Independence needs new high school

West Delaware. A name that gets the blood of any Independence fan boiling. There is nothing worse than a loss to our biggest rival, yet it happens time and time again. Why?

Well, it all starts with facilities. West Delaware has a large weight room to shape its athletes into state-contending material, whereas in Independence we have half of an old shop to work with. They have multiple gyms with more than one basketball court to give plenty of room to do workouts.

We get lucky if one isn't being used so our athletes can actually practice in them and even then our space is severely limited.

With our athletic facilities being so close to the bottom of the ladder, it makes one wonder how classrooms are holding up. As a recent graduate from Independence High School, I saw how they are. Crowded, small, not technologically up to date.

So, whether sports or academics are your biggest concern, the bottom line is our school is out of date and isn't competing with others like it should be. The only way to fix this is to start from square one by supporting the push for a new school.

Austin Ciesielski

Rowley