Flooding closes school

WALTERVILLE: An out of the ordinary call from the Walterville School last Thursday morning drew McKenzie Fire & Rescue Chief Bucich and Deputy Chief Bart Thompson to the the Walterville School. Springfield Schools District personnel had pumps in place, attempting to divert the water. The fire depatment added two more pumps, then brought more from the Leaburg and Walterville stations.

The primary source came from the Twin Firs Road area and one pump redirected that water back into Potter Creek. The others were used to redirect the water that was flooding the buildings.

The flooding could stop students from returning to the school for the rest of the year. School Principal Nicki Gorham said she hopes a move to online learning that started on January 11th will only be tempoary.

“The contamination level of the water that entered our building on Thursday, coupled with the porous nature of our well-loved building is resulting in clean-up that will take many months,” Gorham says. “It will, however, mean that our community will retain this beloved building and that when reoccupied we will be assured that it is safe and healthy for all.”