NOTRE DAME BREAKS GROUND

The hard-packed clay at the site of the new Notre Dame High School did not make a ceremonial ground breaking very easy Sunday afternoon.

That seems to be appropriate considering the time and effort that has gone into the project so far.

Sister Mary Ann Fischer, Notre Dame principal, quoted a member of her order who said all the works of God progress slowly and painfully, which ensures the roots of those projects are stronger and more secure.

"This project must be a work of God," Fischer told the 100 or so people who had gathered at the top of a hill overlooking Route K.

"It has progressed slowly up to today, and it has had its painful moments."

She said she believes that means the roots of the new school will encourage the blossoming of its students.

Among those present for the ground breaking was Bishop John J. Leibrecht, who oversees the Cape Girardeau-Springfield Diocese.

Steve Dirnberger, co-chairman of the capital fund drive, said $5,429,000 has been pledged so far for the construction of the school. Even though that tops the committee's original $5 million goal, Dirnberger said the drive will continue.

"We still have another $700,000 to go," he said. "So if anybody's got any loose change we'll be glad to take those contributions."

Dirnberger said another $1 million is needed to cover the cost of furnishing and equipping the school. Construction of the 101,500-square-foot facility will begin immediately with an expected completion date of September 1998.

Dirnberger's team of 40 volunteers collected promises for $2,706,000 in about two months last year. They've collected the rest of the pledges since September, and Dirnberger said the group already has $1.75 million in the bank.

The 48-acre parcel of land where the school will be built was officially donated to the Cape Girardeau-Springfield Diocese at the ceremony. The land was donated by the James and Wanda Drury Family Trust, and the deed was handed over to Leibrecht.

"You've waited for this for a long time," James Drury told the bishop.

Leibrecht said this was the largest project ever undertaken through the Cape Girardeau-Springfield Diocese. It doubles, monetarily, the second largest effort to date.

"I congratulate you on being the ones to take this historic step," he said.

Leibrecht waved his hand over the leveled tract of land bordered by rolling hills and thick woods and said, "This site is going to be a beautiful site."

"This is probably the highest high school around," he said.