Contact: Leigh Flynn (flynnl@alpha.nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
http://www.nsula.edu/news

5/25/2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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NATCHITOCHES -- A small fire in Lee H. Nelson Hall (the former women's gymnasium) on Northwestern State University's campus Wednesday evening has not halted the renovation of that building.

The blaze apparently began late Wednesday afternoon when workers were welding on some steel beams in the window area of the building's rear wall, according to Loran Lindsey, director of NSU's Physical Plant. Sparks apparently ignited some combustible material which smoldered for a couple of hours before the fire was noticed around 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The women's gymnasium, which is the oldest building on the campus, is set to become the home of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. Renovations were halted in November 1997 when a fire damaged the interior and destroyed the roof of the building.

Construction resumed in January of this year, with Westerchil Construction Co. of Alexandria as the contractor for the $2.5 million project.

Lindsey said the project is still on schedule, and the new center should be open by late January 2001.

Prior to the fire in 1997, the building sat unused for 27 years. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Once the renovation is complete, the NCPTT will hold three classroom labs, a seminar room, a library, several private offices and open area offices, a lounge and a lecture hall.

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