Water main break damages parts of building, forces relocation plans

Kayla Carpenter
August 18, 2019

Room183
Photo provided by Karen Calcaterra
Standing water settles in Room 183 before it is pumped out by CATCO crews, Aug. 17. Classes in Room 183 will be relocated to Room 004 except for 5th Hour, which will be relocated to Room 137A.

At approximately 11 a.m. on Aug. 17, a water main broke at the front of the building under Athletic Director Jon Sumner’s Office and Social Studies Department Chair Krista Silvernail’s classroom, Room 183, flooding the front of the school. 

According to CATCO (Catastrophe Cleaning and Restoration Company) workers, the water main break caused water to fill Room 183 faster than it could exit, leaving what was described as approximately one foot of standing water in the room until the door was opened.

“It looks as though we have damage in the Welcome Center, the Nurses’ Office, the Athletic/Activities Director’s Office, Room 181, Room 182, Room 183 and partial damage to Room 137 and 137A,” Principal Karen Calcaterra said. 

CATCO crews have worked throughout the weekend to fix the damaged pipes, remove water from the building and tear up and replace damaged carpets. 

“[Workers] were here until 2:30 a.m. on Saturday into Sunday, and they will be here all day Sunday. They will be back here at 6 a.m. [on Monday],” Calcaterra said. “In fact, they called it a Quick Claim Emergency, so that they can expedite getting these rooms cleaned up and back together. 

It is not yet clear when the damaged rooms will be fixed and fully functional, but crews will continue to work until they are repaired. As a result, the Welcome Center, the Nurses’ Office, the Activities Office and classes held in Room 181, Room 182 and Room 183 will indefinitely follow this relocation plan: 

  • Language arts teacher David Choate’s classes will be relocated from Room 181 to the Library Video Conference Room.
  • Language arts teacher Nathan Willard’s classes will be relocated from Room 182 to the Writing Center, Room 157.
  • The Writing Center will be relocated to the Student Restore Program area, Room 133.
  • Silvernail’s classes will be relocated from Room 183 to Room 004 except for 5th Hour, which will be relocated to Room 137A.
  • The Nurses’ Office will be relocated to the In-School-Suspension (ISS) room, Room 135.
  • ISS will be relocated to Room 216.
  • The Welcome Center will be relocated to the West Entrance.
  • The Hall Monitor and Visitor Sign-In Station will be relocated to the Pool Doors.
  • The Activities Office will be relocated to Room 114.

The main entrance at the Welcome Center will also be closed.