New Owasso Elementary School

It's back to school in a big way in Owasso. They're putting the finishing touches on the new Barnes Elementary School just west of town. <br/><br/>As News on 6 reporter Steve Berg explains, this

Wednesday, August 9th 2006, 10:04 am

By: News On 6

It's back to school in a big way in Owasso. They're putting the finishing touches on the new Barnes Elementary School just west of town.

As News on 6 reporter Steve Berg explains, this is not your father's grade school.

If there's one thing you can say about Barnes Elementary, it's got that "Wow" factor. Adri Lemmons is a first-year teacher in Owasso and what a way to start. "It's big and nice. It's more than I ever expected or anything."

"When you come in, it's like you're in a mall, space, lots of space, which is really nice." Principal David Riggs says in most cases, the adults are more awestruck than the kids. "They just kind of stand at the front doors and just can't believe that they're in an elementary school."

But the kids are impressed too. 2nd grader Tanner Williams was getting his first peek. "It's very big and cool."

Riggs says it's a nice change from a building that dated back to the Depression era and could be, well depressing. â€œWeâ€™d have breakers that would go out and birds in the attic and things like that."

There's not a lot they wanted to carry over from the old name, in fact, there's really not anything they wanted to carry over, except for one very important thing and that's the name. "Luther C. Barnes, he initially cut the first logs that were used in the original Barnes. The Barnes tradition is big here in Owasso and we're very proud of that.â€

They can be pretty proud of this too. Adri Lemmons: "This is even bigger than the high school, it's like a college."

David Riggs: "I mean it's going to be a showplace for Owasso for years to come."