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Breaking ground

The ground has been broken for the new Manawa Activity Complex.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Saturday, April 7, in conjunction with the Manawa Alumni Basketball Tournament.

Scott Groholski, president and owner of Point of Beginnings, the Stevens Point company overseeing the construction of the Activity Complex, started the ceremony by saying a few words about the project.

Anyone who wanted to take part in the actually groundbreaking was allowed to.

The Manawa School Board shared photo opportunities with current Manawa students. The fundraising committee took part, as did four Manawa students who will one day play football on the new football field that will be part of the complex.

Groholski said construction should begin around Wednesday, April 18.

First, the track will be removed, as well as the stumps left from the trees that were cut down. The entire field will then be stripped, the sub-grade will be shaped and drainage will be added. To complete the project, black dirt will be put back on the field and the field will be seeded.

“Hopefully the field is planted and totally completed by the end of May,” Groholski said. “Hopefully we are 100 percent out of here Aug. 1.”

Groholski said the project originally started when the Manawa School District inquired about fixing up and top dressing the football field. But in only a few short months, it turned into a “full blown football stadium with a track, lighting, everything,” he said.

“The only reason that happened was because of the community and the fundraising group,” Groholski said. “We work all over the state with different districts and you mention the amount of fundraising that happened in a short amount of time you just get people rolling their eyes, ‘Like, wow, that’s unbelievable.’ And it is, it is truly unbelievable the way this small community came together and raised all the money.”

It’s something that Groholski said he has not seen before.

“There are some bigger communities that have maybe a lot more independent wealth, people can write bigger checks,” Groholski said. “You look at Manawa, it’s not a metropolis like Appleton, Milwaukee or Madison. To raise that kind of money in a short period of time with an economy that is coming out, but it’s still struggling, that obviously shows the pride and joy that the community has for their athletic program and their school.”

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