Kids in the hall - It's past time for a Cheney High auditorium

I am responding to Mr. (Bill) Johns’ comments that Cheney High School does not “need” an auditorium. (Cheney Free Press, Nov. 24) I think Mr. Johns must not have any idea what the “needs” of drama, choir and band programs are.

I volunteered to help last year with a CHS drama production and was able to see first-hand how difficult it is for our students to practice and perform. The kids painted sets in the hall — to hang in an auditorium they couldn’t rehearse in. They couldn’t fit the entire cast on the practice stage so blocking had to be done the week of the performance.

For those who have never been in a theatrical production, that is one of the first things you do when preparing for a production — not the last. I attended a two-room schoolhouse in Montana; we had access to an auditorium.

After graduating from Cheney High School, my husband and I toured the country for 25 years while serving in the U.S. Army. Never, in 25 years, have I seen a high school or middle school that didn’t have an auditorium.

I am saddened that my high school, now my children’s high school, doesn’t have adequate facilities. I contend that Cheney High School does “need” an auditorium, and it is past time to make that happen.

Debbie Bateman Gerber

Cheney