - After a landmark in the Fieldale community was forced to close due to lack of funds and maintenance issues, a local non-profit is hoping to change the community center's dismal path.
Fieldale Heritage Incorporated recently purchased the Fieldale Community Center and plans to reopen parts of the facility in 2016.
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No trespassing signs stamp the entrance ways of the Fieldale Community Center. But, Fieldale Heritage is trying to reopen the facility.
Pastor Tom Durrance of the Fieldale United Baptist Church said the center is a staple in this close knit community - giving kids a safe place to hang out and steer away from trouble.
"The pool was not open last year due to financial reasons," commented Durrance. "And so, they grew up in that pool, they're growing up in that pool and they want to get it back open."
That's why the church's youth is stepping up. Last week the youth group raised $240 in hotdog sales that they're handing over to help reopen this beloved building.
"It was just $240, but it was the $240 they earned the hard way: working in the kitchen, sweating, doing dishes," said Durrance.
It's an effort to assist Fieldale Heritage Inc. that recently bought the building from the Henry County Board of Supervisors. The county acquired the land when the prior owner filed for bankruptcy in 2003.
"Then, the county closed it down, because it needed repairs and a lot of them," said President of Fieldale Heritage Inc. Beatrice Bullard. "In the last how many years...they had not put any money into maintenance."
After rumors of tearing the building down, Bullard and Fieldale Heritage Inc. are efforting a multi-phase renovation.
"Our focus will be on the pools," commented Bullard. "There were some frozen pipes and some damaged."
With part of a $700,000 grant from the Smith River small Towns Collaborative, Bullard hopes to open the pools in May 2016. The long term goal is to reopen and renovate the entire center.