LCPS marks milestone with topping-out ceremony for new E.B. Frink Middle School
LA GRANGE — Lenoir County Public Schools marked a major construction milestone for the new E.B. Frink Middle School during a topping-out ceremony Tuesday, March 3, as officials and community partners signed and watched the placement of the building’s main beam.
Superintendent Brent Williams called the moment an “important milestone step” in a long project built through partnerships among LCPS, Lenoir County commissioners, the Town of La Grange, state leaders and the project’s design and construction teams.
“This school represents what our students and our community deserve,” Williams said, calling for “the very best” learning environment and facilities. He noted the new campus is rising near an aging school building where teaching and learning continue daily.
Principal Dr. Michael Moon said the new school has been years in the making and is already visible from the current campus.
“It’s real now,” Moon said. “We can hear it every day, we can see it every day.”
Lenoir County commissioners Chair Linda Rouse Sutton called the event historic and said the project shows what can happen through collaboration. She noted her previous service on the school board and said new school construction was rare during that time.
N.C. House Rep. Chris Humphrey credited Sen. Jim Perry with urging action to pursue state funding, saying Perry encouraged him to make calls after the legislature set aside money for rural schools. Humphrey thanked local stakeholders for sustained efforts to secure the grant and said he did not expect to see a new middle school built in La Grange.
Two La Grange Town Council members, Noah Clark and Cindy Motsko, spoke in place of Town Manager Shawn Condon, who organizers said was ill. Clark said he had walked the halls of the existing school and called the project meaningful for the community.
Architect Robbie Ferris of SfL+a Architects said the project reflects a “knitting together” of many pieces, including state support through the needs-based grant program, local funding, and steady work by the project teams. He said the school will serve the community for decades.
MetCon project manager David Jackson thanked LCPS leaders and partners and recognized the on-site construction team, calling it a privilege to build the new campus.
The program ended with instructions for attendees to sign the beam and move to designated viewing areas as the crane prepared to swing the beam into place. Organizers said the signed beam will remain part of the building long after construction is complete.
