When will progress be made on the Hicks gym?
VERNON PARISH, La. (KALB) - In the Hicks community, the high schools gym appears to be the talk of the town. Information has been sparse and not shared with the community, said Donnis Poe, a concerned resident. Hurricane Laura hit almost ten months ago, and the high school has not had a gym since. Weve lost from indications one year, Poe said. Poe also fears the school could go without a gym for another year. She said this would leave students without a place to do physical education or participate in extracurricular activities. Hicks was always one of our main priorities, James Williams, the Vernon Parish School Board Superintendent, said. I know it probably doesnt look like that because there hasnt been a whole lot of work done.  Williams said the entire gym will need to be redone. The gym is part of a $27 million insurance claim which includes 18 other schools. Hicks High School has been the priority of that claim, William said. We are going to do everything we can at Hicks before the other schools get work done at their schools.  Tim Ward, the director of finance, talks to Poe every week and said transparency is critical. We are going to do our best to keep the public informed as we go forward, Ward said. Any updates that we have as soon as we get them, we will put that out to the public.  We are not on a bandwagon to condemn anybody, Poe said. We would all like to see where we can come together. Can we as a community assist the school board?  Click here to report a typo. Copyright 2021 KALB. All rights reserved.