Some schools fare better than others

Superior High School didn’t flood, despite pictures that showed the building surrounded by water Wednesday. In fact, none of the schools in the Superior school district received any water damage in the storm, according to Buildings and Grounds Director Gary Niemi.

“We came through very well,” he said. After closing Wednesday, summer school and meetings were back in session Thursday. Other than road closures that made busing and getting to work tricky, Niemi said, the flood was a “non-event” for the district.

At the University of Wisconsin-Superior, however, 14 of the campus’ 16 buildings received some kind of water damage, according to UWS spokeswoman Lynne Williams. Damage ranged from wet carpet in some places to several inches of standing water in the hardest hit buildings, Old Main, the Jim Dan Hill Library and the heating plant. UWS has contracted with a disaster recovery company to pump out the water and perform any needed demolition of drywall.

Classes and camps resumed Thursday, although some had to be relocated. Williams said Old Main is expected to reopen Monday with limited access to the basement area. Barstow was shut down due to electrical issues caused by water getting into the transformers.

It will probably be closed for a week, Williams said. The library will be closed for at least a week.

“We house all our books in the basement,” Williams said. Staff members are assessing which can be refurbished and which should be replaced. All residence halls on campus are functioning.

Classes resumed at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College of Superior Thursday. No significant damage was caused by the storm, according to WITC personnel.

Tags: news, schools, flood, superior