Guest guest Posted August 10, 2001 Report Share Posted August 10, 2001 http://www.newsadvance.com/MGBJN29Z5QC.html Aug 8, 2001 - 11:34 PM Officials deal with mold By Sykes The News & Advance YELLOW BRANCH - Work crews are finishing up the eradication of stachybotrys mold at Yellow Branch Elementary School, and County school officials said Wednesday the project will be completed before teachers return to work Aug. 20. But parents and county officials voiced concern at the lack of communication concerning the mold. So far no notice about the mold or cleanup has been sent to all parents of students at the school. Supervisors with Tri-Dim, the firm handling the cleanup, will meet with the executive board of the Yellow Branch PTA at 1 p.m. today, according to School Superintendent Nolley. School officials declared a state of emergency at Yellow Branch Elementary on July 19 and sent out letters to the parents of about 40 students who attended summer school there. Students carried the letters home with them after attending classes at Yellow Branch the following day. The letter informed parents of the " need to remove mold from some areas of the building, " and said that beginning July 23 students would attend classes at Rustburg Elementary School. The state of emergency declaration was posted in the County courthouse on July 20, and stated the board took the action " due to certain molds and substances that may be a health hazard. " Rustburg Supervisor Hugh Pendleton, a former school principal, said he first heard about the existence of the mold at a school in his district by reading it Wednesday in The News & Advance. Nolley said the decision to inform a limited number of parents was made because of transportation concerns with the change in summer school venues. " It was a transportation matter as much as anything else, " Nolley said. " I wanted them to know the pick-up and drop-off times. It was a maintenance issue as well. We didn't see it as anything to make a big splash over. When we picked up on it, school was already out. We knew we could have it removed by the time teachers returned. Maybe it was poor judgment on my part, but I felt it was a maintenance issue more than anything else. " Fariss, the mother of current and former students at the school, said she heard about the mold problem from the parents of summer school students. " That's the only reason I know, " she said. " Those parents told other parents the children had been moved. " School officials said Tuesday that mold had been discovered at Yellow Branch in June. On July 18, test results revealed the mold was determined to be the same stachybotrys mold that shut down Bedford County's Jefferson Forest High School April 27, more than a month before the end of the school year. But Fariss said mold has been visible at the school for a while. " I can't say it was stachybotrys, but there has always been mold, " she said. " We've talked about it several times. Some classrooms reek of mold. I think there has been a problem much longer than they think. " Her older son, now in middle school, had constant asthma and allergy problems during his four years at the school. " He still has allergies, but it is better, " Fariss said. " It's just a stuffy nose now, it isn't the coughing and the nosebleeds. You can't say it was the mold, but when they say there hasn't been a problem, I think the parents just weren't making the correlation to the school. " Nolley said that mold has been a problem at other County schools over the years. Brookville High School had a constant mold problem before the ventilation system and the roof were replaced 10 years ago, he said. " I know we had mold at that time, " Nolley said. " Whether it was this same thing, I don't know. I think we're more concerned about this type of thing now. " At more than 30 years old, Yellow Branch is next in line for remodeling by the school system. The School Board has approved a request for proposal for a feasibility study for work at Yellow Branch, but the remodeling work is about two years away, according to Craig Brewer, director of buildings and grounds for the schools. Brewer said the majority of the cleaning at the school was completed and crews would begin reinstalling ceiling tiles and insulation soon. Several factors kept the Yellow Branch cleanup costs to about $80,000, Brewer said. The size of the school, 44,300 square feet, and its composition kept the cleanup expense far less than that faced by Bedford County's cleanup of Jefferson Forest. Jefferson Forest is 162,000 square feet. No mold had penetrated the walls at Yellow Branch, Brewer said, whereas Jefferson Forest's walls had been infested by the stachybotrys mold. " Our walls are painted block, " Brewer said. " There is no where for it to go but to stay on the surface. " Anabac, a chemical used to kill the mold, was sprayed on surfaces and into the building's duct work, Brewer said. " Our school will be as clean as theirs, " Brewer said. " We will get rid of the mold. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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