{"id":156867,"date":"2026-03-25T15:37:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T20:37:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=156867"},"modified":"2026-03-25T15:37:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T20:37:50","slug":"construction-underway-on-dr-d-b-sanders-memorial-recreational-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/construction-underway-on-dr-d-b-sanders-memorial-recreational-area\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction Underway on Dr. D.B. Sanders Memorial Recreational Area"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Oxford School District is delighted to share the progress of the Dr. David B. Sanders Jr. Memorial Recreational Area, a new outdoor space taking shape behind Oxford Intermediate School<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Following months of local historical research, gathering community input, and the formation of a dedicated committee, the\u00a0decision to name and dedicate the space in honor of <strong>Dr. David B. (D.B.) Sanders Jr<\/strong>. was approved last spring. Construction began several weeks ago, marking a significant milestone as this vision becomes a reality and celebrates the exceptional legacy of Dr. Sanders.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/432904i-1.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"335\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/432904i-1.png?resize=640%2C335&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-156872\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.9105090839057586;width:802px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/432904i-1.png?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/432904i-1.png?resize=300%2C157&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/432904i-1.png?resize=768%2C402&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Architectural Rendering of the Dr. D.B. Sanders Jr. Memorial Recreational Area<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Sanders was a well-respected and transformative leader in the<strong> Oxford School District<\/strong>. His influence helped shape a defining moment in the district\u2019s history as he helped guide the transition from segregation to integration in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During his tenure, he served as principal of <strong>Central High School<\/strong>, principal of <strong>Oxford Junior High School<\/strong>, and assistant superintendent. His leadership and dedication to students, staff, and the community left a legacy that continues to shape the Oxford School District today.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0io-ijk9i.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-id=\"156870\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0io-ijk9i.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-156870\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0io-ijk9i.jpg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0io-ijk9i.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0io-ijk9i.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Ongoing construction at the Dr. D.B. Sanders Memorial Recreational Area, photographed during spring break.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/8u90h.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" data-id=\"156871\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/8u90h.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-156871\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/8u90h.jpg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/8u90h.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/8u90h.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The district looks forward to sharing continued updates as construction progresses and to celebrating the completion of a space that honors its history and inspires its future. To mark this milestone, the Oxford School District plans to host a community picnic on the grounds this summer. More information will be shared soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"16\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg?resize=25%2C16\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14544\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Oxford School District is delighted to share the progress of the Dr. David B. Sanders Jr. Memorial<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":156590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19],"tags":[33867,4890,4],"class_list":["post-156867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-dr-b-sanders-jr-memorial-recreational-area","tag-ohs","tag-oxford"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OIP-1.webp?fit=474%2C304&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156867"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156876,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156867\/revisions\/156876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}