CLENDENIN, W.Va. — Upon visiting the future site of the new Clendenin Elementary School and seeing the progress being made there, Mayor of Clendenin, Kay Summers said it’s just adding to the revitalization going on in the area following the devastating 2016 flood.
Summers joined the Kanawha County Board of Education on a tour of the developing site Friday. She said it’s just one of the many new additions coming to Clendenin that will potentially bring in more visitors and residents alike.
“I’m really, really excited, I’m excited for our kids and our whole community, because this is going to bring new people to our community, as well, state-of-the-art schools, and we have all of the other stuff going on in Clendenin, the trail, the kayaking, and different things,” she told MetroNews on Friday before touring the school.
Restoration of the town and the re-build of homes and businesses have been an ongoing effort in the seven years since the flood with the addition of new restaurants, the Clendenin Brewing Company, the Clendenin Library, and the expansion of recreational activities along the Elk River.
The recently-established 73-mile Elk River Trail stretching from Clendenin to Gassaway, and the onset of bike, boat, and kayak rentals coming to the area have added many new tourism possibilities. This has also attracted Air bnbs to be established in the area.
However, the reconstruction of Clendenin Elementary and Herbert Hoover High School is what Summers said will also potentially attract new residents to the community, and the schools were very much-needed.
“It has been 7 years, we haven’t had a school, the kids have been in portables and they were looking ugly and they were dilapidated, so this is wonderful,” she said.
Construction on both schools are now steadily coming along, with Herbert Hoover nearing completion and Clendenin Elementary’s completion date expected for the 2024-25 academic year.
Positioned just off U.S Route 119 on Wolverton Mountain Road, the new Clendenin Elementary School’s high-elevation is a major feature of the site. Summers said this can potentially be an advantage if the town were to ever be subject to another devastating flood and can be used to provide emergency services.
“That’s another nice thing, so if we need to, we can land helicopters, if there’s another flood we have all of that here, so a flood won’t get us here,” said Summers.
Summers said they hope to welcome in even more businesses and recreational opportunities to the community.