Areas around Van Huss dome in use again at Dobyns-Bennett

KINGSPORT — Dobyns-Bennett High School has resumed using areas around the Buck Van Huss Dome but not the arena underneath the dome.Next Tuesday at 6 p.m., the Board of Education is to have a called meeting to address matters related to arrangements since the D-B basketball court and volleyball area under the dome is off limits for use, although Assistant Superintendent of Administration Andy True said Wednesday that the school system has resumed using areas surrounding the dome, including the auxiliary gym, swimming pool and classrooms."If the lights of the gym touch it, we are not using it," True said after the called board meeting on Wednesday at the end of which Superintendent Jeff Moorhouse announced the called Aug. 23 voting meeting before the regular non-voting work session. He said the areas around the dome were opened up for use again on Tuesday.According to a Thursday news release from the school system, the purpose of next Tuesday's meeting in the third floor meeting room of the Administrative Support Center, 400 Clinchfield St., "is to consider approval of an amendment to the contract related to security camera upgrades for the district and to consider approval of a memorandum of understanding regarding practice space for Dobyns-Bennett High School athletics."The dome at D-B was closed earlier this month after structural concerns about its circa 1967 wooden supporting structure.True was mum on the specifics to be addressed at the called meeting or any updates on the conditions of the dome and its structural integrity. Concerns found in an engineering and architectural report included the moisture content of the wood.The city announced Tuesday the school system would have use of the Civic Auditorium adjoining the D-B campus during school days, and during school hours that building will be closed to the public.Further, True after the called meeting said the volleyball team is practicing at TNT Sportsplex downtown and will play games at Sevier Middle, the former D-B building that opened in 1926 but has had various renovations since then.On Wednesday night, True and Moorhouse said the votes of the board on Tuesday will address agreements related to the dome and other facilities.Another sport to be addressed with a new venue is wrestling.The city school system owns the former Sullivan North High building, which has a gym, but True said no details are ready about which gym facility or facilities might be used for basketball if the dome's court is not available for use this fall. Volleyball season already has begun.The school system removed a cooling tower at North and transferred it to Robinson Middle School before this school year began, so the gym at the former North has no heating or cooling.The plan had been to convert North's former home into the new home for Sevier Middle School, but the school board rejected the low bid for the project earlier this year after it came in higher than available funding.The Tennessee College of Applied Technology, or TCAT Elizabethton, is offering some technical programs in a section of the North building with heating and cooling separate from the rest of the building.