New school project officially under way

Amid a lot of sun, ceremony and song, local officials, educators and students broke ground for a new Ashley Elementary School on Friday morning. Anticipation is high for the new 80,000-square-foot building, which is expected to cost $13 million and take 12-14 months to construct. It will be built adjacent to the current building, which opened in 1961. “It’s going to have an Ashley Elementary look and it’s going to look like no other elementary school around,” Provo architect Kevin Madson told students gathered for the event, eliciting cheers. The new building will house 27 classrooms, he said, and will be twice as big as the current school. Vernal Express