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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
DHS, Quail Court have pipes burst
Davenport School District custodial staff work to clean up flooding damage caused by a burst pipe Thursday, Jan. 18.
DAVENPORT - Frigid temperatures and the subsequent pressure put on pipe systems caused some issues for important groups around Lincoln County last week. Namely, burst pipes at Davenport High School and Quail Court in Odessa forced respective administrations to take emergency action.
As students got out of school Thursday, Dec. 18, pipes froze in the High School fire system, boys bathroom and commons area near the tennis courts, superintendent Chad Prewitt said.
Subsequently, sprinkler heads froze and burst, flooding the area, he said.
But custodial staff and administration rallied to fix the issues, and "very little" damage was done, Prewitt said.
"The ESD came out to do moisture readings," he said. "We were back in school Friday."
Quail Court wasn't so lucky. Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center CEO Brett Antczak said a burst pipe by the assisted living facility's mechanical room Sunday, Jan. 14 forced the closure of the facility.
12 residents were evacuated, momentarily to the hospital and eventually to an assisted living facility in Moses Lake, Antczak said.
"We won't be back open for several months," he said, adding that work is still being done to assess the damages. "It's taking time to get the contractors all the way out here to look at that."
Additionally, the Dept. of Health must approve the re-opening of the facility, which could create more delays, Antczak noted.
"We appreciate the residents, families and staff keeping a cool demeanor," he said. "It's great when an emergency situation is handled well."
The high school and Quail Court weren't alone in facing issues with frozen pipes. Prewitt said he was told by the School District's insurance company the District was the 19th school to contact the company with issues, while Antczak said Quail Court was one of over 400 facilities with waterline issues statewide.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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