The Duncan Banner

Local News

Related Photos

  • John Walker/The Duncan Banner

    Surveying the damage
July 3, 2008

Gym burns down

Fire destroys Comanche’s ‘old gymnasium’

By John Walker

COMANCHE — COMANCHE — A fire totaled a 70 plus year old building early Wednesday morning near Fifth Street and Walnut Avenue.

The Old Gym, as locals know it, was up in flames by the time Comanche firefighters arrived on scene a little after 12:30 a.m.

Comanche Fire Chief David Coder said that there were 16 firefighters at the scene.

“It was contained about 6:45 a.m.,” Coder said. “This was the old grade school gym. Everyone who grew up here has been here before.”

Stephens County Commissioner Dee Bowen said he remembered watching boxing matches and playing basketball games in the gym.

Chuck Ramsey of Comanche said that when he was growing up, over 50 years ago, it seemed like an old building then.

“We played basketball and watched plays in that building,” Ramsey said.

On the south side of the building, the year 1939 is etched into the concrete sidewalk.

Coder said that the fire is still under investigation.

“How it started is still unknown at this time, but we know it started around the south side of the building,” he said. “We should know more in the next few days.”

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the ground floor of the gym was still smoldering from the asphalt roof that collapsed.

“There’s about two feet of roof and tar burning on the ground,” Coder said. “We’ll just let it burn out. It’s mostly tar that’s burning now.”

No injuries were reported.

Text Only
Local News
  • DALC gets grant from Dollar General

    Duncan Area Literacy Council will be able to buy some more curriculum for its program with a $3,000 grant it was awarded by Dollar General Literacy Foundation this week.

    May 23, 2012

  • Library prepares for summer reading program

    It might be called a reading program, but there will be far more to do this summer at the Duncan Public Library than just reading.

    May 23, 2012

  • Fame Academy students Nathan Self, Mallory Anderson, Hayden James, Keeton Ruiz, Brianna Coria, Jordan Abbe, Stefeno Ruiz, Adam Baldwin and Leroy Newcomb show off the mural they helped create at the school. They’re gonna live forever

    Through art, the students of Fame Academy made a colorful impression on the town of Meridian.

    May 23, 2012 2 Photos

  • Empire FFA chapter holds awards banquet

    Empire FFA held its annual awards banquet May 8 with a buffet provided by FFA families and the entire chapter.

    May 23, 2012

  • Council discusses property buffer for hotel

    To counteract the removal of a buffer of trees, the Duncan City Council on Tuesday approved a site development plan for the Apollo Estates to create a new kind of buffer.

    May 23, 2012

  • Commission tables water district items

    The board of Stephens County Commissioners tabled bids on two services for the Stephens County Rural Water District 4 for the second consecutive week at the request of the water district.

    May 22, 2012

  • Weekend storm left many in area without power

    The city at large lit up Sunday morning around 8 a.m., with lightning strikes illuminating areas for a split-second at a time.

    May 22, 2012

  • Fire department fundraiser raises more than $12,000

    The Duncan Fire Department raised more than $12,500 during its Fill the Boot fundraiser May 17-18. Funds go to the Muscle Dystrophy Association in Wichita Falls and helps local patients.

    May 22, 2012

  • Dean Backr, left, and Joseph Lujan Carnival crews

    Warmer weather and school letting out means more time for fun in the sun. One of the season’s first opportunities is with the Duncan Lion’s Club Carnival.

    May 22, 2012 2 Photos

  • Arrest made in hit and run

    A Marlow man is in police custody after admitting to law enforcement he was involved with a hit-and-run accident that left the victim with major injuries.

    May 22, 2012