Dick Bender

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  CASD gives go ahead to new project - Local News -... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/11/2004    Last Visited: 11/12/2004  

  Members of that committee are superintendent Ed Sponseller, Michael, business manager Rick Vensel, high school principal Barry Purvis, high school associate principal Christine Henn and building and grounds supervisor Dick Bender.

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  CASHS renovations on schedule - Local News -... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/18/2003    Last Visited: 7/18/2003  

  The renovations to Chambersburg Area Senior High School are in "pretty good shape," Dick Bender, director of buildings and grounds for the Chambersburg Area School District, said at Wednesday night's school board meeting.
  
  "We're actually ahead of schedule in equipment delivery," he said.There's only "one fly in the ointment" and that's with the delivery of the switchgear, but he's expecting it very soon.
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  Bender said the roof is 50% completed, the second floor is wired and units and piping have been installed, fans are running and cabinets have been finished.With no problems, the building can be open in time for school to start this fall.
  
  At Chambersburg Area Middle School, the parking area and new driveways are still under construction, but the sound system is almost finished.
  
  The roof at Thaddaeus Stevens Elementary School is 75% complete, but the track at J. Frank Faust Junior High School hasn't been started because of problems with the bond.Those problems have been taken care of and crews should start work next week, Bender said.
  
  Completion of the new Scotland Elementary School has been pushed back by about two months from Aug. 23, 2004, to Oct. 22, 2004.

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  Chambersburg Public Opinion - Board sets fees for... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/8/2006    Last Visited: 9/8/2006  

  Buildings and grounds supervisor Dick Bender said assumed wear and tear of the facility was calculated into the established fees.

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  Chambersburg Public Opinion - Construction to steadily... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/22/2006    Last Visited: 12/22/2006  

  Dick Bender, buildings and grounds supervisor for Chambersburg Area School District, said crews are expected to return to work the day after Christmas to continue construction of the new school, which is slated to open at the start of the 2007-08 school year.
  
  He said work is progressing smoothly, and the goal is to have the facility under roof by early next week.That way, he said, crews will be able to continue work on the interior of the school during the winter months.
  
  "So far we've had pretty good weather, so it has given us an opportunity to get a lot of work done we usually wouldn't have started until spring," Bender said."I guess you could say we're a little ahead of the game."
  
  The $14 million, 83,000-square-foot school was put on the fast track by district officials in June so the building would be ready for occupancy in August.Upon completion it will hold about 540 pupils from Fayetteville and Duffield elementary schools.
  
  Bender said crews are working "a lot of extra days and long hours" in an effort to meet the deadline.He added Mother Nature is on their side.
  
  He said more than three dozen masons were on site last week to set blocks, and he expects to see they will continue at that pace until the unseasonably warm weather passes.

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  Chambersburg Public Opinion - Contractors play catch... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/21/2006    Last Visited: 7/21/2006  

  Chambersburg Area School District's building and grounds supervisor, Dick Bender, said rain is to blame for the delays, but he said he is pleased with the progress crews are making.
  
  "We're starting to try to get back on schedule," Bender said.
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  Bender added that rain this summer has come in heavy downpours, which wreaks havoc on the site.
  
  "We get one rain storm, and it has to be a couple of inches.The water just sits there because it has no place to go," Bender said."If we'd get a little bit of rain at a time, it would have the chance to go away and the area dry up pretty quickly."
  
  He said heavy rains do nothing but turn the area into a mud pit that limits activity by heavy equipment.
  
  "If we try to run some of this equipment through the mud, all we do is create big ruts that we'd have to go back in and fix," he said."We're trying not to redo the work we've already done."
  
  Bender said crews this week are installing the fencing around the complex, painting the concession stands, finishing some
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  Bender said it is possible that the first week of practices for Chambersburg's fall sports teams, set to begin Aug. 14, will not take place on the field.But, he said officials are working with the coaching staff in an effort to "try to accommodate the teams as best we can."
  
  He said it's possible that temporary fencing might go up around the field so teams can use the turf, but would be shielded from construction at the bleacher areas.

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  Chambersburg Public Opinion - Elementary school work... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/21/2006    Last Visited: 9/21/2006  

  "We're doing really well with both projects," said Dick Bender, supervisor of buildings and grounds.
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  Bender said the footers are in, and he expects crews will start to pour the floor very soon.The walls will then go up, and he hopes to see the building under roof by the end of the year.
  
  "If we can do that, then we are really on a very, very good pace to finish up by August," he said.
  
  The work is being done with little interference to pupils, he said.
  
  The only major inconvenience to the pupils right now is the loss of their play areas.Bender said much of the playground was sitting in the "critical path" of construction, so educators are finding alternative methods of recreation.

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  Chambersburg Public Opinion - School project eyes... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/7/2006    Last Visited: 8/7/2006  

  Hamilton Heights Elementary School's expansion project is right on schedule, and construction is expected to be complete by December, buildings and grounds supervisor Dick Bender said Friday.
  
  Bender said crews began laying the concrete slabs for the new floors on Friday and will work through the end of August to install the remaining walls and roof for the expansion.
  
  Bender also said plans are still on pace to finish constructing three of the added classrooms before the first day of school on Aug. 28.
  
  "(Construction) is going really well.We're actually ahead of schedule," Bender said.
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  Bender said officials hope to finish construction on the new Trojan Stadium by the end of the month.
  
  In recent weeks, heavy rainfall and a delay in the delivery of the steel used to construct the bleachers caused renovations at the stadium to fall behind schedule."Over the last two weeks or so, we've done an excellent job of catching up," Bender said.

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  Chambersburg Public Opinion - Stadium cost nears $6.5M - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/9/2006    Last Visited: 9/9/2006  

  "Really, most of the money in this project is hidden underground," said Dick Bender, district buildings and grounds supervisor."It's money that is tied up in stuff we're required by the state to make sure is done in any project."
  
  He said a chunk of the tab is going toward storm water retention and drainage projects.He said crews had to put a retention basin under the football field so it would not "supercharge the borough's sewer system."
  
  Criteria to bring the stadium in compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act also became costly, according to Bender.
  
  "These are all things that we would have had to do, no matter what type of work we did at the stadium," Bender said.
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  Bender said the district is required to pay all contractors prevailing wage as dictated by the state on any work in the district.
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  Another budget eater, according to Bender: Per person requirements for rest room stalls and parking spaces.He said the facility has 72 bathrooms and 1,404 parking spaces.
  
  "For every five people (the facility can hold) you have to have one parking spot," Bender said, noting the stadium is designed to house 7,023 spectators.

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  Chambersburg Public Opinion - Stadium nearly complete:... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/16/2006    Last Visited: 8/16/2006  

  Dick Bender, buildings and grounds supervisor at Chambersburg Area School District, said the facility will be ready for use in time for the first home football game of the season on Sept. 8.Actually, he said, officials are shooting for completion in time for the first soccer game -- Sept. 5.
  
  "We've really been able to come a long way in the past three weeks," Bender said."The weather has really cooperated with us, and the guys are working evenings and weekends to try to get done as soon as we can."
  
  Bender said crews are doing some final concrete work at the facility.He said the track surface is completed, and workers will soon begin to macadam the parking lots.He said the stadium bleacher project is a bit behind schedule, but said crews are "catching up."
  
  It's estimated that about 50 contractors are at work each day on the field.
  
  "Actually, we're on top of each other sometimes and that's sort of slowing us down," he laughed.
  
  He said crews likely will be able to turn the field over to the student athletes today so they can begin to use the surface for practices.
  
  "We're getting there.
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  "We'll be checking for light distribution, and will make any necessary adjustments," Bender said.
  
  Crews likely will be putting some finishing touches on the stadium even after the opening day.Bender said the dry weather does not make it feasible to finish all the plantings and seedings throughout the greenspace.
  
  "That's really with any project," he said.

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  Chambersburg Public Opinion - Students evacuate during... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/18/2006    Last Visited: 11/18/2006  

  Chambersburg Area schools, according to buildings and grounds supervisor Dick Bender, had minimal damage.He said there were a few leaks at Duffield Elementary School and Chambersburg Area Middle School, and said construction slowed to a halt at the new Fayetteville Elementary School.
  
  "We had a couple of roof drains that got clogged with leaves, but that kind of stuff is common when we get a lot of rain this time of year," Bender said.

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