From Neglected Ground to Community Asset
When Pine Eagle School District Superintendent Cammie approved moving forward with the track project, it marked the beginning of something much bigger than preparing for track and field events. It was the first step in transforming a long-neglected school district property into a functional public parking area that will serve athletes, families, and the broader community for years to come.
From the start, every plan needed to align with the school district’s goals. That required careful coordination, clear communication, and true collaboration. What followed was more than 60 hours of organizing people, bids, and materials. We purchased necessary pipe, secured garbage services, coordinated tire hauling, organized volunteers, and worked through dozens of meetings and emails to finalize details — including establishing a permanent location for four 40-foot storage containers.
Shawn, the Pine Eagle School District Facilities Manager, served as our primary point of contact throughout the project. At the same time, he was overseeing installation of the new track and field lighting — a major undertaking of its own. In August, Cammie joined the effort more directly, helping move the project forward with renewed energy and coordination.
One of the largest physical tasks involved relocating the four 40-foot containers. Each move required hours of work: removing all contents, relocating the container, and then carefully repacking everything once it was placed in its permanent location. This process was repeated for each container to ensure proper placement and long-term functionality.
At the same time, we worked to identify a permanent home for the Community Gym equipment, which had been in storage since 2020. The equipment filled an entire container — space we will need for storing future track equipment. Our goal was to avoid unloading and reloading all 13 pieces of gym equipment unnecessarily. Although that ultimately became part of the process, raising the issue created a “think tank” of community members. By November, that shared focus and collaboration led to meaningful solutions.
We also coordinated with Anderson & Perry to complete a topographical (TOPO) study of the property. Steve, from the Hells Canyon Journal, dug through historical records to help locate the original engineer associated with the site. Each step added clarity and direction to the larger vision.
The cleanup itself revealed just how heavily the property had been used for informal dumping over the years. The scope was significant:
30 yards (three trailer loads) of tires removed
Two abandoned cars, donated to the fire district for training exercises
One full 40-yard container of recycled metal
One full 40-yard container of garbage
An additional 30-yard trailer of waste
One old high jump mattress removed
A large community debris burn pile prepared for fall burning
Altogether, this represented years of accumulated dumping and deferred maintenance.
To prepare the site for permanent container placement, Kerry Gulick Construction delivered and leveled 30 yards of gravel, creating a stable foundation. With the containers now properly positioned, a future phase can include constructing a roof structure over them for long-term protection and usability.
This work was not accomplished by a few individuals alone. The high school football and basketball teams, along with their coaches, volunteered multiple times — dedicating hours of hard labor to removing debris, unloading containers, and helping reset the space. Their willingness to show up and work was a powerful example of student leadership and community pride.
What began as a parking solution for future track and field events evolved into a broader community improvement project. It required coordination, persistence, partnership, and vision. It brought together school leadership, local businesses, volunteers, engineers, journalists, students, and community members — all working toward a shared goal.
Today, the property is no longer an overlooked dumping ground. It is a prepared, organized, and purposeful space — ready to support upcoming track meets and events, and ready to serve the community in a new and lasting way.
