Utility issues delay 1 school, close 2

(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)
BELPRE — Utility issues pushed back the opening of one school Tuesday and led to the closure of two others.
Belpre High School was on a two-hour delay due to a power outage, while Waterford Elementary and Waterford High School were closed because of a water main break.
A representative of AEP Ohio said the Belpre outage started around 7:22 a.m. and affected about 1,089 customers. That included the high school, resulting in Belpre City Schools Superintendent Jeff Greenley sending out an automated call announcing a two-hour delay for the school.
Electricity was restored by 9:08 a.m., the AEP representative said. The cause of the outage was unknown Tuesday and remains under investigation, she said.
Wolf Creek Local Schools initially announced a two-hour delay Tuesday morning due to a water main break. Interim Superintendent Bob Caldwell said a similar situation happened on Thursday.
“There have been two separate water leaks. Last week, they were able to get it fixed prior to 8 o’clock,” he said.
That was not the case this week, so schools were closed for the day.
Rhonda Turner, clerk for the Waterford Water Association, said around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday that repairs had been made, but the leak drained their water tanks. Personnel were refilling the tanks and waiting on the line to pressurize, she said.
“We’re trying to make sure it’s going to hold,” Turner said.
It was not immediately known what caused the break.