Miss-Delectable
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School for deaf's haunted house to rest in peace- Columbian.com
There won't be screams echoing through the Washington School for the Deaf's annual haunted house this season.
School officials have canceled the fundraising event after learning the building that houses the 10-day production needs to be demolished.
The haunted house has been a Halloween fixture in Clark County for 16 years, attracting an average of 1,300 visitors annually. A 10-person committee debated the decision for months before voting to cancel the event, said Nancy Sinkovitz, director of residential services at the school.
"The space was available this year," said Sinkovitz, who also served as a member of the haunted house committee. "But we knew we would have to put a lot of money into building the set, and pouring all that money into it for just one year didn't make sense if we were going to lose that space next year."
The school's old vocational building was the only site large enough to accommodate the haunted house. It will be removed within the coming year to make way for a new school that will house grades kindergarten through 12. That new building will not have an area large enough for the haunted house to return, Sinkovitz said.
Beyond the building issue, the haunted house also wasn't proving effective as a fundraiser.
Putting the haunted house together was a monster of a project each year, and although well attended, the roughly $7,000 it earned each year from ticket sales made it difficult to justify the time and effort spent.
Production would begin in the summer, and during the fall about 25 students and 15 staff members worked daily to build the set and make costumes.
Sinkovitz said the school has received several calls from people upset about the demise of the event.
"I understand that people are going to be unhappy that it is going away," she said. "But we really didn't have any choice. I can't tell you how many times the committee wanted to say let's do it just one more year, but financially it wouldn't have been the right thing."
Profits from the event provided extras for the students living on campus.
"We take money every year and buy things for the kids," Sinkovitz said. "One year we bought all new TVs for the cottages. And we bought new DVD players. Another year we bought a big screen TV for the basement."
Money also was used for books for the cottages, supporting the school's sports programs, and miscellaneous items such as holiday decorations and household items.
Sinkovitz said there are six cottages on campus, housing up to 14 children each. About $5,000 remains in funds raised from last year's haunted house.
Although the haunted house is history, efforts to raise money for the students will continue.
Sinkovitz said another committee has emerged with the name The Raft.
"It stands for residential activity fundraising team," she said. "The idea is to have events that will raise money, like a bazaar this spring. We have a gymnasium, and that would be space enough for an event like that."
There won't be screams echoing through the Washington School for the Deaf's annual haunted house this season.
School officials have canceled the fundraising event after learning the building that houses the 10-day production needs to be demolished.
The haunted house has been a Halloween fixture in Clark County for 16 years, attracting an average of 1,300 visitors annually. A 10-person committee debated the decision for months before voting to cancel the event, said Nancy Sinkovitz, director of residential services at the school.
"The space was available this year," said Sinkovitz, who also served as a member of the haunted house committee. "But we knew we would have to put a lot of money into building the set, and pouring all that money into it for just one year didn't make sense if we were going to lose that space next year."
The school's old vocational building was the only site large enough to accommodate the haunted house. It will be removed within the coming year to make way for a new school that will house grades kindergarten through 12. That new building will not have an area large enough for the haunted house to return, Sinkovitz said.
Beyond the building issue, the haunted house also wasn't proving effective as a fundraiser.
Putting the haunted house together was a monster of a project each year, and although well attended, the roughly $7,000 it earned each year from ticket sales made it difficult to justify the time and effort spent.
Production would begin in the summer, and during the fall about 25 students and 15 staff members worked daily to build the set and make costumes.
Sinkovitz said the school has received several calls from people upset about the demise of the event.
"I understand that people are going to be unhappy that it is going away," she said. "But we really didn't have any choice. I can't tell you how many times the committee wanted to say let's do it just one more year, but financially it wouldn't have been the right thing."
Profits from the event provided extras for the students living on campus.
"We take money every year and buy things for the kids," Sinkovitz said. "One year we bought all new TVs for the cottages. And we bought new DVD players. Another year we bought a big screen TV for the basement."
Money also was used for books for the cottages, supporting the school's sports programs, and miscellaneous items such as holiday decorations and household items.
Sinkovitz said there are six cottages on campus, housing up to 14 children each. About $5,000 remains in funds raised from last year's haunted house.
Although the haunted house is history, efforts to raise money for the students will continue.
Sinkovitz said another committee has emerged with the name The Raft.
"It stands for residential activity fundraising team," she said. "The idea is to have events that will raise money, like a bazaar this spring. We have a gymnasium, and that would be space enough for an event like that."
