North Platte center plans to replace old barn

Published May 30, 2013 10:11pm ET



NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Officials at the West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte plan to demolish an old dairy barn and replace it with a new building that will house researchers.

The North Platte Telegraph reports (http://bit.ly/136uwt6 ) the 99-year-old barn will be torn down and a 75-foot by 40-foot entomology building will be constructed in its place.

Facilities project manager Bob Skates says the dairy barn has most recently been used for storage but is now considered unsafe.

Skates says the cost of replacing the building will be about $375,000. Work should be completed by 2015.

Researchers in the new building will study insects that can damage crops.

Officials hope to preserve a horse barn built in 1919. Skates says the structure is good but repairs are needed.

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Information from: The North Platte Telegraph, http://www.nptelegraph.com