A well-balanced community at work

Cape Henlopen High School’s gymnasium overflowed Tuesday night with the “Extreme Makeover” pep rally leading up to next week’s filming for a show to be aired on national television. People of all ages filled the bleachers, shouting and waving banners, listening to drum cadences echoing off the walls, watching cheerleaders leaping and children laughing, soaking up the limelit positive energy of a community gathering for a good cause.

Hanging above the rally stage were dozens of banners, dating back to the early 1970s, quietly proclaiming the pride of dozens of state championship athletic teams. Nature joined in the scene as well, pouring loads of natural light through the high windows on three sides of the gym.

The rally once again highlighted the great design, beauty and functionality of the new high school.

While the rally lighted up the gymnasium, people also filled the central court area where students gather to eat during the school year but which also serves as a natural and casual meeting place for the school community.  Off to the other side of the commons area, people prepared the theater for a musical performance benefiting the makeover project.

The entire scene emphasized the positive role the school complex can play as a community center for the entire Cape Region.

On another front, an additional positive scene played out.  Cape Henlopen school board members agreed to donate the school facility for the rally, benefit performance and as a staging area for the miraculous logistics of the Extreme Makeover production.  They drew the line, however, at footing the estimated $5,000 cost for providing transportation to and from the selected site.  With a shrinking budget, those funds, they said, will be better used for instruction.

NRG officials at Indian River power plant read of the decision and stepped up, saying they will cover those transportation costs. It was one more example, among so many in this makeover production, of people and enterprises joining in. That’s the way a well-balanced community works.