Neighbors upset downstate school has been converted to strip club

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"Nancy Ward isn't happy about what's become of Pioneer School, which served for more than 50 years as both a place of learning and a community center where people gathered to sing hymns, attend 4-H meetings and sell homemade pies. About six months ago, the vacant elementary school bordered by homes on a rural highway was converted into a strip club called The School House. Downstate residents are still fuming. "It's a whorehouse," said Ward, co-owner of a nearby garden center where she and her husband live. "I honestly don't feel as safe here as what I did. And the name they gave it — that is unbelievable. There's nobody in there learning anything, I guarantee you." The school about 60 miles south of Champaign was sold by the Neoga school district in 2002 for $36,800. Now, three nights a week, as many as 10 topless dancers perform in the former cafeteria on a small stage with a mirrored backdrop set that includes two stripper poles under black lights. The teachers lounge has been converted into a VIP room where lap dances go for $20, an ATM installed outside. The walls are hung with multiplication tables, chalkboard, a history of U.S. presidents and a poster titled "Class Rules" that reads "Keep hands off dancers." One entrance has been fenced off for a smoking area, and a sign near the back door reads "No Hard Liquor." "Myself, I wished it was gone and the hell out of here," said Frank Enloe, 74, a former sheriff's deputy who has lived about 300 feet north of the school since 1965. Now he doesn't feel comfortable hosting late-night cookouts on his patio and wakes each night as the club lets out around 2 a.m. "It bothers us — we put all five of our children through here." "It just makes us sick," said Marian Lindley, a former teacher at the school. But to Bob Kearney, a union electrician who runs the club with business partner Travis Funneman, The School House is a legal business that has been a small bright spot for the county's economy. It doesn't serve alcohol and has never been cited by authorities, and only one person has been arrested there — for damaging club property. For those seeking such entertainment, the other nearest venues are more than an hour away. "This building was falling apart — we totally renovated it," said Kearney, who has a one-year lease on the former school. "Nobody cared about this building until we moved in. You show me another business in Cumberland County that has created 30 jobs for people."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-05-20/news/ct-met-school-house-strip-club-20100520_1_strip-club-teachers-lounge-downstate

5/21/2010 11:21:22 AM

hahaha that's awesome

5/21/2010 11:24:34 AM

Myself, I wished it was gone and the hell out of here.

5/21/2010 11:27:12 AM

I hate stupid people; how is this impacting these peoples' lives?

5/21/2010 11:27:34 AM

As long as the club owner is taking care of his employees, making sure his dancers are not on any type of drugs, and keeps the place sanitary, who cares. he is employing 30 folks in 'Cumberland Co", its not like the job market is huge there anyway!

Who cares!

5/21/2010 11:27:49 AM

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"making sure his dancers are not on any type of drugs"

lulz

5/21/2010 11:31:48 AM

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"And the name they gave it — that is unbelievable. There's nobody in there learning anything, I guarantee you."

L
O
L

5/21/2010 11:32:06 AM

rofl

5/21/2010 11:32:17 AM

that place looks entirely too well lit for a strip club.

5/21/2010 11:32:31 AM

that pic looks like it was taken during the day

5/21/2010 11:48:10 AM

I hereby vow that if Braswell Elementary in Rocky Mount, NC ever becomes a strip club I will gather my best friends and party there. It's in the ghetto though, so it's probably not the kind of place you actually want to go, ever, even for school.

5/21/2010 11:50:05 AM

5/21/2010 11:52:03 AM

There was a porno store and strip club directly across the street from our high school

5/21/2010 11:53:21 AM

it would in fact be a mind fuck to get a lap dance in your elementary cafeteria

that kind of shit happens in my dreams

5/21/2010 11:53:52 AM

that looks like a terrible floor plan for a strip club

5/21/2010 1:10:20 PM

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"I hate stupid people; how is this impacting these peoples' lives"

Are you serious?

5/21/2010 1:35:42 PM

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"Is this Nazi Germany? Are they the Taliban? It's OK to break the laws as long as it's in the views of my religion?"

Protesting strip club opening at old school building <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Killing 6 million Jews.

Nope not equal to Nazi Germany.

5/21/2010 1:50:42 PM

Myself, I wished it was gone and the hell out of here.

5/21/2010 3:07:11 PM

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"It doesn't serve alcohol"

wtf

5/22/2010 9:13:22 AM

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"There's nobody in there learning anything"

I beg to differ.

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"The walls are hung with multiplication tables, chalkboard, a history of U.S. presidents"

Sounds like people can learn plenty while also learning biology.

5/22/2010 9:18:09 AM

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"Myself, I wished it was gone and the hell out of here."

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"NEW TWW MEME"

5/22/2010 9:20:41 AM

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"There's nobody in there learning anything, I guarantee you."

Lots of lonely men doing some soul searching and learning about themselves, I guarantee you.

5/22/2010 11:37:04 AM

Myself, I wished it was gone and the hell out of here.

5/22/2010 12:09:13 PM

I wonder if I could get a free or reduced lap dance.

5/22/2010 12:10:12 PM

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"There's nobody in there learning anything, I guarantee you.""

Anatomy?

5/22/2010 12:20:48 PM

I can see how this might be a nuisance considering the MASSIVE windows on the walls that the entire neighborhood can just look into. If those are covered at night then there's less to complain about, only the noise perhaps.

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"that looks like a terrible floor plan for a strip club"

Yep, no stage since the celieng is only 10 feet tall, only the people on the first row can really see. Doesn't look like there's much in the way of stage lighting either. Also those are the cheapest chairs ever.

If they really wanted to do it right they would put in school desks, but the big ones that adults can sit in, and have the waitresses dress in skimpy schoolgirl outfits (also they would serve alcohol).

5/22/2010 12:33:40 PM

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"hahaha that's awesome "

5/22/2010 12:37:16 PM

Is that a shirtless man/woman/blow up doll on the far right?

5/22/2010 12:43:23 PM

Is it common practice to fill up a strip club with blacklights?

I... can't imagine how that helps.

5/22/2010 1:00:11 PM

a strip club without alcohol, wtf

5/22/2010 1:00:41 PM

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"There was a porno store and strip club directly across the street from our high school"

I was about to say "Hey, there's one of those in Havelock"...but then I saw that you're from Havelock.

5/22/2010 1:11:57 PM

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"a strip club without alcohol, wtf"

maybe its byob where you buy back the alcohol you brought

5/22/2010 1:14:20 PM

i'm pretty sure that most all-nude strip clubs are alcohol free... I take it this one is all nude also?

5/22/2010 1:15:56 PM

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"Is it common practice to fill up a strip club with blacklights?"

yes

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"I wonder if I could get a free or reduced lap dance."

hahaha Kurtis ftw

5/22/2010 1:17:38 PM

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"Is it common practice to fill up a strip club with blacklights? I... can't imagine how that helps."

Makes me moar comfortable as semen can be easily spotted.

5/22/2010 1:17:45 PM

girlcum too

5/22/2010 1:18:11 PM

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"There's nobody in there learning anything, I guarantee you."

Stripclubs are full of life lessons that you won't find in any textbook.

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"Is it common practice to fill up a strip club with blacklights?"

Yes. I was driving from Montana to Boston years ago and wanted to stop at a strip club in Chicago. I ended up scrubbing that idea as I'd been wearing the same pair of jeans for about 2 weeks and was scared of what they would look like under black light.

5/22/2010 1:33:19 PM

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"I can see how this might be a nuisance considering the MASSIVE windows on the walls that the entire neighborhood can just look into. If those are covered at night then there's less to complain about, only the noise perhaps."

I've never seen one without covered windows, and I'm pretty sure there'd be laws against it. I mean, if they didn't, any minor could get a free show; furthermore, what would be the point of paying to get inside? Just window shop.

5/22/2010 1:47:36 PM

yeah seriously on the no alcohol policy... Do you bring your own in then?

5/22/2010 1:54:31 PM

^I would assume so, but that would be pretty lame.

5/22/2010 3:56:22 PM