Sidewalk from gravel lot finally installed at OH along newly-named Nunamaker Way

After years of advocacy, student voice has made a difference in the safety at OH: a sidewalk from the gravel lot has finally been installed.

“[The process] started about 15 years ago when the gravel lot was kind of like, more prominent,” said Kaitlyn Thilk, a senior member of Believe It Or Not I Care (B.I.O.N.I.C.), the OH club that has long advocated for a sidewalk.

This story began in late 2010, when the use of the north gravel parking lot was not particularly popular, but it was busy enough to warrant maintenance and some attention. Students came and went from the gravel lot, making the daily trek to class.  

“We wanted to make it safer for kids to cross that intersection [leading to OHS] because… you know, most kids would go through the grass and go through the parking lot and… teenagers driving cars,” Thilk said. “They don’t [always] know how to drive,” she laughed.

Those who make the crossing from the parking lots behind the school know just how dangerous it can be in the morning with tired, sleepy drivers milling about.

Students took all the precautions they could, and some had to make use of “a cutoff of memory lane” to make it to school, added Thilk.

“It wasn’t a lot of fun. It was not fun walking through the grass, especially during the winter,” mentioned Sam Stoller, a junior member of B.I.O.N.I.C.

“I would say a lot of people’s shoes were always dirty. A lot of my friends experienced that when they were in the gravel lot last year,” Stoller added. 

According to B.I.O.N.I.C. members, something had to be done to make students’ voyage to class safer and cleaner. B.I.O.N.I.C. sponsor Wendy Monn describes how the then-head of custodial staff, Bill Queen, and the then-Assistant Principal, William Nunamaker, and several members of B.I.O.N.I.C. pushed the school board to approve the project.

This process started and stopped, stalled and gained momentum over time for 13 years. This was due to the lack of funds for such a project and the COVID-19 pandemic, in which those involved lost their longtime sidewalk advocate, Assistant Principal Nunamaker, who passed away in 2020. 

“And so everything kinda laid back down, right?” added Monn. Then, she mentioned how “in 2023, staff reporter Raelyn Alvarez brought up why there wasn’t [a sidewalk to the school board as a] safety concern, and through 42Fifty, wrote a story.”

Thilk recalled the board meeting in detail: “We brought a bunch of B.I.O.N.I.C. members, and we… stood outside the board member meeting, and we [re-presented] the idea and they got it approved,” she smiled.

“And then the next obstacle we faced was the amount [of money needed], because initially it was going to be $80,000. So we wanted to raise $10,000 a year and slowly contribute to a fund for us.”

B.I.O.N.I.C. had been saving money up until this point to help and pay for the sidewalk, but it would take time to save up enough money to actually begin construction.

This added that last year, in 2024, the estimated cost of building the sidewalk rose to $109,000, which was way more than initially anticipated. Thus, the time it would take to scrape to the funds would also lengthen. So once again, B.I.O.N.I.C. would have to talk to the board members, and they spoke to the now Director of Operations, William Queen. 

“[At the end of last school year], we got a call from Mr. [William] Queen”, said Monn. “I don’t know how it was paid for, but we did not have to use any of our money, and he got the sidewalk approved.”

“The bionic club couldn’t be happier,” she beamed. “We have all the money that we’ve saved…and our goal now would be to renovate the sidewalk out by the baseball fields that used to be called Memory Lane, which would honor people who have been part of the OHS community, and this is by the vision of the students.”

Honoring past OH community members is a tradition that the student community upholds to this day. Students can find a blue sign on the new sidewalk bearing the inscription “Nunamaker Way” in remembrance of the former assistant principal, who fought for implementing student safety measures like these. Students now mention how the sidewalk has impacted their trek to class.

“Now I [don’t] have to worry about, like, being dirty and getting my shoes dirty and walking through the grass, said Stoller.

“I would say so far it’s made some things easier. I think we’ll really see once it starts to get cold if [how much it helps], but so far, I’d say it’s pretty good,” he added.