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LOCKHART SCHOOL CLOSED THURSDAY -- NO WATER

by Source staff March 16, 2000 Even though water service was restored by 9 a.m. Thursday, Lockhart Elementary students were sent home before 9 a.m. due to lack of water at the school. The Water and Power Authority discovered a leak on the main supply line at 6 a.m., according to WAPA spokesperson Patricia Blake Simmonds. There was no record of a call from either Lockhart Elementary or the Education Department, according to Simmonds. She said when someone at WAPA heard the school closing announced on the radio, "We radioed the guys in the area," to make sure the water was back on. It was, she said. In a release from the Education Department, Lockhart Principal Laura Chesterfield was quoted as saying, "On my arrival at school this morning a little before 7 a.m., I discovered that the school was completely without water, caused by the breakage of a major water main. The problem was immediately reported to WAPA, and their staff were asked to make the necessary repairs." According to Education spokesperson June Archibald, Chesterfield spoke with the WAPA personnel in charge of the area and was told "they would get to it. Because you're dealing with an elementary school with absolutely no water," Archibald said they were forced to dismiss students. School begins at 8 a.m., Archibald said, but she could not say exactly what time students were dismissed, only that it was before 9 a.m. School will resume at Lockhart on Friday.

http://www.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=News%3ALocal&p=14874

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 16, 2000