Friends and Neighbors: Kimball High School students work to improve, beautify areas

"If everyone is doing a little we can all do a lot," said Kimball High School teacher Pat Sulu.

Sulu has been encouraging students in her Spanish class to become involved in the community and make changes, and she has partnered with local organizations and other classes as well.

"The first days of school in August, students saw videos of eight local business people explaining what was needed to work in their businesses and how all these skills are learned at Kimball High School," Sulu said. "That started kids thinking about giving back to Kimball."

Three main activities were planned, according to Sulu. Students performed in a lip-dub song competition for the school, while others made a video to "sell the school" to others A third activity is to make murals to beautify the community.

One such project is beautifying a local landmark – the Wheat Growers Hotel.

"When tourists come to Kimball and stop at the tourist center (or anywhere) and ask to see landmarks, they are always directed to the Wheat Growers hotel because it has so much history for us," Sulu said.

Because the hotel has been in disrepair for so long, students from Kimball High School have taken action to improve it.

"Students think that if they start to make the landmark look brighter, someone else might make the commitment to improve the building even more," Sulu said. "The trend will continue to improve and take pride in our community."

Students painted murals of the 1918 second floor windows of the Wheat Grower's Hotel, which are currently displayed on the first floor of the hotel.

Gene Mohr's industrial arts students will soon hang the murals on the second floor, in place of the windows that have been broken out.

"The goal of the students is to improve their community and to save their town's history," Sulu said.

Other painting projects local students have undertaken include the welcome sign in front of Pizza Hut, which has provided positive feedback from the community, according to Sulu.

"For the past three years, I have seen the students grow by having a purpose: work with the idea of improving our Kimball community and letting others know how great our community is," Sulu said.

Students take the opportunity to discuss ideas and each idea meshes with other ideas, Sulu said, and soon everyone is helping.

"Last December, three girls approached me on the day before Christmas and said they wanted to come to school on the Saturday after school was out so they could make a mural for the community," Sulu recalls. "They wanted to give a gift to the community. I am not sure who came up with the idea. Once someone throws out an idea, others throw in their ideas- it just grows."

In December the students painted the Wheat Grower's Hotel door for the community and they followed up with a note to the Abramsons asking to give the community a gift.

Students painted murals January through March for the windows, with work being done over the course of five Saturdays.

"They were surprised that it took so much longer because of the details of the hay bales that outlined the windows in 1918," Sulu said. "They are very proud of their work.

Early in the school year nine or 10 students had worked to create a lip-dub to bring the school together, using the song "Be True To Your School."

If the entry had won, the school would have received $10,000. While Kimball students did not win, the students had fun doing it, and the project included every student.

"We did not win the money but it helped with school spirit," Sulu said. "Everyone wants to make another lip-dub next year, but they want to practice lots more."

For this painting project, local art students added the necessary know-how to paint details and make things seem 3-D.

"We have such talented students. Soroya and Jessica are in art and they are amazing with detail," Sulu said. "The community has been so good to the students, so the students are wanting to give back to the community."

Art projects have been ongoing in Kimball for the last few years, and the students at Kimball High School do not show signs of slowing down.

The classes created bilingual brochures, in English and Spanish, last year. They are placed at the tourist center, to tell why Kimball is a great place to be.

These are the only Spanish brochures at the I-80 visitor center, according to Sulu.

Additionally, last year students partnered with community groups to make a scavenger hunt of places in the community.

The brochure has participants copy the "Peace quote" engraved on plaques in the window of local businesses.

The plaques were carved by local high school student Brendan White in Mohr's industrial arts class.

"The scavenger hunt is for both tourists and locals and it gets people to the businesses," Sulu said. "The business owners liked them and it showed off the abilities from the industrial arts classes."

In past years murals have been painted inside the recycling center and students painted large paintings in some downtown business windows as well.

"That was when there seemed to be a lot of closed stores and students wanted to bring Kimball to life," Sulu said. "Note - the downtown does seem more alive and there are not as many closed buildings. Did the students help?"

Students had two paintings in the closed Co-op gas station by the traffic light before it was demolished, and now that the corner has been updated. Those painting decorate the windows of the Dollar General.

Building all around town have received the face-lifts provided by the local high school students, including the gas company on the west side of Chestnut and the neighboring building that has GRI storage.

In addition to the beautification project, students are also working at the recycling center and the tourist center.

"Everyone is so nice about including the students. When the students are included, they have ownership and pride in Kimball," Sulu said.

It is not all work. Sulu said there are great times to be had, whether it is while painting murals, volunteering for local organizations or learning with others.

"Next Tuesday, I am taking six of the girls who worked so hard on the paintings to a multicultural conference at the University of Nebraska in Kearney," Sulu said. "I want to get all these kids excited for life after high school and college is a great step."

Project plans for the summer are currently in the works, and Sulu is excited for Kimball High School students' involvement in painting a mural where the Corner Bar once stood.

"The painting is awesome, so the kids would love to help," Sulu said.

Additionally, the director of the visitor's center and the recycling center have asked that students paint outside walls on those buildings.