Hot Springs Clinic demolished for reconstruction
<p>Workers for the county and Bob Taylor break down and transfer the ruins of the old clinic.</p>
HOT SPRINGS – Destruction of the aged Hot Springs Medical Clinic began and ended last Wednesday, and those involved with the construction of the new clinic were happy to see things progress.
“Seeing that old building go down [made] everyone happy,” Ray Flesch said. Ray and his wife, Sharon Flesch, have been the figureheads of the efforts behind fundraising and promoting the new clinic.
Destruction began at 9:00 a.m.
Local contractor Bob Taylor and his crew were contracted to demolish the old building, and it went down quick.
“We’re keeping it as local as we can with all this,” Sharon said. “Western Interstate of Missoula had the lowest bid, and they’re hiring a lot of local sub-contractors and buying a lot of supplies locally [for the construction].”
The expected start date for the new clinic is set for some time this week, when the new foundation concrete will be poured. According to Ray Flesch, the construction of the new clinic has a 270-day limit. He believes they will finish the new clinic within that time frame.
“I just hope it goes up as fast as it came down,” Ray said. “We’ll all still be working together on it.”
The fundraising board still has unfinished business. As the new clinic is constructed, they will keep tabs on the bookkeeping as well as continue fundraising efforts for the clinic for things such as architecture fees, changes to plans in order to get a lower bid, and for any unexpected things. Currently, they are selling raffle tickets for a bronze big horn ram bust. For all their other actions taken since December, Ray and Sharon are pleased with the results and pending future of more success.
“It’s been a really good community effort,” Sharon said.
Also present at the destruction was Helen Durgin-Daniels, the Family Medicine Network Manager for Eastern Sanders Hospital Network. Durgin-Daniels expressed her happiness with the clinic.
“I’m just so proud of the board and the community and what all they’ve accomplished,” she said. “It’s amazing how the community came together.”