ANDERSON, Ind. —
The Tribe stays at the Wigwam for now.
A move to close the Wigwam gym to sports events failed Tuesday evening as the Anderson Community Schools board defeated the proposal on a 4-2 vote. Proposal sponsor William Riffe and member Keith Millikan were the lone board members to vote in favor of closing the gym.
Some board members and patrons said that with the combined high schools next year, the larger gym could be needed for basketball games and other events. Riffe has said the gym should be self-supporting and not drain funds that could be used in the classroom.
“We can no longer afford to subsidize the Wigwam gym,” Riffe said. “The gym must pay for itself to remain open. ... The long-term cost of this gym is going to be staggering.”
Anderson High School loyalist Tom Earl, president of the Save Our Schools organization and a 49-year season ticket holder for Anderson High School Indians basketball, said, “We will need the Wigwam.
“It can be a unifying force for the community.”
Earl also called Riffe’s attempt to close the Wigwam gym “a parting shot at Anderson High School,” and a “vendetta.”
When Riffe took exception, Earl said, “Bill, you know as well as I do you have never been pro-Anderson High School.”
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
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Related Photos
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ACS school board member Bill Riffe answers a question about his proposal to charge rent for use of the Wigwam gym. Riffe's proposal failed to win enough votes for approval. THB photo/Don Knight
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Wigwam-closing vote fails
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