Dr. William G. Suratt

Dr. William G. Suratt, administrator of Old Dominion Christian School, said the school has received overwhelming support from the area with volunteers and donated supplies.

The school recently purchased the old East Holmes Academy facilities in West and have been renovating the vandalized structures.

"God is taking care of it (the school's needs) day after day," Suratt said.

Office desks, student desks, chalkboard, vinyl stack chairs and much more have been donated to the school.

"Honestly, things that have been given to us would be worth $20,000 if we were paying for them," Suratt said.

A church north of Longview, Texas, is donating a 65-passenger bus to the school.

The people from the West area are volunteering to help, Suratt said.

"It seems like there is an excitement in the area because we are putting it back together," he said.

"The support we are getting from other institutions . . . we didn't expect to have," Suratt said.

Holmes Community College and another institution have donated supplies.

Suratt said a volunteer is coming to mow the severely overgrown athletic fields and bale the freshly cut grass.

"We gave him the grass and he is giving us the free labor," he said."It's just a trade off there.There is really not enough there for the average man to come and do it.But, he said for the school he would do it anyway.That's just been the attitude."

The school's electrical system is still being worked on.Suratt said they have been able to purchase wiring at wholesale cost.

"Someone came in with bolt cutters and cut a lot of electrical wires," Suratt said at an open house last month.

The athletic fields are still in need of some electrical work too.

"It's going to take someone with a big bucket truck to … tie them all together," he said.

Suratt said the first priority was to get the electrical problems resolved in the school facilities.

Fresh coats of paint have been applied in the building, even different colors of an oil-based paint has been applied to the floors.

"It's what's best for the students," Suratt said."It's not what's best for the staff.It's what's best for the students and the students like a variety of colors."

The first week of school will be half-day sessions for the students to adjust and to help teachers fine-tune everything to the smallest detail.

Suratt said the school is still in need of kitchen appliances and furniture for the pre-school.

Dr. William G. Suratt, school administrator, spoke to a small crowd Monday night in their new gym on the changes and improvements they plan to make.

"I know a lot of folks over here grieved when East Holmes closed including us because these kids are our life and I hate that East Holmes closed" Suratt said."We did a lot of praying about things and felt led to move Old Dominion over here."

With the larger facility, Suratt said the tuition they charge would not pay the bills.

"We want folks to be able to afford a good education," Suratt said."Too many times we get our eyes on how much money can we make and that is not a factor at all.That is the reason why our motto is 'for the sake of your children' because they're what it's all about."

When East Holmes closed in May 2006, the contents of the school were sold and Suratt said Old Dominion has a lot of work to get ready for their Aug. 13 opening.

"You don't have to have an invitation," Suratt said.

He urged people to come out and get involved in the repair of the buildings.

"We need parents' support," he said.

The school is seeking donations of time and supplies for just about everything from the classrooms to the cafeteria to the athletic fields.

One of the major undertakings will be the electrical work.

"Someone came in with bolt cutters and cut a lot of electrically wires," Suratt said.

Eventually, he said he would like to put solar panels in the gym and on the football field to cut down on expenses.

"Our ultimate goal is to have this entire campus run by solar energy," Suratt said.

He also has plans for the old high school building.

"The old high school building is the worst vandalized and it will be repaired and turned into Old Dominion Christian College" Suratt said.

The college, which would open in a year's time, would have programs in general education plus degrees for those going into the ministry.

With new athletic facilities, Suratt said they want to start an area-wide church league for several different sports.
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"I really have no idea how many students we will have," Suratt said.
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Dr. William G. Suratt, administrator of Old Dominion Christian School, speaks about the changes being made.

Dr. William Suratt, administrator of the non-denominational school, is very well pleased so far since the move to the former East Holmes Academy facilities."We still have a lot to do, but parental support has been wonderful," said Suratt, "The people from West have been great."The West Library gave hundreds of duplicate copies of books to the school, while Holmes Community College gave "$30,000 dollars worth of school furniture, desks even swivel office chairs, a couple couches, brand new chalk boards still in the box" in lieu of new furniture. Also, Presbyterian Day School of Kosciusko was very supportive in donating desks as well.One church in Pascagoula, that was almost completely wiped out by Hurricane Katrina, was able to donate a large six-burner gas stove with a grill and a double oven."From day one no doubt in my mind, God was in it when all this happened," Suratt expressed.Major progress has been done on the former elementary building in repairing physical damage done before ODCS bought the facilities. Around $6,000 dollars was spent on wire alone not including labor to install it. All windows that were broken out have been replaced, the gymnasium, which has never been air-conditioned before in its entire existence will soon have a unit installed near spring."They've (East Holmes) never air-conditioned the gym there, I don't know how they got by without it, man it gets hot," said Suratt.

Dr. William Suratt, administrator of the non-denominational school, is very well pleased so far since the move to the former East Holmes Academy facilities.

"We still have a lot to do, but parental support has been wonderful," said Suratt, "The people from West have been great."
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"From day one no doubt in my mind, God was in it when all this happened," Suratt expressed.
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"They've (East Holmes) never air-conditioned the gym there, I don't know how they got by without it, man it gets hot," said Suratt.

Dr. William G. Suratt, school administrator, spoke to a small crowd Monday night in their new gym on the changes and improvements they plan to make."I know a lot of folks over here grieved when East Holmes closed including us because these kids are our life and I hate that East Holmes closed" Suratt said."We did a lot of praying about things and felt led to move Old Dominion over here."With the larger facility, Suratt said the tuition they charge would not pay the bills.When East Holmes closed in May 2006, the contents of the school were sold and Suratt said Old Dominion has a lot of work to get ready for their Aug. 13 opening.