Ghost who goes moo can’t keep dancers away from new facility
The new dance room at the Winchester Cultural Center at 3130 S. McLeod Drive was opened and dedicated Jan. 25 despite complications that some staff members joked were caused by the ghost of a cow.
"It was just about ready to go, but they were having trouble with the lights flickering," said Tiffannie Bond, who teaches dance classes for the Winchester Star Catchers at the center. "For a while we were saying it was the cow they found when they were building the room coming back to haunt it."
The new dance room is an addition built on the northwest corner of the existing building. While digging the foundation, workers unearthed a long bone they couldn't identify. Construction halted to allow the Metropolitan Police Department to investigate the possible crime scene. It was quickly identified as a cow, probably from a nearby farm when the area was much more rural.
"There wasn't a farm right here, but there were several farms nearby," said Patrick Gaffey, Clark County Parks and Recreation cultural program supervisor. "Also, a wash used to cut across the property, so the bone could have come from somewhere upstream."
The light problem was resolved without calling in a bovine exorcist. All jokes about heifer haunting aside, the staff and people in the neighborhood are excited about the renovations to the cultural center, which was built in 1982 and was beginning to show 30-plus years of wear and tear.
"We've replaced all of the carpet," Gaffey said. "We still had the old carpet from 1982. The original air conditioners were replaced also."
A new fire alarm system was installed.
A clipping on Gaffey's office wall from a county newsletter in September 1982 brags that four county commissioners attended the Aug. 4 ribbon-cutting ceremony of the building, which was originally the Winchester Community Center. Harry Reid, whom the article identifies as "The former chairman of the Gaming Control Board," gave the invocation for the building. The article also refers to Winchester as the most populated area in the Las Vegas Valley.
The most visible change is the addition of the new dance room, which was designed incorporating suggestions from the students and instructors who will be using it. Special storage drawers were installed that were sized to allow dancing props to be stowed away. The room has a built-in sound system and high ceilings.
"The old dance room was hard on the dancers; the floor was basically concrete," Gaffey said. "The new dance studio is designed for dancing with a suspended base covered with Marley (a non-skid padded dancing surface)."
The room will be used by several groups for many different styles of dance including hip-hop, old English country dance and Mexican folkloric.
"Clark County Parks and Recreation requested federal Community Development Block Grant money to build the dance room," said Bond. "The county has a large citizen committee that reviews applications for this money, and it chose this project as the one to fund. Dancers, their parents and instructors wrote letters in December of 2009 in support of the new dance studio."
The block grant also went to improve a walled courtyard adjacent to the new studio and some of the older multipurpose rooms. Paving stones were installed, replacing what had been bare earth. Gaffey said outdoor tables and a portable stage will be used for special events and small outdoor concerts.
Improvements and refurbishing are expected to continue for several months at the center. Exterior lighting is set to be replaced with new LED lights and fixtures, and the parking lot is set to be repaved.
"One thing we're really looking forward to is the new bathrooms over by the skate park," Gaffey said. "That will solve a lot of long-term problems, especially providing power during events."
Gaffey explained that during special events, there was no power available to operate lights, sound equipment and other things, so it was often necessary to rent a generator. The new restroom buildings will include locked external power outlets.
Contact Sunrise/Whitney View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 702-380-4532.
