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DENTON — New bathrooms are coming to the North Caroline High School and Colonel Richardson High School outdoor athletic facilities.

The project has been in the works since March of 2024, when Caroline County Commissioners President Travis Breeding and Caroline County Public Schools Director of Operations Bill Mengel worked together to make the bathrooms a priority.

The commissioners included the new bathrooms in the county’s fiscal year 2025 budget.

“We had noticed in attending various high school sporting events that we only had Porta Johns, and we didn’t have any place for people to wash their hands or you get out of colder temperatures and that kind of stuff when they were going to the restroom,� Breeding said.

“We thought that pretty much all the surrounding jurisdictions had facilities at their sporting events, and we wanted to make sure that our students, parent and visitor attendees at sporting events had good bathing facilities to use at our high schools,� Breeding said.

Caroline County Public Schools Superintendent Derek Simmons said in a statement that the restrooms will “greatly enhance the experience for students and community members alike as they support our athletic events.�

“We sincerely appreciate the Caroline County Commissioners for making new bathrooms at the high school stadiums possible,� Simmons said.

After the commissioners budgeted for the new bathrooms, Robin Eaton, public works director for Caroline County, began to go through the process of purchasing equipment for the new bathrooms and work with an engineering team on the design.

For North Caroline High School, Eaton said the new bathrooms facilities will have men’s and women’s sides with three toilets each.

At Colonel Richardson, the new bathrooms will feature men’s and women’s sides with two toilets each.

The bathrooms are placed near the baseball and football fields at both high schools, so they will be available for fall, winter and spring sports.

Eaton who has coached at both high schools for more than two decades, said he is excited to have the new bathrooms coming into Caroline County high schools.

“To have a bathroom in itself is great,� Eaton said.

The bathrooms are expected to be operational at both high schools by late September or early October.