Two big meetings are going on simultaneously Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre to talk about the future of two landmarks.
One has to do with Meyers High School. The other has to do with the old Hotel Sterling.
Dozens and dozens of students and their parents filed into Coughlin High School for the meeting.
Superintendent Dr. Jeff Namey told Newswatch 16 Tuesday afternoon there are no plans right now to close the 80-year-old Meyers High School, but fear of losing one of Wilkes-Barre's three high schools has led to a huge turnout for the meeting.
Close to 1,000 students attend Meyers High School on Carey Avenue in Wilkes-Barre, but the future of the historic building is still uncertain.
Officials spent millions of taxpayer dollars to refurbish the school over the past several years. Now the results of a study on the potential effects of closing Meyers are being presented to school board members and the public.
The study looked at the financial costs of keeping Meyers open or closing it and sending students to the other two high schools in Wilkes-Barre.
People who attended Meyers said they do not want to see their alma mater close.
"They don't make them like that anymore. This is the only one left around here and it would be sad to see the whole building taken down to save a few bucks you know," said Jeremiah Ngolo of the class of 1994.
"The neighbor the students, the past students they don`t want to lose it at all. I think just closing this will hurt the neighborhood around here and will leave an eyesore if they close it down and board it up," said Anthony Havard, a junior at Meyers.
John Kahiu runs the mini mart across the street from Meyers High School.
"From a business point of view it's going to impact us because the kids are the bread and butter for this business but from a taxing point of view it doesn't make any sense to reinvent something. This building has one of the best structures in the valley," Kahiu said.
Superintendent Dr. Jeff Namey says the board has not made any final decisions.
"They want to be fair to the taxpayers but they also need to be and want to be fair and do what is necessary to make sure our students get an appropriate education," said Dr. Namey.
Just up the street another meeting is also underway to discuss the future of the Hotel Sterling.
Luzerne County Council is holding an informational meeting on the future of that historic structure. The majority of council members and Wilkes-Barre city officials favor demolishing the vacant hotel, but others believe the building is worth saving.
The September floods created concern that the Hotel Sterling is in danger of collapse. Because of that concern, parts of River Street and Market Street in the area of the hotel are closed.
