MANOR -- The Kittanning Senior High School Gymnasium will now be known as "Lt. Charles T. Hutchison Memorial Gymnasium."
Armstrong School District directors voted unanimously Monday night to name the gym after Lt. Hutchison, who was described as "arguably one of the school's finest basketball players.
Lt. Charles T. Hutchison led the Kittanning High School Varsity Basketball Team to the WPIAL Section 1 Championship in 1960. Upon his graduation from the school in 1960, Hutchison attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and graduated in 1964.
Serving in the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, N.C., Hutchison was deployed as a platoon leader in May 1965, in the Dominican Republic. He was tragically shot and killed while trying to rescue another wounded soldier.
"Lt. Hutchison died heroically, giving the ultimate service and sacrifice to his country while trying to rescue a fellow soldier," said Superintendent William Kerr. "Lt. Hutchison's dedication on the basketball court and to his country still serves as an inspiration to today's generation of young people."
The Kittanning High School gymnasium will be officially renamed at a dedication ceremony on Feb. 5, by members of the 1960 basketball team, at which time the 1960 Championship Team also will be recognized. His younger sister Vicki Hutchison Niederkorn, who lives in Hawaii, plans be present for the dedication, as do a number of fellow West Point graduates.
Lt. Hutchison is buried in Riverview Cemetery, Apollo, with his parents, Thomas and Dorothy. Lt. Hutchison's father, Thomas Hutchison, was the Armstrong County sheriff for 16 years. His mother, Dorothy Hutchison, cared for prisoners by preparing them meals.
The district said it would consider paying for the cost of the signage for the gym as well, and would work with those who requested the name change to determine the type of sign and cost.
In other news:
Directors unanimously approved the hiring of John Scales, of Meyer, Darragh, Buckler, Bebenek and Eck, of Greensburg, to represent the district in the declaratory judgement issue filed by Lenape Technical School in the county court.
The court is being asked to determine if students from the four school districts that make up the technical school are allowed to send students to technical schools other than Lenape.
Currently, Leechburg Area and Freeport Area school districts are sending 10th-grade students to Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center. Directors from Armstrong and Apollo-Ridge have argued that allowing the students to attend other schools would increase their costs of educating students at Lenape.
Apollo-Ridge is expected to split the $110-per-hour fee the district agreed to pay Scales for his services. District solicitor Lee Price is representing Lenape in the legal matter and could not represent Armstrong.
