Hot Water Stops Teachers in their Tracks

Spanish teacher Kathy Stringham’s class is suddenly interrupted by the sound of a small “OOF” from outside her classroom. Across the hall from her open door lies the faculty lounge, and a very confused Sarah Lea. An extension cord is taped to the floor maybe 18 inches away from the outside of the door and snakes its way down the hallway to the boys bathroom.

      Poking her head through the doorway of the faculty lounge, Lea slowly maneuvers through the small opening left by the stopped door and its frame. The rogue extension cord is just tall enough to stop the door in its tracks and force any teacher entering or exiting the faculty lounge to have to move around it.

“All of the teachers are trying to stay lean so they can get in and out of the door effectively,” New language arts teacher Creed Archibald said.

The cord was laid to power several fans down the hall in a closet, near the second floor boys’ bathroom, continuously blowing in a janitorial attempt to dry off the area after an old hot water line burst at some point over the long weekend.

The leak, however, did not only inhibit the path of the occasional teacher in their quest for lunch. The hot water in bathrooms throughout  the D hall are devoid of hot water in the sinks.

The leak dripped from the second floor directly into the middle of the counseling center, causing an arguably greater detriment than a cold hand washing. Over the summer, new carpet squares were finally installed throughout the counseling center but now those under the leak are soiled. 

“It seems like it’s happened a couple of years in a row,” CTE coordinator Maria Smuins said. “Hopefully they are figuring it out now.”

Mishaps like this remind us that Highland is an old school. We have long-lasting traditions and a solid presence within the community, but every once in a while an old pipe will break. It is the responsibility of the Highland community to take care of what we have for years to come.

The pipe should be fixed within the next few days.

In the meantime, Mrs. Stringham can sit in her classroom and listen to the occasional startled remarks of a teacher trying to get back to class.

“The best is when they are coming out and forget that the cord is there,” Stringham said. “The looks on faces have been quite amusing. I’ve done that a time or two myself.”