Demolition of the old Richardsville Elementary School should begin in early November as workers this week start removing items from the building.

Architects gave board members a construction update Tuesday during the Warren County Board of Education meeting. Workers should begin auctioning furniture from the building Friday and asbestos will be removed beginning next week, said Kenny Stanfield, principal of Sherman Carter Barnhart architects of Louisville.

At the new school, “there’s still some things to do, but a lot of things have been knocked off,” he said.

Solar panel installation is nearly complete and officials should begin by Thanksgiving selling extra electricity the panels produce to the Tennessee Valley Authority. Still, due to seasonal changes, officials will know in about a year how much energy those solar panels are producing, Stanfield said.

“I’m glad to hear they’ll be flipping the switch at Richardsville,” board member Don Basham said.

Meanwhile, a parking lot at the new Bristow Elementary School should be ready by Nov. 1. The old school is gone, and workers have been constructing a new parking area where the former building stood.

“I really didn’t appreciate how Bristow was going to look from (the road) until the old building was down,” Stanfield said.

Across town, the gym and cafeteria walls are going up at the new Elrod Road Elementary School in the Ivan Downs area. Most of the foundation is in place and workers are still installing geothermal wells at the site. The school is scheduled to be completed by August 2011, architects said.

Recognition

Elizabeth Roberts, a freshman at Greenwood High School, was honored by the board Tuesday after her artwork was recognized on a national level.

One of her paintings was chosen to represent Kentucky in June during the 2010 International VSA Festival. Her piece, a drawing of a vinyl record, was showcased in Washington, D.C., and will sit in children’s museums across the country.

VSA is an organization that focuses on artistic opportunities for people with disabilities. Elizabeth has cerebral palsy.

“I won’t forget any of these things I’ve done over the past year,” Elizabeth said.

Kim Soule, Elizabeth’s former art teacher at Drakes Creek Middle School, submitted her work to the VSA contest. The piece was part of a project for Soule’s class.

“Even though she has limited use of her hands, and there are things she can’t do,” Soule said, “there are so many things she can do.”