Toni Hopper
DUNCAN — When Duncan High School principal Gary Reed saw the lights back on at the main building the Tuesday after the Jan. 28 ice storm, he wasn’t prepared for what that day would be like.
“I called Dr. Sherry Labyer and told her and she told me we had a problem and that I needed to get up here,” he said.
Reed discovered that the old heating units in 11 classrooms were not working. He also discovered a huge mess.
To explain the downfall of the old high school’s heating system means going back into history when the school was built. An old boiler system keeps the water flowing into the copper pipes and coils of the units housed in each classroom, generally under the windows.
When the pipes started thawing, they began bursting and the water started flowing. Some classrooms were flooded and Reed, maintenance crew and even five coaches pitched in to help mop, move desks and gather soaked books.
“I had a lot of help, because we had to get it ready for school the next day,” Reed said.
While Reed was dealing with the logistics of moving classrooms around since 11 rooms were unusable, there was the problem of getting some heat into the building.
A company out of Texas was on the campus before the day was out and a temporary duct work system was put into the hallways.
“TRC came in and set up portable units. Within 36 hours, they had all this set up and running,” Reed said.
Huge clear plastic ducts can be seen throughout both floors. They are powered by propane fuel into an intake/outtake system that keeps the warm air circulating.
“This is the first time in years, in a long time, that the hallways have been warm,” Reed said. There’s an advantage, the system is blowing cleaner air into the old school, but the system is temporary.
Parts have been ordered, but it could take about six weeks before the parts are available.
“Parts are really hard to get. All the classrooms are heated by the boiler system.”
There’s six rooms in which the heaters just have ceased working.
Reed took covers off the heaters to show what the internal mechanisms and the first thing one notices is the rust and dirt.
About $5,600 in text books were damaged, including history books and all the new books in the Home Economics sewing room.
Reed surveyed the building Friday and discovered tiles were off the floor in the Spanish classroom, where that room had flooded.
“It’s on the north side and it is colder up here,” he said. When that room flooded, it leaked down into the sewing room.
“Our main concern was that we stay warm, but by the time parts get here, school may be over with,” Reed said.
— Toni Hopper is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. She can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 132 or by e-mail at: toni.hopper@duncanbanner.com.
