BY FRANK X. ELLIS

CARROLLTON--A goal long sought moved a major step closer to reality at Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish on July 14.

Groundbreaking ceremonies for a much-needed expansion of educational/office facilities at the church were conducted following the 10 a.m. Mass. Msgr. Michael J. Regan, longtime pastor of the 700-family parish, led members of the congregation in the brief ceremonies.

Members of the finance and building committees and the parish council along with other parishioners looked on as the first dirt was ceremoniously tossed to signal construction of the new facility. David Schoerner and Jo Farish serve as co-chairs of the building committee while Joanne Schoerner is chair of the finance committee.

Phil McGukin, owner-operator of McGukin Construction Co. of Carrollton, said afterwards the new structure will be "a pre-engineered metal building" similar to the building with which it will be connected.

The new 8,000 square-foot unit will be named the John Carroll Building in honor of the first priest named an American bishop. The existing building, Carroll Hall, honors his brother, Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence for whom Carroll County was named.

The building will consist of a lower and first level with a connecting passageway linking the new structure with Carroll Hall. A chair lift will help the handicapped more easily enter the new building.

The lower level will include five classrooms and an addition to the kitchen while the upper level will contain a choir room, adult education space, offices and much-needed storage space.

McGukin estimated total cost of the building project will be approximately $500,000.

Members have already placed $300,000 with the archdiocese toward the building project. The money has been raised through a three-year pledge program, said a smiling Pat Dickson, the parish catechetics coordinator.

Southern Engineering Co. of Carrollton, headed by Roy L. Denney, Jr., AIA, served as architect for the project. Luis Almodoval, a parishioner, lent major assistance with preliminary planning.

McGukin estimated the project would take five to six months with plans calling for the parishioners to move into the structure by the first of the new year if not sooner.

Frank X. Ellis, a parishioner at St. Theresa's Church, Douglasville, is a journalist in Carroll County.