Update on South Bend School Flooding

Last night's sleep was cut short when I received a call from district Maintenance Director, Gary Wilson, at 1:45 am, "You better come check this out--we are flooding bad," he said.  And we were...

Gary and his team, consisting of Al Lewis, Joe Dokter, and Doug Sands, and transportation director Wyatt Kuiken, worked all night long sandbagging the school and gym.  However, with water coming into the buildings through drains, sewer holes, and under the walls, there was not a whole lot to be done.


Damage So Far

At this point, we have water damage in the west end of the elementary school hallways and office.  Though the water has now been removed, the carpets are wet.  We have a carpet cleaner currently enroute to help us clean and restore the hallway and office carpets.  We also have water damage in the vocational building consisting of the wood shop and Dan Raymond's classroom.  Sump pumps are currently working to remove the water.

The Koplitz Field House is another story.  Water completely surrounds the building and the water level inside the building stretches across half of the gym floor.  I could literally see water bubbling up through the volleyball standard holes.  We believe the entire underlayment of the gym floor is under water.  At this point, there is nowhere for us to pump the water, so it is impossible for us to remove the water.  Even so, with the building surrounded and the underneath full, the water is not going anywhere.  We are waiting for the water level outside to subside so cleanup efforts inside can take place.

Gym Floor

Koplitz Fieldhouse Lobby

Will There Be School Tomorrow?

UPDATE (7:46 PM, Jan 5): we will have a 2 hour delay tomorrow to allow us to assess our facility.  We will inform parents as soon as possible if school is to be cancelled.

This is the million dollar question!  At this point, we are waiting to see what the water levels do.  One thing people might not realize is that when water gets to a certain depth, our toilets can not flush and our drains do not work.  If we do not have functioning bathrooms, we will not have school.  Gary Wilson and Wyatt Kuiken will be monitoring water levels and school bus routes this evening and into tomorrow.  We will make a decision when we have more information.

What If I Want To Help Out?

We have been thankful for the many people who came out to help this morning.  At this point, we simply have to wait for the water levels to drop before we know what type of cleanup we will face.  Once we understand what we will have to do, we may be able to use some help mopping up the gym.

Elementary Clean Up

Tomorrow's Boy's Basketball Game

Tomorrow's home game with Ocosta will not take place in Koplitz Fieldhouse.  Athletic Director Tom Sanchez has arranged for us to play at Willapa Valley School.  JV game time is 5:45


Thanks

Again, I would like to thank Gary and his entire crew, along with the school administrative team, several teachers, and other staff and community members who helped us out this morning.   It was a great effort and everyone's help and support is very much appreciated.

I would encourage people to also offer help to anyone living around the school or in the surrounding area, whose homes may have been damaged by the flood.  I have heard that several homes have water inside.  There are most likely families that could use help.

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