College cooks up plans for new culinary school

Lon Morris College is considering several options to open a culinary school for a hospitality program for hotel-restaurant management. Where to locate the school has not been decided but is still in the hands of attorneys.

Dr. Miles McCall, college president said Monday morning, “We are adding the program to our curriculum. Currently we are working on the details and do not have anything to announce yet. It is not nailed down, but we are close. Maybe in less than a week we will have something to tell.” Dr. McCall said the school has looked at several pieces of property.

Brezy Lake of Jacksonville has been hired as a recruiter for the program. “Currently she is working at the school in another area but she has a master’s degree in hotel-restaurant management,” Dr. McCall said.

The school will work with various colleges and universities in assisting its students to complete their four-year degree plan.

“It will be a year or two before we are up and running,” Dr. Mc- Call said.

He said Lon Morris is also working toward offering women’s volleyball.

“We are excited about all the changes at Lon Morris,” Dr. Mc- Call said.

Rumors have been circulating that the school will be located in the Stamps Hotel-Restaurant building, formerly the Jacksonville Post Office, in downtown Jacksonville.

Becky Bailey, realtor for the Stamps building, said Lon Morris has not purchased the building and she did not know if there were any plans to do so.

The Jacksonville post office closed in 2000. The Bailey family operated the restaurant and hotel for several years before it closed in 2005, when the 1.3 acres and building were placed on the market.