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A home at last

Performance space, baseball field open at BHS
Cutting the ribbon Saturday for the new Bayfield Performing Arts Center were Superintendent Troy Zabel and Tim Stumpf and Barb Wickman, the current and former school board presidents. Marty Zwisler, the project construction manager, is in the background.

It has been a long wait for an auditorium in Bayfield.

On Saturday, the wait finally ended.

With the flourish of a cut purple ribbon, hundreds of community members showed up to tour the new addition at Bayfield High School. It includes a 450-seat auditorium, a state-of-the-art baseball field, a practice gymnasium, new music rooms, and display space for student artwork.

A free barbecue lunch also was served.

The new wing at the school is the culmination "of an incredible amount of support" from voters and community members, said Tim Stumpf, president of the Bayfield school board.

"We're here at the high school, but these aren't high school facilities," added Superintendent Troy Zabel. "These are community facilities and K-12 facilities. We want them to be utilized for everyone."

Zabel noted that Derek Smith, the BHS music teacher, called him out when he attended his first high school music performance here a few years ago after accepting the superintendent position.

"He said, 'Hey, Mr. Zabel, we should not be performing in a gym!' " Zabel remembered.

The new facility show that students' education goes beyond academic classes, but also includes arts, activities and athletics, Zabel said.

The list of thank yous was extensive, but displayed the community's support for the new addition. School officials mentioned FCI Constructors, Todd Funkhouser of RMBA Architects, construction manager Marty Zwisler, Marion Tone and the parents at the Bayfield Association for the Advancement of Music, and Anne Cook for heading the "Yes on 2A" community campaign for the bond. Zabel noted that school and district staff also worked extra on the project, including Amy Lyons, the district finance director; Russell Wise and the maintenance staff; Jeff and Julie Whitmore for preparing and serving lunch; and the schools' music teachers, Lech Usiniwicz, John Patton and Smith. Southwest Ag provided golf carts to give people a lift out to the baseball fields if they needed assistance.

After the ribbon cutting, BHS students provided tours of the new facilities, and there were performances by school music groups, as well as The Jelly Bellies.