By FULLER ROYAL

It looks like the nearly 700 displaced students at Williams Township Elementary School will be in their new school next fall.

On this second anniversary of the January 2004 fire that destroyed the school’s main two-story building, construction teams have been able to maintain their schedule as the new three-section structure rises from the ground.

Former Superintendent Tommy Nance, hired by the Columbus County Board of Education to “ride shotgun” over the project, has continuously updated the board on the progress of the school.

Apart from the usual glitches and adjustments that are part and parcel of any major construction project, little has gone wrong – at least nothing that has caused any significant delays.

The main steel supports have been installed in each building, along with the primary plumbing and electrical lines.

The cinderblock is in place and the brick veneer is going up. Most of the decking on the roof is in place, ready for the final elements of that construction.

Last week, cranes were erecting the tall steel beams that will form the skeleton of the school’s new office wing.

Administrators will not make an absolute guess on the date for student occupancy, but it is hoped that students will move out of their mobile units as early as September.

Once the walls have been bricked, the windows installed and the roofs in place, the final stages of constructions will not depend on the weather.

Painters, carpenters, plumbers and electricians will descend on the WTS campus to finish the school’s interior.

A new parking lot will be paved and a new circle drive through the campus will be built.