Flooded Basement Closes Middle School For A Day

HAVERHILL — Students at Whittier Middle School had a surprise three-day weekend.

A flooded basement shut down the heating system and forced the cancellation of classes yesterday. Much of the electrical system was also not working, according to Principal Toni Donais.

Both Superintendent James Scully and Donais said school will be back in session today. Luis Gonzalez, custodian at Whittier Middle School, showed up for work at around 4 a.m. yesterday and noticed building seemed "a little chilly," Donais said. Gonzalez went down to the basement — and discovered several feet of water.

The flood was caused by the breakdown of two sump pumps, Donais said. Gonzalez called the Fire Department, which pumped out the basement, and notified Jeffrey Dill, who supervises maintenance for all city buildings.

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Tough Times For Cranston Family

A few hours after The Providence Journal took the photo of Tom Straus as he glumly surveyed several feet of water flooding his Cranston basement, the water rose much higher.

Groundwater poured in through gaps in the stone foundation. Then, record-high floodwaters from the nearby Pawtuxet River overwhelmed the first floor and carried away the above-ground pool out back where his granddaughter loved to swim. Whitecaps topped waves racing over the driveway.

Straus and his wife and son and two cats had to evacuate by boat.

Their house was condemned. They lost everything inside. They have been hounded for mortgage payments on a structure that is unlivable. And even though he is certain they were required to buy flood insurance to get their mortgage, the mortgage company says it has no record of the policy. Straus has no records of anything. And he says he can’t afford a lawyer.

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Flooding Still An Issue in Langford

Langford residents are still trying to clean up after overnight flooding. The creek near town overflowed in to town and right into people's homes.

The city of Langford always keeps in eye on the creek. Everything looked good when they went to bed Thursday night, but by 2 AM it was a completely different story.

"I was standing on the front porch and immediately to the right of me I heard a crunching sound and the light from the basement shown through," Langford resident, Michelle Kelly said. "And it just started crumbling into the basement and the water starting rushing in."

At least a half dozen homes got water in their basement, but the two on the corner got it the worst when water actually crashed through the walls in the basement, filling it up with water.

"I was really worried when I saw where it was because it was right under my daughter's bedroom and I was trying to scoop her out and run," Kelly said. "That was my concern."

The creek collects snow melt from the hills just east of here and normally it can handle it, but snow and ice blocked its path and the creek overflowed. Workers were out very early this morning sandbagging and clearing the snow. Blair Healy was there. He has been the city's utility manager for fourteen years.

"This is probably the worst I've seen," Healy said. "It's happen 2, 3, 4 times probably before. It's a lot worse this year than any."

Michelle and her two kids got out safe.

"Well for now, I'm moving in with my parents," Kelly said. "They're going to let me stay in a room there and then I don't know.

Michelle says she needs to get the water out before she can asses how much she actually lost.

There is a lot of snow still left to melt so they will keep a close watch on the creek through out the spring.

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Montgomery Offices Set to Reopen

Work to clean up and repair flood damage caused by a broken water main at the Montgomery County Human Services Center should be complete in about a month.

Tom Brennan, the county’s risk management coordinator, estimated the cost of the cleanup and repair thus far to be more than $800,000, with insurance covering all but $100,000 of the damage.

The 8-inch-diameter water main began leaking early Feb. 11, inundating the first floor with water and mud and preventing offices from opening that day. The flood displaced some county departments, including the Coroner’s Office.

Dozens of those employees continue to work at satellite offices in Pottstown and Willow Grove until work at the 1430 DeKalb St. facility is completed.

The coroner’s operations relocated to the Emergency Operations Center in Eagleville, where the office occupies space in five garage bays.

The broken pipe has been replaced and was successfully tested this week, and the auxiliary water line that had been serving the building was shut off, according to the risk management official.

A prompt emergency response after the flooding was discovered around 3:30 a.m. saved the offices from more extensive damage, including mold.

“We attacked that first phase very aggressively,” Brennan said of the initial cleanup. “Mold was an immediate concern.”

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Church Flooded

One of Cleveland’s most ambitious urban farming projects took a big step forward and one step back last week.

Community Greenhouse Partners raised enough money to start putting up its first “hoop house,” a greenhouse-type growing structure, at East 67th and Superior. But their attempt to have the water turned on in the rectory of St. George — the decommissioned church the group bought from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland — nearly ended in disaster.

“We were trying to get water turned on in the house so we would have a bathroom for people setting up the hoop house,” says Tim Smith, the group’s founder and director. “The city had been valiantly trying to get the water turned on for three weeks, and in doing so, they turned on the water in the church, not the house. When you buy a building that’s been shut for a year and a half, you discover things you didn’t know about. One was a broken pipe on the top floor of the church.”

Oops. Water poured into the building, flooding the sacristy and a classroom. Quick action by volunteers and the donation of industrial fans and dehumidifers minimized the damage, which Smith describes as “a flood, but not one of biblical proportions.”

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Library Set to Reopen After Suffering Serious Water Damage

The Uptown branch of the Butte-Silver Bow Public library is reopening with a celebration for the public.

The library suffered extensive water damage back in November due to a water line break. Now the staff is gearing up to reopen all floors of the building.

The grand reopening celebration will take place Saturday, April 2, according to Director of the Library Lee Phillips. It will include board game competitions, video games, a slide show of the library's progress since the flood, cookies and more. Activities will be on every floor of the library.

"The entire library will be open and that'll be for the very first time so you can peruse for your own books. A librarian won't have to get them for you," said Phillips.

The Annual Spring Book Sale will also kick off on Saturday and run for a full week, according to Phillips. Most items are $3 or less.

With the reopening of the Uptown location Phillips is now making decisions about the south branch in the Butte Plaza Mall. She is asking for your help by filling out a four question survey.

"Our lease is up June 30, and we kind of want to get a feel from the community on whether or not this is something they want us to continue so that we can include the lease and cost in next year's budget," said Phillips.

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Owners Plan to Rebuild After Water Damage

A little more than 24 hours after flames ripped through the top floor of Upper Southampton’s Churchville Inn, the smell of charred wood hung low over the property.

The owners of the restaurant and bar, brothers David and Andrew Wallace, lived in two apartments on the second floor, where both apartments were destroyed by the flames.

Early Sunday morning David was sleeping on the sofa of his apartment above the local hangout. He awoke to find smoke and flames.

He ran into his laundry room and escaped out the window onto the roof of the inn’s kitchen and then jumped to safety, friends and family recounted.

David was taken to St. Mary Medical Center and remained there as of Monday, Andrew said.

In the apartment next door, Andrew and his girlfriend, Nicole, slept in their bedroom. Boxes still unpacked from a recent move. Andrew said he awoke to smoke and fled his second-floor apartment with Nicole and their dog.

Monday afternoon the parking lot was filled with puddles of water left over from what was used to fight the blaze and debris from the building.

A friend of the Wallaces, who gave a tour of the building, said the basement was filled with so much water from fire fighting efforts kegs, both full and empty, floated around the basement and banquet hall.

The blaze might have started in the attic above the room where David was sleeping, according to the friend.

Andrew, standing near a pile of salvaged items, said they plan to rebuilt the Churchville Inn.

“Right now we’re just waiting on the insurance company,” Andrew said.

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