61°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

Gelsone retires; calls end of year ‘bittersweet’

Change is on the horizon for King Elementary School as longtime principal Anthony Gelsone is retiring.

Gelsone has been in education for 30 years, with the last 11 spent at King.

He said he planned to retire at the end of the 2019-2020 school year, and he didn’t change that even though campuses closed early in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“It’s just bittersweet ending this way,” he said.

Gelsone said his favorite part of working in Boulder City as well as what he will miss the most is the people he has come to know in the community.

“I’m going to miss all the relationships I’ve built over the last 11 years. … It’s a wonderful community,” he said. “It’s a great little town, and the people who live there have great hearts and love education.”

With schools being closed, Gelsone said he was unable to personally say goodbye to all the students, their parents and some of the staff.

“I was able to personally say goodbye to teachers as they checked out,” he said.

He was also able to say goodbye to some of the students and their parents when the school gave out Google Chromebooks after the closure.

“I gave me a little jolt, but that’s going to be the biggest thing, saying goodbye to them in person,” he said.

Gelsone said he hopes he is able to come back next year and do that. He also said he is willing to help King’s new principal transition into the position.

“Especially with the world now, it’s important for whoever comes in to build those relationships,” he said.

Before coming to King Elementary School, Gelsone worked as an assistant principal at various schools in the Clark County School District and a special education teacher.

For his retirement, Gelsone said he initially planned to return to being a special education teacher because there is always a shortage of them. With the changes going on in the world and the teaching profession due to COVID-19, however, that may not happen.

He said the only thing he’s sure he’ll be able to do during his retirement is to play golf because the courses are open again. Gelsone suffered a back injury a few years ago and had to have surgery. Because of that, he’s had to lay off his golf game and said he is looking forward to getting back into it.

Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.

MOST READ
THE LATEST
Council tees up multiple pet issues

Long-running issues involving pets in Boulder City are about to heat up again as three resolutions were introduced at this Tuesday’s council meeting. Resolutions have to be introduced in a meeting prior to them being discussed or voted on. These resolutions are scheduled to be discussed and acted upon in the council’s Feb. 25 meeting.

City continues dark-sky initiative

When driving around town, some may have noticed that many of the city’s street lights have a different look to them.

Airport development readies for takeoff

The city council discussed and provided direction to city staff Tuesday on a plan to develop additional hangars at the Boulder City Municipal Airport as well as development of a larger area for multiple uses including additional hangars.

Downtown Disney

This past Saturday, more than 200 people donned their best Disney outfits for the monthly Wine Walk, hosted by the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce. There were nearly two dozen downtown locations for attendees to stop for wine, including those pictured at the Boulder City Company Store, Beer Zombies and Hangar 502. Each walk has a theme, with the next being March 8 with the theme of Vegas Golden Knights.

Removed city gate causes concern

On Jan. 28, School Resource Officer Eric Prunty, who is assigned to BCHS by the Boulder City Police Department but also serves the three other public schools, contacted Garrett Junior High Principal Melanie Teemant regarding “a campus security issue.”

The bond between Boulder City and Searchlight

If you talk to the staff at Harry Reid Elementary School in Searchlight, you may hear them describe their campus as “the heart of the community” or “the jewel of the desert.”

Council gives lake-view lot to chamber

After a very short introduction by city staff and without discussion, the city council voted unanimously last week to give a 50-foot-square piece of city-owned land to the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

20-year lease extension up for vote

The gun club was not the only entity with lease extension business before the city council in their meeting last week.

Commercial zoning in Eldorado approved

The going-on-a-year-long process of adding four acres of land to Boulder City and approving it for commercial use is all over except the shouting as the city council voted unanimously and without discussion as part of the consent agenda to approve the changes to the city’s land use map as well as amending the zoning map to allow for future commercial development.

Out of this world: A look at Fisher Space Pen

In a popular episode of “Seinfeld,” appropriately entitled “The Pen,” Jerry and Elaine travel to Florida to see his parents. There, a neighbor, Jack Klompus, shows off a pen that the astronauts used in space because of its ability to still write, even when upside-down.