School hoping community can serve up tennis balls

Preserving the beauty of his school's old hardwood floors is one of the missions of Dixon Middle School Principal James Strope. But he would also be thrilled with more laptops, Mimios, Elmos and interactive boards.

Strope recently went to the school's Parent Teacher Organization to ask if it could help provide tennis balls - to be placed on all of the chairs and desk legs - to prevent the continual scratching and damage to the floors.

"Since this school was built in 1929, the floors throughout the school are basically like a gym floor, and have to be refinished like a gym floor," he said. "If you plopped down desks and chairs in the gym, the coach would probably have a fit - they destroy the floors. I noticed some of the classrooms have tennis balls and the difference they made to the floors, so a couple weeks ago I asked the PTO if they could help provide more tennis balls so we can do all the chairs and desks, and preserve these beautiful floors. If you walk down the sixth-grade hall, it's like stepping back in time - I love the wood floors and would love to preserve them."

The PTO had planned to purchase technology with their fundraising money, so it has turned to the community for help with the tennis balls.

"The PTO would hate to take what funds we have to buy tennis balls, when we really need to help get more technology in the school to keep up to date," said member Katherine Wendling. "If we can get people to donate their used tennis balls, we can help get some of the technology like the Elmos, Mimios, laptops and smart boards which will help get the school's technology up to date."

Strope hopes the community supports the project as he'd rather see the PTO money used for technology.

"To give these kids the computer skills they need in the 21st century, I need more laptops, and that's what the PTO is working on," he said. "All I really need is old tennis balls - I really don't want people to go out and spend money on them. Clean out a garage - even I am going to do that, because I think I may have a couple sleeves laying around in there myself."

The head custodian David Hawkins said he estimates that 1,250 tennis balls are needed for the remaining chairs in the school, and 3,044 tennis balls are needed for the desks.

There will be a box inside the school lobby for people who wish to drop off tennis balls. The Daily News, located at 724 Bell Fork Road in Jacksonville, will also have a box in the lobby for the collection of tennis balls.

Contact Topsail area reporter Suzanne Ulbrich at 910-219-8454. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.