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THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Whether now or later, a fix is needed

| December 3, 2022 1:15 AM

There’s an old saying, maybe not that old, that newer is better.

Oftentimes, when you see a team move into a new arena or stadium, you won’t hear too many fans wishing for the days of smaller seats and less state-of-the-art scoreboards.

OF ALL the gymnasiums I’ve been into, there’s nothing like the surroundings of the Wallace Civic Auditorium.

Sure, other gyms these days could probably fit a few more fans into it. And it could get as loud as these gyms here get for Fight for the Fish or Battle for the Paddle spirit games.

But it was just different.

Maybe it was the old days of those Kellogg-Wallace games, when you basically had to plan ahead to get there early or you’d find yourself sitting in the balcony that overlooked the court.

And that gymnasium had a handful of great moments as well.

Any time you think a player sets a school record for scoring in a game, you’d think that could result in a win, right?

In a Central Idaho League game, the Wallace Miners fell to the Lapwai Wildcats 92-84. On that night, then-senior Brooks Carver scored a then-record 48 points for the Miners.

A few other games come to mind that were a little more memorable than others as well.

Like the night the Miners scored 100 points against the then-3A Lakeland Hawks. I don’t think I’ve seen a team score 100 points in a game since, but there’s a few that are fully capable of doing so locally this year, so be aware.

There was also that Saturday night when James Banning, a Wallace athlete that had suffered a neck injury while snowboarding, returned to the gym for the first time and walked into the gym — something that a few might have thought he may not do as quickly as he did either.

IT HAS been well over a decade since the last meaningful basketball game has been played on that court though.

The gym was used for community events like boxing matches, concerts, but even those have been few and far between lately.

More recently, the gym was used for the local youth basketball leagues, until the boiler stopped working and the league has utilized other gyms to play in the surrounding area.

Now, the gym just sits.

Vacant for the most part.

Truthfully, it’s been a while since I’ve stepped foot into Civic Auditorium.

There really hasn’t been a reason to, if I’m honest.

As aging buildings go, the roof is starting to leak and ceiling tiles are falling in what was once the school’s weight room.

Basically, the building isn’t quite up to hosting games anytime in the future.

Or anything, anytime soon.

The community is seeking feedback as to what to do with the building, which has been vacant since Wallace High moved into its new school at the start of the school year in 2003.

There’s talk of demolishing the east wing, which used to hold the cafeteria, classrooms and the school’s shop room and repairing the gym for use by the community at some point.

And hopefully, somehow that happens soon.

Kind of like watching as the local swimming pool sat empty waiting on repairs for a few years during the peak time of summer, there’s a bit of a hole in that community without that gym functional.

Whatever happens, it should be for the best.

Because looking at it now, each morning when I wake up, it’s pretty sad to see.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.