COAL TOWNSHIP - There are many success stories that can be told from the 40-year existence of the Northumberland County Career and Technology Center, which opened in 1972 with "vocational-technical school" in its name.
The planning process for the school, however, was not a smooth one, and hit its lowest point when directors from Line Mountain threatened to pull out of the project if the school was built anywhere other than along Trevorton Road.
Feuds between members of a 27-man board, consisting of nine school board directors each from Shamokin Area, Mount Carmel Area and Line Mountain school districts, delayed the project for several years.
Directors eventually came to terms with their differences and began the process of building the school, which would educate 900 students in its first school year.
Four sites
Initially, two sites along Trevorton Road were discussed frequently as possible locations. A site just south of Trevorton Road, west of what was then the Northumberland County Home and Hospital (today's Mountain View), called "Site B," was approved by the state Department of Education in the fall of 1969. However, the board did not take action to purchase land.
"Site A," on the north side of Trevorton Road near the Coal-Zerbe Township line, was favored by the board, but rejected by the state because of long-range highway improvements proposed for the area.
A motion was then made to have a site analysis done for "Site C," an area immediately west of Edgewood Gardens in Coal Township. Eventually, a site south of Kemp Memorial Stadium and west of State Street was recommended by a committee. The area, which became known as the "Edgewood Site," was located on the Faust Farm and the Beddo Christmas tree plantation, owned by Carl Beddo.
Approved by State
The area was approved by the Department of Education and several additional government agencies, including the Department of Mines and Mineral Industries, which determined the site had not been undermined from the coal industry.
On March 20, 1970, the board approved the Edgewood Site on a 17-8 vote. All but one member of the Line Mountain board voted against the site. Two board members, one each from Shamokin and Mount Carmel, were absent. After winning approval, the board passed nine resolutions, including title examinations and soliciting options to purchase property.
Six months later, the Shamokin Area School District, later acting as trustee for the vo-tech agency, acquired title to the land.
An authority was formed to oversee construction of the building, and it began purchasing surface and mineral rights. On Jan. 12, 1971, the authority awarded $2.9 million in contracts for construction. Crews began removing trees and grading the land in February.
On Sept. 6, 1972, students occupied the building for the first time.