KINGS MOUNTAIN – The Lincoln County Community Center is preparing to reopen after a fire in late November caused a temporary closure of the facility.
“We have no idea how it really started,” said Josh Jacobs, the LCCC’s director. “It could have been an ember from the chimney from the coal boiler that blew out or something from the ash pile that blew over. It was kind of windy that day, but we don’t know. We’re just glad it wasn’t worse.”
Jacobs said damage to the structure of the building was minimal and most had been repaired as of Tuesday this week. The fire charred the outside of some metal doors but instead of replacing them, which could be expensive, Jacobs said they plan to just replace the outside of the doors.
A major issue was the facility’s broken fire system, which Jacobs said no one was aware of but were able to repair through the process.
“We had to have a new fire panel put in. It’s a really old system and the inspector said they don’t make the parts to repair them but we found a part so that was a minimal cost compared to what a whole new system would have been,” he said.
The LCCC hosts a variety of ongoing programs such as after school tutoring, adult education classes, Lincoln County Public Library programs, 4-H, Lincoln County Parks and Rec Youth Basketball League and more.
The fire forced the LCCC to close temporarily for repair, which Jacobs said was quite a financial hit.
“We just so happened to have two scheduled nights for Danville Christian Academy, who plays several games in our facility. Last week we had a triple header scheduled, plus several birthday parties. A lot of people rent the gym to play basketball. We have a group who has indoor soccer practice twice a week,” Jacobs said.
Over the past few weeks, Jacobs said the facility has missed out on several thousands of dollars worth of revenue.
“That’s a major hit for us,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to recoup some of that if we’re able to reschedule those basketball games but that’s not certain for now.”
Jacobs said the center is welcoming several new programs in the near future and hosts a variety of events throughout the year. The center has recently filed to become a 501 c (3) organization with the hopes of writing and obtaining grants to offer even more programs in the future.

SO YOU KNOW:
The LCCC is located at 11650 Ky. Hwy. 1247 in Waynesburg. Anyone interested in making a donation can mail it to the address listed. For more information or to rent the facility, contact (606) 365-2500 or (606) 669-1279.