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Wildcreek area homeowners protest plans for new high school on golf course


WILDCREEK GOLF COURSE
WILDCREEK GOLF COURSE
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Plans are underway to build a new high school on the Wildcreek Golf Course in Sparks.

"This was just the perfect location for the Washoe County school district." This district's Chief Operations Officer, Pete Etchart said, "we really didn't, I can't say that we had a plan 'B.' Trying to find acreage in an urban environment is very difficult."

District officials have already unveiled designs for the new high school in Sparks and they've gotten approval from several regional agencies. The campus would take over half of Wildcreek Golf Course, shrinking the green from eighteen holes to just nine.

"Why would anybody in their right mind take a beautiful property like this and tear it up?" Darlene Hesse has been living on the golf course for 40 years.

She and some of the other people whose homes back up to the golf course have formed a group called "Save Wildcreek" to protest plans for the new school. If they have a say, the school district's plan will not come to fruition.

"If you take a1/3 of it or 1/4 of it, you're ruining the whole golf course." Liz and Wesley Griffin started the "Save Wildcreek" campaign. They just launched a website and started holding community meetings to try to stop the school district from starting construction in their backyard.

Wesley Griffin said, "it's a public treasure and it's not only for us. It's for everybody in the community."

The Griffins enjoy the vast green views that living along the golf course offers and they worry about the animals that could be displaced when construction starts. "We've got marmots out here; we've got coyotes, bobcats."

Darlene Hesse said she enjoys getting up early in the morning and watching the wildlife. "There's mule deers here. There's badgers here. There are so many different animals, it's a shame."

Other residents are concerned a high school made to support an estimated 2,500 students will make their neighborhood a lot noisier. Kathleen Shupp said, "you're talking about marching bands." She's also concerned about traffic congestion.

Neighbors are also questioning why district officials want to build a school in an area prone to flooding. They said the golf course filled with water as recently as this January. Wesley Griffin said, "so we're going to put a $100 million school here in the middle of a flood zone."

Many of the neighbors know there is a need for more schools in Washoe County. Griffin said, "we're all for a school. Many of us voted for WC-1;" but they believe Wildcreek Golf Course is the wrong place to build one.

Darlene Hesse said, "it's gonna be a terrific loss if we lose this golf course."

District officials are hoping to open the new high school by the 2022 school year, but it's not clear when they plan to break ground or where they are in the planning process.

Residents involved in the "Save Wildcreek" campaign said they are disappointed because they feel like the Washoe County School District has not been transparent during this process. They have hired a lawyer and they say they are considering filing a lawsuit.

The Washoe County School District is holding a town hall meeting on Monday, July 24 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Esther Bennett Elementary School. Officials said they will be discussing the Wildcreek project at that meeting.

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